Joy’s law, attributed to Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, is this: “No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.” The short version is more elegant: “Innovation occurs elsewhere.”
There are great people making great stuff all over the world. Most of them don’t work for you. Joy’s Law is a lesson about expecting fiercely talented, fast-moving competition.
Joy’s Law is equally powerful as a lesson about collaboration. Because ‘Innovation Occurs Elsewhere’ also means that innovation occurs outside of your head. It means that someone else’s thinking may be just what you need to address the thorny problem that is holding your whole company back. That someone else may be sitting in the next office. How will you know she’s the key to a brilliant solution if you don’t discuss the problem with her?
J.J. Abrams is another person who has done rather well in life making things. On the Nerdist podcast last year he said one of his core creative principles is: “Be open to the better idea.”
Not only is it powerful to collaborate, it’s real jujitsu to allow your approach to be altered when you collaborate with and really listen to someone else’s contribution.
Bottom line, whatever your professional goals, you can’t achieve them alone. Being a great communicator helps you collaborate, helps you identify problems, and helps you find unexpected great solutions. Communicating helps you create great things!
Communication is the essential last mile in finding and motivating the right teams, acquiring strong allies, powerfully bonding with customers, and capturing mindshare with compelling stories. Nothing will serve you and your vision better than developing exceptional communication skills.
