The interview with Tachi Yamada, M.D. Essay

In the current case study I will review the interview with Tachi Yamada, M.D., president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The interview was taken by Adam Bryant, and was published on February 27, 2010.
As a fact, in this interview Tachi Yamada speaks about the most important mentors and advices, which helped him to become well-known professor and president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a matter of fact, Tachi Yamada thinks that the most difficult transition for anybody from being a regular employee to a manager is just an issue of delegation. According to Interview with Tachi Yamada, M.D., president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: “Learning how to delegate, learning how to let go and still make sure that everything happened, was a very important lesson in my first role in management. And that’s where I learned a principle that I apply today – I don’t micromanage, but I have microinterest”. Mr. Yamada states that his first serious lesson of leadership was given by his father, who had worked in Nippon Steel Corporation. His father claimed that Mr. Yamato should always learn something else, in particular the way other people think and manage, if he wants to be competitive and develop his skills – you should always learn, always study.
It should be noted that Morton Grossman, one of the most important mentors for Mr. Yamada taught him that he should respect the traditions and rules of the organization to which he comes to work. According to Mr. Yamada: “One of the things I have learned is that you can’t go into an organization, fire everybody and bring in everybody you want”, as stated in Interview with Tachi Yamada, M.D., president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Moreover, one of the most important issues in the art of management, Mr. Yamada considers the ability of the subordinates to change. In other words, people should be ready and want to change in accordance with the changing business conditions and tendencies. Also, it is essential to note that except the readiness to change, Tachi Yamada appreciates very much the native intelligence of his employees. Of course, with mentioned above, very important qualities are the ability to value people, who work for the company, so-called teammates and also the sense of humor.
Also, Mr. Yamato mentioned that he has different experience and led different companies, which staff was 250 people and even 15 thousand of people. However, the most important rule is “to stay on the course” and provide stable and predictable plan of organization’s development. In addition, during the interview Mr. Yamato advised young people to determine their goals and what they really want to do in their lives. Of course, young people should be always ready to face and even seek for new opportunities. As it was stated by Mr. Yamato in the interview: “I think one of the hardest things to do is to figure out what your North Star is. What is it that you really are interested in? This helps you to weigh one option versus another. And then keep your eyes and ears open. Be open for a new challenges”, as described in Interview with Tachi Yamada, M.D., president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.