Elon Musk’s 6 Rules For Productivity… Allegedly
After seeing a post on Linked by Mehdi Soodi (Business Development @ Laser Bond in Sydney, Australia), on the (allegedly) leaked email from Elon Musk to his staff at Tesla on his 6 rules for productivity. Regardless of true or not, I thought it would be good to look at (supposedly) Elon Musk’s 6 Rules For Productivity.
6 Rules For Productivity
1) Avoid large meetings
Large meetings waste valuable time and energy.
- They discourage debate
- People are more guarded than open
- There’s not enough time for everyone to contribute
Don’t schedule large meetings unless you’re certain they provide value to everyone.
I think we can all agree that we have all been situe to being involved in (or calling for) a meeting that was either absolutely uneccessary or involved people it didn’t need to attend.
Speed is key and the corporate world is bloody hectic – especially the higher up the food chain the company (and employees) go.
I have found that companies that tend to hold uneccessary meetings (or invite people uneccessarily) are run by (or at least those departments) either inexperienced leaders and/or micromanagers.
Through my group of companies, I am building everything up with a decentralised management that encourages leadership at every level. I F’ing detest micromanagers (and yes, I have certainly been guilty of it in the past).
A bit of a sidenote: As I build up MarGen Group, one of the things that I have thought about incorporating in brainstorming sessions is skipping whilst meeting. I know this wouldn’t work for all meetings, but would certainly have it’s place to increase creativity, reduce stress, strengthen bonds between members and boost moral.
2) Leave a meeting if you’re not contributing
If a meeting doesn’t require your:
- Input
- Value
- Decisions
Your presence is useless.
It’s not rude to leave a meeting.
But it’s rude to waste people’s time.
I love this as it demands accountability from the team whilst showing respect for one anothers time.
It is rude to waste people’s time.
Yes, OK, I understand that some people would find this rude to just get up and walk out. But openess should be encouraged and by sitting there, knowing you shouldn’t really be there, but stay simply because you do not want to draw attention is, let’s be real… more disrepectful towards yourself as well as the rest of the team.
Encouraging openess and honest dialogue, feedback and action between your team generates a thriving and exciting environment to be in.
The truth isn’t always easy to accept. But by being truthful, you tend to live a more prosperous and exciting life – so why not encourage this within your teams.
3) Forget the chain of command
Communicate with colleagues directly.
Not through supervisors or managers.
Fast communicators make fast decisions.
Fast decisions = competitive advantage.
Probably one of my favourites within this list for multiple reasons.
First up, if you employ someone it should be because you respect and value their input and ability. Why the hell should their voice not be welcome at all levels?
It also removes (or at least discourages) the ability for anyone to call ranks simply out of ego or lack of self awareness.
I also think that this in some way reduces the internal ratio of the Pareto principle, although I have no real evidenece to back this up… it’s just a hunch.
4) Be clear, not clever
Avoid nonsense words and technical jargon.
It slows down communication.
Choose words that are:
- Concise
- To the point
- Easy to understand
Don’t sound smart. Be efficient.
How many of you have been listening to a collegue, they say something and you sit and cringe knowing that what they have just blurted out, is utter nonsence in an attempt to sound smart?
Honestly, how many of you have done that yourselves?
I know I have and looking back I fucking cringe.
It’s a insecurity showing itself sometimes. Others times it’s incapable people trying to impress management.
At least the insecurities can be worked on.
The insidious people… they simply need to go.
The best type of people you want on your side in your business are the ones that are upfront when they haven’t got a clue. That level of self awareness and honesty is what builds really strong teams. Those that don’t know, and have an obsession to find the either either through research or from others within the organisaton.
No one knows all the answers.
It’s only those with strong traits of narcicism that pretend they do.
Being concise in your words is not only a superpower in business, but in life in general.
5) Ditch frequent meetings
There’s no better way to waste everyone’s time.
Use meetings to:
- Collaborate
- Attack issues head-on
- Solve urgent problems
But once you resolve the issue, frequent meetings are no longer necessary.
You can resolve most issues without a meeting.
Instead of meetings:
- Send a text
- Send an email
- Communicate on discord or slack channel
Don’t interrupt your team’s workflow if it’s unnecessary.
This goes on from what I pointed out in the first of this list.
If you do not need to attend, don’t.
If you don’t need a meeting for a specific and necessary reason, stop wasting everyones time and show some respect.
That being said, there are times when meetings should be called but aren’t – generally due to lack of confidence in their position or abilities.
But that is a different article entirely.
However, as a general rule…
6) Use common sense
If a company rule doesn’t:
- Make sense
- Contribute to progress
- Apply to your specific situation
Avoid following the rule with your eyes closed.
Don’t follow rules. Follow principles.
Like I mentioned before, I want to develop leaders at every level of my group and their divisions.
Leaders are the ones that make you question truly and develop growth at every level of the business.
You do not wan’t people to not speak up… you should encourage it as this is how new developements are made and progress is injected from the core.
It takes both balls and overies to speak up and step up and that is what you want.
Encourage it.
Instill it.
Demand it!
Be sure to check out the original post on LinkedIn
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