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Shares of Tesla jumped more than 20 percent in a week, raising Elon Musk’s personal net worth to $ 195 billion, $ 10 billion more than the former richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, according to the Billionaires Index. from Bloomberg on January 8.
When Silicon Valley Tesla owners tweeted On the news, Musk’s response was just six words, “How strange,” followed by “Well, back to work …”. That might seem like a pretty boring reaction to becoming the richest person in the world. But it was a perfect answer and a useful lesson in emotional intelligence for all leaders.
You see, he knows how random and changeable this good news is, as does any news related to the stock price of his companies. Tesla shares closed at more than $ 880 the day I write this, but less than two years ago they were worth around $ 38. (Go ahead, kick yourself if you didn’t buy any back then, I certainly am.)
As for Musk, it’s hard to overstate how new his membership is among the world’s richest people. He made $ 150 billion, more than three-quarters of his mega fortune, in the last year alone. You probably won’t find it difficult to remember the days when you slept in the office, not so that you can spend as much time as possible at work, as is often the case these days, but because you couldn’t afford an apartment to go home. .
You also know how quickly fortunes can change, especially when tied to the vagaries of the financial markets. In recent years, he has criticized short sellers (investors who are betting that a company’s stock price will decline) for badmouthing Tesla, perhaps in a nefarious attempt to make a quick buck. You’ve seen legitimate securities analysts question Tesla’s prospects and predict its downfall over and over again – one of those companies just publicly confessed that it was very, very wrong. And Musk also learned how the Securities and Exchange Commission could clip his wings, even when everything else was going well.
In other words, you’ve absorbed a bit of wisdom that every business leader should remember. Some days you are the hero and other days you are the goat and it’s so much smarter to ignore those ups and downs in what people (and markets) think of you. Instead, do what Musk says all CEOs should do: Focus on making your product “as awesome as it could be.”
If rising stock prices, achieving a business goal, or hitting an award make you feel like you’re on top of the world, you might collapse when you don’t meet your goals, lose a great customer, or get lost. faces public criticism. . The best leaders don’t take any of this too seriously. Instead, they do what Musk says he’s doing: They go back to work.
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