elonology.com

Tag: How to Be More Innovative

  • Keep It Simple

    “[Simplicity] is our mantra because it gets you both reliability and low cost.” (Discover magazine)

    Simplicity amplifies efficiency.

    Keep it simple, because simplicity and efficiency are powerful.

    Punchy statements like:

    Tight is right, long is wrong (For time expectations).

    Or all input is error (for Tesla) are two examples of simplicity at work.

    And my favorite: The best part is no part: It weighs nothing, costs nothing, can’t go wrong.

    Think how these statements can apply to your life and work to help you get more done.

    Good luck!

  • Think Multiple Steps Ahead

    Think Multiple Steps Ahead

    How to Outthink and Outmaneuver the Competition like Elon Musk.

    Elon wins by being ahead of the game and controlling the game by thinking at least one move ahead of the competition.

    The intuitive way to think is to deal with the immediate reality around us and react directly.  To win like Elon you need to apply grandmaster chess level thinking.  Elon has contempt for Chess, because there is no fog of war in Chess he says.  

    Elon plays the game of life in hell mode, hence his devilish profile pic which he kept for many months.  Elon is not afraid of the smoke, just ask Joe Rogan and the weed and whisky he drank on his show.

    If you are living life in easy mode or even normal mode you will lose versus the person battling their way through hell on a daily basis.

    The point is not simply to say what you think.  But to think about what people will think about what you say and craft your statements accordingly.

  • Maintain a Startup Mindset

    Maintain a Startup Mindset

    On the Lex Fridman podcast episode 333 Lex interviewed the former Director of AI at Tesla Andrej Karpathy, who had the opportunity to work with Elon Musk, and is currently working on AGI.  (AGI is a hypothetical intelligent agent which can learn to replicate any intellectual task that human beings or other animals can.) 

    Lex asked: “What did you learn from working with Elon Musk?”

    Andrej replied: I think the most I’ve learned is about how to sort of run organizations efficiently and how to create efficient organizations and how to fight entropy in an organization. (Entropy means gradual decline into disorder.)

    He basically runs the world’s biggest startups. I would say Tesla and SpaceX are the world’s biggest startups.

    Tesla is actually multiple startups. I think it’s better to look at it that way… 

    The Tesla tech tree is an awesome example of this.

    In the interview with Lex, Andrej continues:

    He has a very good intuition for streamline processes, making everything efficient. Best part is no part simplifying focusing and removing barriers moving very quickly, making big moves all this is very startup, but at scale.

    Cybertruck is an example of bold Startup thinking since it breaks the mold of a traditional truck.

    “Disruptive technology where you really have a big technology discontinuity…tends to come from new companies.” ~Elon Musk

    The Startup ethos Elon cultivates is especially evident at SpaceX.  Because SpaceX is still owned in majority privately Elon has the freedom to move rapidly and implement innovations without answering to investors.

    Elon retains majority control of SpaceX and because of this he can tweet whatever he wants about SpaceX.  By staying private Elon is able to steer SpaceX in whatever direction he chooses.

    Elon’s majority control of SpaceX helps ensure the rapid roll out of new technology.  

    Hopefully Elon never loses majority ownership of SpaceX because he is clearly steering SpaceX rockets towards greatness and his accomplishments so far are nothing short of fantastic.

    The problem with taking a company public is how investors tend to be solely concerned about ROI and quarterly shareholder meetings.  And this might create conflict with SpaceX since SpaceX is optimizing to make human life multi-planetary rather than optimizing for maximum profitability.  However interplanetary transit will certainly be big business one day if it can be achieved.

    This is why Elon intends to IPO Starlink the Internet company, not SpaceX the rocket company.

  • Speed, Engineering and Passion

    Speed, Engineering and Passion

    Three Pillars Driving Tesla’s Success

    Speed, Engineering and Passion are the three key areas former Tesla Supercharger UX employee Michael Rihani suggests were key to Tesla’s success, which empowered the company to rapidly iterate innovations and evolve.

    The best insights from his tweet storm after leaving Tesla he said:

    1. Speed

    Tesla’s #1 differentiated advantage is its incredible speed. Plaid mode, for sure. The speed is uncomfortable at first, but employees quickly get comfortable with it.

    2. Engineering

    Tesla is the #1 place undergraduate engineering students want to work. Why?

    Because we stand around a circle table, throw a difficult engineering problem on that table, and everyone — from the SVP, to product, to engineers, to interns — look at that problem, rollup up their sleeves, and immediately dive into solving it, together.

    No hesitation. No politics. Tesla is one of the most collaborative places I’ve ever seen.

    Furthermore, Tesla has some of the nicest and smartest engineers he says he’s ever worked with.

    3. Passion

    It doesn’t feel like work when you’re surrounded by stunning colleagues who are aligned to a north star mission – like accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy. 

    Speed, Engineering and Passion: Apply them to the culture of your company for a positive outcome.everyone — from the SVP, to product, to engineers, to interns — look at that problem, rollup up their sleeves, and immediately dive into solving it, together.

    No hesitation. No politics. Tesla is one of the most collaborative places I’ve ever seen.

    Furthermore, Tesla has some of the nicest and smartest engineers he says he’s ever worked with.

    3. Passion

    It doesn’t feel like work when you’re surrounded by stunning colleagues who are aligned to a north star mission – like accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy. 

    Speed, Engineering and Passion:

    Apply them to the culture of your company for a positive outcome.

  • Elon Musk’s 5-Step Algorithm: The Secret to Production Success

    Elon Musk’s 5-Step Algorithm: The Secret to Production Success

    Elon Musk’s Memorable Edge: Turn Complexity into Simple, Timeless Rules

    The more memorable your management style the more enduring it will be…

    And Elons management style is timeless.

    He recently tweeted “Time is the ultimate currency” and the truth he tweeted is enduring…

    As is his 2025 tweet about energy.

    This coming from the man who said (Jan 15th on Twitter) “The thing we call money is just an information system for labor allocation.”

    In our increasingly distracted world memorability is key.

    So if you can distill your management ethos into rhymes you should do so…

    “If it’s long it’s wrong, if it’s tight it’s right.” as Elon would say…

    Another effective way of managing is to distill your management strategies into a list…

    On a SpaceX tour with Everyday Astronaut (Tim Dodd) Elon shared a five part process for production success:

    1. Make your requirements less dumb
    2. Delete the part or process
    3. Simplify or optimize
    4. Accelerate cycle time
    5. Automate

    The supreme strategy seems to be: Simplify.

    Words are simply suppressed simplifications of reality after all…

    So leverage the memorability of your words using lists and rhymes if you are seeking to help yourself and your team make the most of your time.

  • Make People Wait (Timing is Everything)

    Make People Wait (Timing is Everything)

    The Power of Strategic Delays

    Elon is notorious for running late.

    When he was a kid his brother Kimbal would tell him the actual time was ahead of time so Elon would make it to the bus on time for school.

    These days Elon claims to still have a problem with punctuality but people are definitely willing to wait.

    Waiting builds anticipation…

    The Tesla Plaid event was one of many great examples of this.  Rather than launching exactly on time the June 2021 event was scheduled for…

    It started 21 minutes late.

    The Tesla 2021 Q2 earning call (which blew everyone away with Tesla netting over a billion in profit) started a few minutes late as well.

    The reason for these delays I believe is a strategic one.

    Elon has said “Timing is everything” in the past and he certainly is not ignorant of the importance of time.

    A smart sales strategy is to spend as much time with your prospect as possible.

    Long form webinars often have a superior conversion rate to short webinars for high priced products, for example.

    This is because people value their time and when more time is invested there is more pressure for people to take action so they can realize a positive ROI for their time spent.

    Another example of this is the “sideways sales letter” product launch formula pioneered by Jeff Walker.

    This formula has produced over a billion in launches and leverages anticipation built by a series of videos over a week or so launch sequence to maximize profit on launch day.

    Make people wait and – so long as you don’t piss them off and make them leave – you get more power in the situation.

    Anticipation amplifies enjoyment when the product/service waited for finally comes through.

    How Musk’s Timing Works

    • Timeboxing/Time-Blocking: He divides his day into tiny, fixed blocks (often 5 minutes) for specific tasks (engineering, emails, family).
    • Task Batching: Grouping similar tasks together to handle them efficiently.
    • Prioritization: Focusing on core engineering and manufacturing problems, spending most time there.
    • Eliminating Decisions: Pre-planning prevents wasting time deciding what to do next. 

    The Core Philosophy

    • Work Expands to Fill Time: He uses strict blocks to prevent tasks from taking longer than they should (Parkinson’s Law).
    • Feedback Loops: He constantly refines his schedule using feedback to improve efficiency.
  • Have a Sense of Urgency

    Have a Sense of Urgency

    Elon Musk on Urgency: Why Slow and Steady Loses the Race

    The saying “Patience is a virtue” is more harmful than it is beneficial in many situations.

    Urgency is often more of a virtue than patience.

    Without a sense of urgency important tasks will be patiently deferred indefinitely.

    Elon is a man who fully grasps the necessity of urgency for accelerating important advancements.

    Elon’s sense of urgency permeates many of his actions.

    Elon even eats fast and has said “If there was a way that I could not eat, so I could work more, I would not eat. I wish there was a way to get nutrients without sitting down for a meal.”

    Apparently when Elon goes to the washroom he even uses the urinal urgently. 

    Efficiency is an element of everything Elon does.

    elon-musk-driving-fast

    In a business context Elon’s sense of urgency manifests itself through the aggressive timelines he sets.  This is especially brilliant.  Aggressive timelines necessitate innovative thinking and an aggressive work ethic.

    The timelines Elon sets are aggressive to the point of borderline unrealistic.  He said his unrealistic expectations are a result of his optimism and it seems like they help his teams get more done in less time.  

    Elon and Tesla do occasionally end up pushing back timelines, but if you zoom out and look at what Tesla has accomplished in the past two decades it’s obvious the urgent timeline strategy is beneficial.

    Even if Tesla and SpaceX companies’ projects are late, they almost accomplish what they set out to do, and are making great progress over time.

    “I kind of say when I think it can occur, but then I’m typically optimistic about these things…It pretty much always happens, but not exactly on the timeframe.“

    Urgency is certainly an asset when it helps expedite positive results.

    Slow and steady will lose the race to urgent and steady every time.

  • Always Be Pushing The Limit

    Always Be Pushing The Limit

    Pushing the Limits: Elon Musk’s Drive to Expand Humanity’s Future

    At the World Government Summit Elon was asked “You always seem to be pushing the human limit.  You are always pushing the human limit.  Why?”

    Elon replied: “I think about what technology solution is required to achieve a particular goal.  And then try to make as much progress as possible in that direction as possible…

    Being a multi-planet species and being out there among the stars is important for the long term survival of humanity. 

    That’s one reason.  Kind of like a life insurance policy for life collectively, life as we know it…

    The part that I find personally the most motivating is that it creates a sense of adventure.  And it makes people excited about the future…

    And if you consider two futures:

    One where we are forever confined to Earth until eventually something terrible happens.  

    Or another future where we are out there on many planets maybe going beyond the solar system. I think that second version is incredibly exciting and inspiring.

    And there needs to be a reason to get up in the morning.  Life can’t just be about solving problems.  Otherwise, what’s the point?

    There’s got to be things that people find inspiring and make life worth living.”

    Elon is accelerating the rate at which humanity is exploring space and that is nothing short of amazing.

  • Be Willing to Change Your Mind

    Be Willing to Change Your Mind

    Being willing to change your mind when new information is presented is a sign of a strong mind.

    Stubbornly clinging to an idea that starts to appear inferior is a strategy that will start to render diminishing results.

    When it comes to changing his mind two examples from Elon come to mind.

    First is the old idea Tesla had of swapping out battery packs, for a faster charging experience.  At one point Tesla was going in this direction, but they decided to abandon it as faster charging solutions have emerged.

    Another more recent example is when Elon released a song about NFT’s as an NFT.

    As you can see in the tweet above, Elon changed his mind.

    Turns out NFT’s like the bored ape yacht club lost a ton of value. Elon was on point with under valuing NFT’s. They lack the intrinsic value and can be copied too easily in my opinion. They have lost around ~10X or more of their value since their peak.

    Changing your mind might seem counterintuitive to other advice Elon gives, namely his praise for persistence.

    Elon clarifies: “Yeah I think absolutely persistence is extremely important.  You should not give up unless you’re forced to give up.

    That principle can be misapplied if you happen to be trying to penetrate a brick wall with your head, you know, so you need to be cautious in always saying one should always persist and never give up because there are actually times when you should give up because you’re doing something in error.”

    So the lesson of this segment is: Don’t be afraid to change your mind if the path you are on proves to be unpowerful.

    Changing your mind when presented with more new information simply makes sense.  Remaining unphased by new information is a sign of ignorance.

    Don’t let others try to paint your ability to upgrade or change your decisions as a weakness.  Because it is a strength.

  • Strive for Perfection

    Only by striving for perfection can you hope to come close to achieving it.

    Elon is constantly striving for perfection with his companies.

    At STCP Future Fest he said:

    “Aspirationally, we’re in pursuit of the platonic ideal of the perfect car.  Who knows what that looks like actually, but you want to try to make every element of the car as flawless as possible…

    There will always be some degree of imperfection, but we try to minimize that and create a car that is just     delightful in every way.”

    Perfection might be an impossible ideal but by striving for it you can get closer to achieving the idea.