Everyone has been talking about the new Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk.
And there are definitely some fabulous stories about Musk in the book.
But I think he’s also got some really strong business leadership ideas worth trying out too.
One is known as ‘The Algorithm’.
The Algorithm is the 5 principles that Musk, not only, personally uses to run his multiple high-growth companies. It’s also what he endlessly tells his leadership team to follow.
As he puts it, “I became a broken record on the algorithm, but I think it’s helpful to say it to an annoying degree.”
So what are Elon’s 5 most important business commandments?
1. Question every requirement.
Do you really need to do this many employees to get the job done?
Does the project really have to take 3 months to complete, or could you do it sooner?
2. Delete any part or process you can.
Most procedures and methods are too complex. Strip everything down that you can.
This will almost always make it cheaper, quicker and easier to get done.
3. Simplify and optimize.
The parts that remain should also be made as simple as possible. Then once you have achieved that, look at ways to make each part of the business process as excellent as it can be.
4. Accelerate cycle time.
Almost every part of a business can be done faster.
Examine everything, looking for quicker ways to get it done.
5. Automate.
We are not just talking about automating factories like Musk famously did with his Tesla ‘giga factories’
We’re also thinking about which events occur in your company repeatedly, and are there ways to automate many of these processes?
These are Musk’s 5 business commandments.
Simple to say, but very demanding to actually do.
Which one of these could you activate in your company this week?
