Two related points came to mind as I read your excellent article.
First, is what has sometimes been referred to as the Myth of the Garage - the idea that important advancements come from the brain of one or two brilliant people toiling away heroically against the odds. The reality is always that there was much more involved in the success from outside funding to networking and experience gained elsewhere which helps to account for the success. It doesn’t necessarily take away from the insight or innovation of specific individuals. And thus, the most successful tend to be those who can take information and advice, including criticism, from others.
Second, there seems to have been a steady increase in the average number of authors of scientific and engineering studies over the past 4 years. It has been argued that this reflects an increasing need to be multidisciplinary in the pursuit of innovation. So, there is considerable value in having someone who is successful in one field look beyond that field for insights and inspiration. It just appears that it is unlikely any one man can have the ability to out-think and out-know everyone else in all fields.
Another historical example of relevance to your article and to these points is likely Edison.
Excellent piece. In the same vein, 'Team of Rivals' by Kearns (on Lincoln's cabinet) is a classic account of leadership, or even (a more minor key) the political sagacity in WLM King's Cabinet-making process, so very well described by Granatstein in 'Canada's War'. We also have intimate knowledge of the disputatious but ultimately effective US inner circle during the Cuban Missile Crisis, very nearly word-for-word, moment by moment. And of course the Roman slave, running alongside the victorious general, whispering of mortality amidst wild triumph.....
Nobody is immune from this kind of hubris. There are many examples of Nobel Laureates who have judged their success in winning a Nobel prize means their judgements on everything - including on worlds far removed from their discipline - are infallible.
Thanks for this. A healthy reminder that leaders need a good friend or equal to bounce their ideas and let them know if it’s right way to go…and maybe to pause before acting.
‘Thanks to the rigour of his thinking, he gets excellent results.’ We must not forget luck. Musk and many other billionaires were primarily lucky - until they aren’t anymore. Survivorship bias and more to paraphrase your co-author Professor Flyvbjerg.
An excellent piece as usual Dan. However I think there is hubris in business and also just drugs. Musk is not just making bad business decisions or political decisions, like Ford. He's also just plain erratic as outlined here:
The problem seems to be that he is not just turning on his X followers. They (and the Ketamine) are turning him on and at this point he is taking actions that put everything in jeopardy. But like Trump, once he does these things he can only triple down.
Excellent piece. But it is not just leaders who need to recognize that they are not always right. We all need such humility and the ability to really listen and hear what others who see things differently are saying. This is the essence of democracy and undergirds human rights.
Excellent point about hubris and Nemesis. I’d take it a step further in the case of Musk (not to mention Trump).
In the normal Greek dynamic, hubris (the pretension to be god-like) is brought down by Nemesis at Zeus’s behest. Yet leaders sometimes arise who embody both forces. They not only have hubris, they also want to be the Nemesis of an external force they accuse of greater hubris.
In brief, they have a hubris-nemesis complex.
In this dynamic, hubris and Nemesis no longer oppose and contradict each other. They become compatible contradictions, fused in a single psyche — mutually feeding on each other in ways that generate enormous energy, ambition, dynamism, and charisma, plus a thirst for absolute power. This complex is more malignant and dangerous than standard narcissism. For, to be as powerful as their hubris requires, such leaders must act as the nemesis of an outside power or specter. It is part of their hubris to want to play Nemesis.
If that makes sense to you, I have an elaboration somewhere online . Onward.
Two related points came to mind as I read your excellent article.
First, is what has sometimes been referred to as the Myth of the Garage - the idea that important advancements come from the brain of one or two brilliant people toiling away heroically against the odds. The reality is always that there was much more involved in the success from outside funding to networking and experience gained elsewhere which helps to account for the success. It doesn’t necessarily take away from the insight or innovation of specific individuals. And thus, the most successful tend to be those who can take information and advice, including criticism, from others.
Second, there seems to have been a steady increase in the average number of authors of scientific and engineering studies over the past 4 years. It has been argued that this reflects an increasing need to be multidisciplinary in the pursuit of innovation. So, there is considerable value in having someone who is successful in one field look beyond that field for insights and inspiration. It just appears that it is unlikely any one man can have the ability to out-think and out-know everyone else in all fields.
Another historical example of relevance to your article and to these points is likely Edison.
Excellent piece. In the same vein, 'Team of Rivals' by Kearns (on Lincoln's cabinet) is a classic account of leadership, or even (a more minor key) the political sagacity in WLM King's Cabinet-making process, so very well described by Granatstein in 'Canada's War'. We also have intimate knowledge of the disputatious but ultimately effective US inner circle during the Cuban Missile Crisis, very nearly word-for-word, moment by moment. And of course the Roman slave, running alongside the victorious general, whispering of mortality amidst wild triumph.....
What a great read. I daily hope the hubris of this administration undoes them without everything else being undone as well.
Nobody is immune from this kind of hubris. There are many examples of Nobel Laureates who have judged their success in winning a Nobel prize means their judgements on everything - including on worlds far removed from their discipline - are infallible.
Let's hope Nemesis has not been sidelined in this topsy-turvy world we endure today.
Another terrific post from a master.
Thanks for this. A healthy reminder that leaders need a good friend or equal to bounce their ideas and let them know if it’s right way to go…and maybe to pause before acting.
‘Thanks to the rigour of his thinking, he gets excellent results.’ We must not forget luck. Musk and many other billionaires were primarily lucky - until they aren’t anymore. Survivorship bias and more to paraphrase your co-author Professor Flyvbjerg.
An excellent piece as usual Dan. However I think there is hubris in business and also just drugs. Musk is not just making bad business decisions or political decisions, like Ford. He's also just plain erratic as outlined here:
https://thistleandmoss.com/p/a-single-tweet-just-cost-elon-musk
The problem seems to be that he is not just turning on his X followers. They (and the Ketamine) are turning him on and at this point he is taking actions that put everything in jeopardy. But like Trump, once he does these things he can only triple down.
Beautifully written Dan
Excellent observation.
I guess that just because you are a visionary doesn’t mean that you can see the obvious outside your narrow field of vision.
Excellent piece. But it is not just leaders who need to recognize that they are not always right. We all need such humility and the ability to really listen and hear what others who see things differently are saying. This is the essence of democracy and undergirds human rights.
Excellent point about hubris and Nemesis. I’d take it a step further in the case of Musk (not to mention Trump).
In the normal Greek dynamic, hubris (the pretension to be god-like) is brought down by Nemesis at Zeus’s behest. Yet leaders sometimes arise who embody both forces. They not only have hubris, they also want to be the Nemesis of an external force they accuse of greater hubris.
In brief, they have a hubris-nemesis complex.
In this dynamic, hubris and Nemesis no longer oppose and contradict each other. They become compatible contradictions, fused in a single psyche — mutually feeding on each other in ways that generate enormous energy, ambition, dynamism, and charisma, plus a thirst for absolute power. This complex is more malignant and dangerous than standard narcissism. For, to be as powerful as their hubris requires, such leaders must act as the nemesis of an outside power or specter. It is part of their hubris to want to play Nemesis.
If that makes sense to you, I have an elaboration somewhere online . Onward.