Professionals can get bogged down by a continuous stream of emails, notifications, and meetings. But investing icon Kevin O’Leary says late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs taught him a simple formula to make the most of his days: focusing on what actually matters and drowning out the chaos.
“During the day, you only need to get three things done,” O’Leary recently said on the Build or Break podcast with Daniel Lubetzky. “They’re important each day—not the big vision. Just three things done. You have to do those first. Anything that stops you from getting the three things done is noise.”
O’Leary says the best of the best in business share one quality in common. They can tune out the “noise” of their personal lives—like watercooler small talk, or phone calls from aunts—and hone in on the “signal” of what actually needs to get done straight away. Mr. Wonderful says his former business partner Jobs had the perfect signal-to-noise ratio of 80:20. It may have made him “extremely difficult to work with,” O’Leary explains, but points to what he’s accomplished with a “tough” and “brutal” leadership style.
Other entrepreneurs can muffle the static of life and zero in on what actually matters. The 72-year-old Canadian businessman also says he’s seen Elon Musk’s intense “signal” personality up close at entrepreneur Mark Burnett’s Shark Tank Christmas parties. O’Leary recounted that if the Tesla founder didn’t find value in a conversation, he would simply walk away from the group. It might be a faux pas in the grand scheme of social norms, but it plays out well in the world of business. O’Leary knows the mindset all too well; the successful investor is known both for his brutal honesty and financial wins.
