I just took in some of Microsoft MIX08's Keynote between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Guy Kawasaki.
This is what Steve Balmer responds on Guy Kawasaki's question of "What Drives You?"
"1. I love what we do, I'm pretty jabbed about Silverlight 2, IE8...
2. I get a chance to work with customers as well as the folks at Microsoft. Some of the smartest most energetic most fun folks in the world...
3. I enjoy a challenge, and with the scale of what's going on in our industry...the folks we have to compete with...certainly we got them (challenges)"
In response to the question of the kind of days he has, Steve again summaries it into three kinds of days
"1. I'm out of Redmond, with customers, from 7:30am in the morning to 8 in the night, on a flight at night for another meeting at another location, that energises me...
2. I like to call it 'The doctor's in his office' day. Every hour I have a meeting, energising, but exhausting
3. Days where I can think, write and research. Mine to dig into things."
When compared to what Jane McGonigal said at SxSW on the four things that makes people happy, it seems that Steve is in his perfect job since the only area he missed explicitly was "being really good at something", which his position as Microsoft CEO could attest to in itself.
From programmer to politician to pundit, may we all strive to be as well matched in our own placements as Steve definitely is.
