Extraordinary Success Needs Timing, Place, and People: Taiwan Between Two Innovation Powers

Exceptional personal ability alone is not enough for extraordinary success. Favorable timing, place, and people are also necessary. Elon Musk’s father is Errol Musk. Their personalities are extremely similar, yet Errol achieved little comparable distinction. The key lies in the opportunities and horizons an environment provides. Once, driving past a farm in South Africa, Errol saw a sign advertising an airplane for sale. He had little money but felt compelled to buy it. Using various tactics, he persuaded the farmer to exchange the plane for his car. Errol could not fly, so he hired a pilot to bring the aircraft home. Errol Musk was also audacious, creative, and willing to take risks. Yet he remained obscure throughout his life. Why? Timing, place, and people. He had the personal qualities: ability, courage, creativity, even enough craziness. But he lacked the right timing and place. He was not riding a wave of technological innovation or operating at the center of global innovation. Elon Musk started in Silicon Valley, moving from the internet to electric vehicles, AI and robotics, and space exploration. He happened to meet an era of continual technological innovation in the right place. #Dedao audio summary of 馬斯克邏輯 ---- Robin: ‘Taiwan has its own entrepreneurial environment. Seen one way, it plays a key role between the two largest innovation powers: the United States to its right, China to its left, Japan to the upper right, and Southeast Asia to the lower left. Taiwan occupies a critical area between those powers and is close to a rapidly rising emerging market. If you grew up in Taiwan and choose to start a business here, think about how to use this exceptional geographical environment and Taiwan’s resources.’