[yurisagalov]

Being well connected is most definitely a skill. It helps when you can bootstrap your connection circle from your parents, of course, but that does not mean he could not have created a network on his own that he could then use to create Microsoft. Plenty of people are not born well connected, and yet become incredibly well connected (Dale Carnegie and Keith Ferrazzi, have books you should check out)

edit: Not to mention that you completely missed the fact that connections alone won't do anything for you. You must see the opportunity that those connections present. I'm sure many people knew the CEO of IBM at the time, but how many of them tried to build an OS for him?

[blintson]

Bill Gates was well-connected from the birth. You can't learn to have a rich lawyer as a father.

Microsoft didn't build an OS for IBM. The group that actually built the OS probably turned down IBM's offer because they couldn't get away with what Microsoft did.

There's very little admirable about what Bill Gates did to get where he is, and unless you have connections like him you probably shouldn't try to succeed doing similar things.

And yes, I know "How to Win Friends and Influence People", etc. etc. There are plenty of people who are much, much smarter than Bill Gates who tried to do similar things and failed, or weren't nearly as successful because they weren't born into it.

[qq66]

I know a lot of extremely well-connected people due to a degree program I was in. I, on the other hand, am not so well-connected except to them.

I found that about 2/3 of them were connected through their parents' achievements, and 1/3 of them did it entirely on their own. They relentlessly go to parties, shamelessly buddy up to the highest-status people at the parties, learn golf and go network at the golf course, etc. etc. Some of these people come from truly humble backgrounds and blue-collar families.

There's no reason you can't do the second.