Vinod Khosla: What Do You Believe?

Vinod Khosla – Follow Your Belief

Billionaire businessman Vinod Khosla talks about the importance of having a strong belief system, and of following your compass no matter what others may expect or think.

Transcript:

“Ninety percent of you will do what’s expected of you, as opposed to what you want to do. Since one of the focuses of this lecture is leadership, I am amazed at how few people have a belief system. What do they actually believe in?

“Apple did language for 10, 15 years. Then Steve Jobs came in with a point of view, and created the most valuable company in the world. He did irrational things. If you go back to January 1, 2007, everybody was saying, ‘Nobody wants a phone without a keyboard. Nobody wants a phone that costs $699.’ I can go on with the litany.

“That’s leadership … having a belief system, knowing what’s driving you to do what you do, not you fitting in to do career enhancement … or making it look good to somebody else. Whether it’s to your friends, or to your boss, or to shareholders.

“Have a belief system, follow that compass. If I can convert one of you to follow your belief, and have the guts to follow your belief, I’ll think of the hour as well spent.“