The two giants who are changing the future
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and Elon Musk, best known as being the CEO of
Tesla and SpaceX, are both giants in the business world, proven by the exorbitant
success they had in the past years and decades. Setting aside the obvious
differences like the place of birth and their age, on the first glance they seem to be
pretty similar to each other. However, on further analysis, various fundamental
differences in their characteristics and behavior can be observed. Even though
technologically they are both very future oriented, in terms of leadership and other
aspects Gates seems to be more traditional, which will give Elon Musk the upper
hand in the years ahead.
Being one of the most important skills as a businessman, the speaking ability of
these two people has been analyzed, praised and criticized many times. The people
who have seen him speak know that Bill Gates is a great public speaker. Interestingly
however, this linguistic skill did not come naturally to him. On his personal blog,
GatesNotes, he stated, that he had to learn how to speak in front of an audience and
that giving speeches repeatedly at Microsoft had helped him to acquire this skill
(Gates, 2019). Publicly speaking is a capability that Elon Musk yet has to master.
Even though he has given multiple speeches for example for Tesla and SpaceX, he
is often criticized for his lack of intonation and variation when he speaks (Berman,
2021). Earlier this year, Musk announced on the comedy show Saturday Night Life,
that he was diagnosed with the Asperger’s syndrome, which is part of the autism
spectrum and affects his linguistic abilities (Berman, 2021). However, as this
diagnosis mostly affects the direct speech, he is able to easily convey his messages
through other, modern, means, such as Twitter or blog posts.
Linguistic intelligence is not the only trait needed by a successful businessman, but
leadership, which they both approach in a different way, is just as important.
Compared to Elon Musk, Gates has a rather traditional leadership style. He likes to
make sure that everything is under control and wants to know about everything that is
going on in his company (Zitelmann, 2020). Additionally, he is not shy to give
feedback and voice his concerns, sometimes even lashing out, for which he has been
criticized in the past (Zitelmann, 2020). Elon Musk, on the other hand, is using a
different approach to lead his companies. He stated that to apply for a job at Tesla,
people do not need any degree, but he would rather focus on the people themselves
when evaluating their job prospects, for example by looking for “evidence of
exceptional ability”, demonstrating high interpersonal intelligence (Matousek, 2020).
Another, rather surprising, type of intelligence that Elon Musk brings to the table is
musical skill. He has already produced and released two songs on his SoundCloud
account Emo G Records, one in 2019 and 2020 each, which since then have been
streamed hundreds of thousands of times (Kreps, 2019). While clearly started as a
joke, producing and performing a song shows musical intelligence, something Bill
Gates claims not to have. When he was young, he was encouraged by his mother to
play the trombone and take music lessons, even though he was not very good at it
(Guth, 2009). While being a good life lesson about perseverance, it shows that music
might not be Bill Gates’ forte.
Both, Gates and Musk, show their possession of different, important types of
intelligence through their innovations and behavior. However, compared to Gates,
Elon Musk demonstrates a bigger variety of these skills while being very future
oriented in all aspects. Bill Gates, while also trying to have a positive impact on the
future, often chooses a more traditional approach, thereby putting the attention of
many people rather on Musk than him. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how
the work of these two great businessmen will shape our future.
Works Cited
Berman, M. (2021, May 18). Elon Musk's Asperger's Syndrome. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from
Medpage Today: https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/celebritydiagnosis/92658
Gates, B. (2019, September 20). The day I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Retrieved
October 15, 2021, from GatesNotes: https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/The-day-Iknew-what-I-wanted-to-do-for-the-rest-of-my-life
Guth, R. A. (2009, April 25). Raising Bill Gates. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from The Wall Street
Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124061372413054653
Kreps, D. (2019, March 31). Hear Elon Musk’s Surprise Rap Song ‘RIP Harambe’. Retrieved October
15, 2021, from Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/elon-musk-rapsong-rip-harambe-815813/
Matousek, M. (2020, January 8). Elon Musk says you still don't need a college degree to work at
Tesla. Here's what he looks for in job applicants instead. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from
Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-no-college-degree-needed-towork-at-tesla-2019-12
Zitelmann, R. (2020, February 24). Bill Gates was an angry, difficult boss in early Microsoft days—
here’s why employees still liked him. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from CNBC make it:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/bill-gates-was-difficult-boss-in-early-microsoft-days-butemployees-still-liked-him.html