If you have good intuition on what the needs of the people are, even on things that do not exist yet, you can design your product or service accordly. You could also choose the right people for the job.
People like Steve Jobs or Elon are great at understanding markets. i.e Steve knew that people would be using their smartphones on they pockets and that having scratch resistant screens was essential while the rest didn't care. I had a PocketPC and TabletPC and Microsoft cared so much and invested billions in things that few people care while being against most user real needs.
They are visionaries that have to imagine a future that does not exist yet. The kind of people that can do that, like Elon or Sam usually can see the future as real as it already exist and can be overoptimistic as for them it is obvious that something is going to happen as for them the future is as real as the present.
Elon saved Tesla from bankruptcy choosing a pathway to mass fabrication of EVs. The original Tesla vision was exclusivity and using Lotus car frames.
What separates Elon for everybody else is that he risks his own money on what he believes in, not someone else's like Sam. He is a risk taker like nobody. This is what I hear from people that know him personally.