Elon Musk’s ex-wife Justine said in a talk at a TEDx conference that Musk has a special strength. Because he can say “no”. Being able to say “no” is an important strength in professional life. Steve Jobs already knew that.
Elon Musk’s ex-wife Justine Musk (in the cover photo) gave a talk at a TEDx conference, an annual innovation conference, in 2014. You can access the entire lecture via YouTube. Incidentally, the two divorced in 2008.
Here she explained, among other things, that her ex-husband Elon had a special strength that he used regularly:
I was married, I was married to a man who was very successful. And as I watched him climb, two things struck me. He worked very hard, much harder than the average bear. And he often said no.
In her talk she explained that it is more than just a simple “no”, but that there is much more to it. She continued in the conversation:
He said no to the people who wanted his time, attention and energy. He said no in a way that protected his resources so he could channel them toward his own goals. And I understood that behind every no there is a deeper yes to what you want.
She describes the no as a “luminous boundary” that separates one’s own life from that of others. It is not enough to say yes to opportunities, but you also have to have the courage and wisdom to reject distractions.
Steve Jobs already knew how important it is to be able to say “no”.
Steve Jobs already knew how important it is to be able to say “no”. During a discussion with developers at WWDC 1997, he explained that innovation does not come from saying “yes” to everything, but also from consciously rejecting things (via macprime.ch).
People think focusing means saying yes to what you actually want to do. But that’s exactly not it. It means saying no to hundreds of ideas. You have to choose very carefully. I’m really proud of the things we didn’t do. Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1000 things.
That’s why Apple doesn’t have hundreds or thousands of products, half of which are mediocre, but only a handful of well-thought-out products.
The consulting platform Xing.com writes that a “no” is so valuable in professional life because you think about your own thoughts and options: “If you always just nod off to everything, you have to worry less and come without your own opinion out of.”
Larry Page founded Google and is one of the richest people in the world. But he hasn’t spoken to Elon Musk for years. Years ago he even declared that he would want to trust the tech billionaire with his assets. Today he sees it completely differently: He founded Google and wanted to entrust Elon Musk with his fortune of 110 billion euros – today they no longer speak a word to each other