This seems consistent with the personalities for both Gates and Bezos in that they are competitive people. They know it is difficult to compare people across disciplines, so they punt on the problem and just make it a contest.
I have to wonder if this is a case of applied fundamental attribution errors, where they see their own success not as a natural outcome of their own privileged circumstances, but as a contest they won due to their skills, knowledge, and ability to beat their competitors at their own game. This then becomes the organizing principle of their companies.
This seems consistent with the personalities for both Gates and Bezos in that they are competitive people. They know it is difficult to compare people across disciplines, so they punt on the problem and just make it a contest.
I have to wonder if this is a case of applied fundamental attribution errors, where they see their own success not as a natural outcome of their own privileged circumstances, but as a contest they won due to their skills, knowledge, and ability to beat their competitors at their own game. This then becomes the organizing principle of their companies.