Be Hungry, Not Thirsty

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said, “One of the funnest things to do is just to go figure out where I go for dinner, and who I have dinner with… their stock price doubles the next day.” 

Imagine you lead a mid-sized tech company. Your PR department spends countless hours every week trying to make your company look like a winning enterprise, like a promising investment, like the future of the industry.

Articles. Pamphlets. Whitepapers. Social posts. Digital ads. Billboards. All day, every day. And it barely moves any needle anywhere. 

Then one evening, you reconnect for dinner with an old college friend who made it big. The next morning, your valuation is up 200%.

The needle did more than move; it leapt. 

Because the spiffy, airy, hyped PR pieces don’t send the “this is a great investment” signal; they send the “we’re trying really, really hard to send the ‘this is a great investment signal’” signal. 

But dinner with one of the most important CEOs alive today? That doesn’t seem like something you did to intentionally send a message. And that’s why it sends a message.

Signals that look like signals are bad signals. 

It’s why the guy who tries too hard to get the date never will. Trying too hard signals that you’re desperate. And desperation signals that you’ve made poor decisions that have left you in a sticky situation you’re trying to get out of. 

People want to invest in those who are hungry, not thirsty.