With a Little Bit of Effort, We Can All Get Along

You’ve seen the commercials. The young, hip guy says, “I’m a Mac,” then the other, not as hip, not as young guy says, “I’m a PC.” It’s a great example of the ongoing battle that’s ruled the computer world for decades, but did you know that Microsoft (creators of the PC) actually invested in Apple Computers one time? It’s true.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates got together via satellite to announce the investment at the Macworld Expo on August 6, 1997. The money was used to develop and ship Mac versions of Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and other development tools.

Another interesting corporate story also happened this week, way back in 1981, when Coca-Cola pledged to invest $34 million dollars into black-owned businesses, and promised to put an African-American on its board of directors, on August 10. Coca-Cola president, Donald Keough and Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and head of People United to Save Humanity (PUSH), made the announcement, which ended the organization’s 1-month nationwide call to boycott Coke products.

So what is the moral of our two corporate stories? Apparently, with a little bit of effort, we can all get along – at least for a little while.