Every generation has its heroes. Top athletes, musicians, leaders or entrepreneurs who we emulate and who inspire us. We have also lost many heroes in recent years. What to think of Johan Cruijf, Muhammad Ali, Prince, David Bowie and Steve Jobs. But where old heroes unfortunately die, new heroes arise to provide us with endless inspiration. One of those people is Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla, among others. Is Musk the 'new' Steve Jobs?
Big plans
Great leaders are characterized by very striking, powerful qualities. Jobs was known as a difficult person to work with because of his extreme perfectionism and unpredictability. But that perfectionism, which bothered many people, was the basis of his success. We also see this in sports. Strong, successful people are also less liked by some. What to think of people like Louis van Gaal and Zlatan Ibrahimović, for example.
In recent years, a new hero has emerged in the entrepreneurial world: Elon Musk. Where Jobs was known/infamous for his perfectionism, Musk is known for his megalomaniac plans and ideas. He has an enormous urge to innovate and is one of the most charismatic people of our time. Some are annoyed by his continuous delusions of grandeur, but isn't that precisely his success?
The list of Musk's megalomaniac plans, almost all of which are successful, is almost endless. For example, in 1999, Musk was one of the founders of online payment systems, which resulted in PayPal. Until that moment, there had always been some laughs about online payments. He then started SpaceX in 2002, which aims to become the first commercial space company. However, that company has also not been able to satisfy Musk's hunger for innovation. In 2003 he invested in Tesla. The rest of that story is known. What no one ever expected has come true: Tesla recently started selling a very affordable high-end electric car. Take a look around the highway at all the Teslas that are now driving there. Musk's delusions of grandeur have done him no harm. What can we learn from this?
Elon's lessons
Musk has charisma. He loves to tell his story. He regularly shares his vision and his view of the world. We have listed some of his 'lessons' for you:
Think bigger than big
Embrace the Blue Ocean strategy. Think bigger than big and, above all, contrarian. Don't be limited in your thoughts and actions by today's standards. Only by completely breaking out of your comfort zone and dreaming the most absurd dreams can you be truly disruptive. In short: delusions of grandeur are not a weakness, but a strength.
Stay at the helm yourself
Many entrepreneurs build their business with the goal of eventually becoming indispensable and being able to take a step back. On an operational level, that's fine. However, Musk believes that you should always remain in charge and invest your own money. Your vision makes or breaks success.
Am a perfectionist
No matter how difficult you make things for those around you, always remain that born perfectionist. By remaining continuously involved and critical, you guarantee quality.
Don't specialize
In the modern economy you are expected to be a specialist. How else can you distinguish yourself? During training, the focus is also increasingly on developing specialisms. Musk has a different opinion. He started a space company without any business knowledge. His lesson: don't specialize in one thing, but keep learning in all areas.
Negative reactions are good
'Yes-men' are of no use to you. If your ideas don't generate negative reactions, you're doing something wrong. And you can also learn a lot from negative feedback. This is very recognizable for entrepreneurs. How often has someone from your family or circle of acquaintances said that it might not be such a good idea to start a business? Correct! Listen to yourself, and don't shy away from negative responses.
Want to hear more from Elon Musk? In this video 8 memorable moments of Musk are listed. Which Elon Musk story inspires you the most?