Larry Ellison. Jack Welch. Bill Gates. Donald Trump. Steve Jobs. Michael Jordan. What do all of these men have in common? Two things: First, they are known as some of the greatest people of their generation. They are not known as people who were just good at what they did or someone who was just better than average. They are all seen as "game-changers."- individuals whose presence on our planet changed the world as we view it today. The second thing that all of these people share is that anyone who has really known them or been in a room and saw them interact with others would probably classify them as EXTREMELY arrogant. Larry Ellison is famously known by the joke "What's the difference between God and Larry Ellison? God doesn't think he's Larry Ellison." Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were infamous for the meetings in which they would flat out call a person's idea stupid and challenge them on the very basis of their ability to think. And there are numerous stories of the quality of arrogance exemplified by Welch, Trump, and Jordan. While some people would argue that arrogance is a bad trait that alienates you from others and makes people dislike you, I would disagree. I believe that true arrogance is the one thing that truly made these men great, and if you are able to embrace it, you can be as well. There are several reasons for this.
I. ARROGANCE MAKES YOU TAKE MORE RISK
Individuals who are arrogant often will walk into a room and give off a presence that most people can literally feel. They have a sense of confidence about them that most people don't have. This confidence allow them to impose their will on others and not be afraid to speak their mind in whatever situation. Arrogance is the ultimate form of confidence in the sense that you will truly not care what others think about you because you will know in your heart that you ideas are better than theirs. And while you may not win out all the time, it's this feeling that will allow you to continue to speak up and offer your opinion on important items within your business or life. Having a sense of confidence in in all situations will allow you to put your neck out there and try different things even though you are not sure you will be good at it. Because you are confident in your ability and your arrogance will not allow you to NOT try it, you step up and make an attempt at it. Therefore, arrogant people as a whole take more risk, and, ultimately, the people who are willing to take more risks are the ones who have more successes in life.
II. BEING ARROGANT OFTEN CREATES A SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
Arrogant people generally believe they are good or can be good at almost anything. Look at how Michael Jordan thought he could play PROFESSIONAL baseball after not having played it for 14 years. How else would you describe it, other than ultimate arrogance, for Michael Jordan to set a goal to be a professional baseball player? He didn't just want to play double AA or triple AAA. His ultimate goal was to do, in a short time, what others have worked their entire lives to do. Even though Michael didn't achieve his goal, his sense of arrogance in his ability to do so led him on a path to have the opportunity to do it. What occurs when individuals are arrogant and believe they are good, or can be good at something, is that they attack it with a fervor that allows them to consistently practice and hone the skills needed to be successful at the endeavor. For example, when individuals feel they are good at coaching and motivating people, they seek out more opportunities to do so and speak with a sense of confidence when they are speaking to others that generally makes the person receiving the advice accept it better. The arrogant person may not be better than anyone else when they start trying to coach others, but because they believe they are and seek out more opportunities to do so, they get better with time than someone who is not as confident and shies away from every opportunity to do so.
III.BEING ARROGANT WILL MAKE IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DOUBT YOURSELF
This last reason is the true difference between being merely confident and being arrogant. Confident people can all exhibit the behaviors of an arrogant person and have the same success over time, but the difference between a confident person and an arrogant person is that when things do not work out as the arrogant person thought they would, they do not EVER lose confidence in their abilities. Individuals who are just confident can lose this confidence when things don't turn out their way and events begin to spiral in a negative manner. Arrogant people will still learn from their mistakes and understand what they could've done better, but they will still feel proud of their efforts and attack their next endeavors with the same fierce confidence that they attacked everything before. How else do you think Donald Trump was able to come back better than ever after for filling bankruptcy twice? How about how Steve Jobs took over the helm of Apple after being kicked out 10 years prior? It is because of their ultimate arrogance in themselves that they never doubt themselves and continue to impose their beliefs and will on others because they ultimately believe they know best.
Arrogance. I think it has gotten a bad rap for some time now. It is one of the most secret traits of the "game changers" of our world that people often overlook. However, let me be clear: All of these individuals were arrogant because they had a reason to be. Larry Ellison worked extremely hard to develop his database development skills to create Oracle. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates put in hours upon hours of work to have the intellectual aptitude to found and run their word-changing companies. And we all know about the hard work that Michael Jordan put in day in and day out to become the greatest basketball of all time. Arrogance without the work is without merit and WILL make you a jerk. But if you are willing to put in the work, arrogance will take from just being good and successful at your job (confidence will do this) to being absolutely great.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech. You can follow his daily quotes of inspiration and motivation on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN
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