Apple boss Steve Jobs had a habit of asking the same question every day for what he thought was a very important reason.
Jobs had all sorts of tests and tricks he'd use on his employees, and because he was such a success, people have reckoned there must be something to what he was doing.
Of course, there are those who knew him who don't have particularly glowing things to say about his behaviour, but when you turn Apple into a tech giant, people will look for methods they can emulate in the hopes of similar success.
One of his most famous ploys was the 'beer test' he'd deploy when interviewing people at Apple, where he'd offer to take them out for a beer and see how they behaved in a more relaxed setting.
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He felt he could ask prospective employees deeper questions and get more honest answers so that he could get a better read on them as people.
Something else he did every day was ask Apple's chief design officer, Jony Ive: "How many times did you say no today?"
Ive explained that Jobs wasn't asking for a literal number but instead wanted to keep his top designer focused and felt that the more he said 'no', the more on target he'd stay, turning down lots of opportunities even if they sounded amazing to stick with the task at hand.
Apparently, it worked in Jobs' eyes because he once described Ive as 'the most focused human being I've come across', though Ive reckoned the Apple co-founder was even more focused than he was.
"The discipline to turn your back on something you believe in passionately so you can apply yourself to what's at hand is really remarkable," Ive explained of the reason why Jobs would ask him the same question every day.
"It's a deeply uncomfortable but really effective thing to do. It's more than a practice, it's more than a habit... it's a really wonderful ability."
Jobs wasn't the only business figure to have a strong belief in the power of saying 'no'.
Famous investor Warren Buffett also believed in turning down opportunities which didn't benefit you or what you were doing, since you only had a little bit of time to make it count.
He explained: "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything."
So there you have it, folks, if you want to get more focused in your life and succeed at the things you wish to succeed at, then apparently you should learn to say no to things that aren't going to benefit your goals.
Topics: Steve Jobs, Apple, Technology, Business
Joe Harker