While there's value in being prepared, doing it with rigidness won't get you very far. The best way to pacify skepticism that others may feel about you is to surprise them with spontaneity - in a memorable and engaging way. But it can be mastered with deliberate practice: Not all of us are naturally gifted with the ability to delight. Upon leaving, Musk gave us the contact information of someone who headed up operations for SpaceX to help with our research.īyron and I were set up to lose, but delight was the spark that intrigued Musk and convinced him to let us stay. We chatted, debated, riffed and even hugged each other on our way out. It wasn't premeditated, nor was it done in a condescending way. Most people probably would have nodded politely and left, but the giggling gave Musk pause.
"You think we're trying to pitch you, right? We don't want your money," I told him. The meeting was about to end disastrously - until I did something out of the blue that somehow humored him beyond belief: I giggled. He thought we were just two entrepreneurs trying to get his money or endorsement for the company we were presumably starting, and that the gift was our product prototype. As it turned out, Musk didn't realize we were academics. They were focused on the gift Byron was holding. That's when I noticed it: Musk's eyes weren't on us. Get out of my office." Completely disoriented, I stared at him blankly and asked, "No?" To which he replied, "No." We came prepared.īut all that hard work didn't make much of a difference, because not more than 30 seconds into the meeting, Musk told us, "No. We even had a small gift to express our thanks for his time. We studied any current events he might mention and came up with thoughtful perspectives on all aspects of his business - not just SpaceX, but also Tesla, PayPal and Hyperloop. We wanted to ask Musk about his thoughts on the future of private space tourism.īefore the meeting, Byron and I read up on Musk's entire life history. Since Byron and I were both researching the challenges of startups in the private space industry, he was kind enough to let me tag along. Being the go-getter he is, not only was Byron able to luck his way into getting the billionaire's contact information, but he also managed to secure a meeting with him. A few years ago, Byron, a close friend and collaborator of mine, attended a university commencement in which Elon Musk was giving a speech.
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