Elon Musk’s 6 rules for productivity show a separation between military and civilian workplaces

No matter how you feel about Elon Musk, he can not deny that he is one of America’s most visionary business leaders. He transformed the electric car into a product that consumers actually wanted to buy and in the process transformed Tesla into one of the world’s most valuable businesses.

Musk may not like conventions, but some are universal. The one is productivity.

In a 2018 email leaked to the public, the Tesla CEO set out six recommendations for its employees to make the most of their time.

Members of the military will quickly realize that their units take little of his recommendations.

While this is not yet the end of the world (and probably no surprise), those who have spent their entire lives in the service can take a breather, especially since they have the world’s most powerful army. go over.

Judging by Musk’s email, the military and civilian worlds are light years apart, and this is something veterans entering the civilian workforce should be prepared for. Even Musk’s other company SpaceX is unlikely to bridge this gap anytime soon.

1. No large meetings

Sometimes the military requires a general meeting or some other kind of all-call. Unlike many large companies, military units deal with life or death situations, which is actually a good reason to hold a large meeting. If it’s not that serious, Musk says, you should not have it.

“Excessive meetings are the shock of big companies and almost always get worse over time,” he wrote. “Please get [rid] of all major meetings, unless you’re sure it’s providing value to the entire audience. ‘

No long meetings

The military also has well-intentioned short meetings. If Musk learns what a stand-up meeting is, he will probably apply the practice of not being able to sit across from his companies. In the case of large meetings with an important message, he believes it should be very short. And they should definitely not be frequent and write:

“Also get rid of regular meetings, unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter. The meeting frequency should drop rapidly once the urgent matter is resolved.”

3. Do not be afraid to go

The idea of ​​leaving a meeting convened by a senior officer or non-commissioned officer is an anathema to everything we know about the military. Try to leave when your squadron commander talks to the unit and tell me how it’s (do not actually do it). But Musk is just fine with that, especially if the rest of the meeting does not concern you.

“Run out of a meeting or call a call as soon as it is clear that you are not adding any value,” he wrote. “It’s not rude to leave; it’s rude to let someone stay and waste their time.”

4. Do not use acronyms

If the military implements this policy, its entire world could come to a screeching halt. Acronyms in the military are not only part of a long cultural tradition, but also help to facilitate communication. Would you rather say: “Lift and evacuation system for heavy equipment, repair or evacuation” or “HERCULES.” My guess is that Musk might give the military a pass – but not Tesla.

For his business, he believes fashion words and acronyms are an obstacle.

“Do not use acronyms or nonsense for objects, software or processes at Tesla,” reads the email. “In general, anything that requires a statement impedes communication. We do not want people to memorize a glossary just to function at Tesla.”

5. Communication is not subject to command chain

Somewhere an U-4’s head just exploded by reading it. Unlike some companies, part of the U.S. military’s functionality depends on handling situations at the lowest level of the commando chain, so that the general does not have to sweat the battlefield tactics or be tempted to bring field officers closer to the action. to dominate. It works for the military, but Musk does not believe it works for Tesla.

Communicating for him is just a giant ‘Phone’ game.

“Communication should move across the shortest path needed to do the job, not through the commando chain,” Musk writes. “Any manager trying to force the chain of command communications will soon be working elsewhere.”

6. Use Common Sense.

In the military, we want to think that everything we do or do is designed with common sense. But any veteran will tell you that common sense is not common and that the phrase “Charlie Foxtrot” exists for a reason. Musk agrees.

“If a ‘company rule’ in a particular situation is extremely ridiculous, it’s a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule needs to change,” he wrote.

Any veterans who have learned some of their own productivity rules in the service should send them to Blake Stilwell at [email protected]. Or on Twitter @blakestilwell and on Facebook.

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