Like Elon Musk: Leaked email reveals simple working rules for Tesla CEO, “Go out of the meeting…”
James Watt, co-founder of global beer company Brewdog, recently shared an article about LinkedIn highlighting how Elon Musk’s productivity rules helped him build a billion-dollar business.
Watt mentioned a leaked email from Elon Musk to Tesla employees, where tech billionaires outline key principles for improving productivity. Watt said the rules are surprisingly similar to those that the brewery has practiced.
One of Musk’s views is to keep the meeting short-term. He called “over-conference” a major problem for large companies. Watt said the brewery followed a similar idea. Meetings are limited to 30 minutes at most, and many meetings last only five minutes.
He added: “If you book an hour, it’s better to have a good reason.”
The Tesla CEO also advises leaving the meeting if it is no longer useful: “Once you don’t add value, you leave the meeting or make a phone call. It’s impolite to leave, and it’s impolite to let someone stay and waste time.”
“Don’t waste time,” Watt told his staff. “If the conversation is useless, get up and leave. Within zero.”
The richest people in the world also encourage direct communication and skip unnecessary steps in the chain of command. Brewdog applied this feature in 2020 by reducing hierarchy.
“If the brewers need my stuff, they don’t need the permission of the three managers to ask,” Watt explained.
The ultimate rule is the process of using common sense and eliminating stupidity or obsoleteness. Watt said breweries prohibit unnecessary rules. If something doesn’t support their primary goal, it’s cut off.
Watt pointed out that in 2018, Tesla’s revenue was $21.4 billion. By 2023, it has grown to $97.6 billion. According to him, whether people appreciate Elon Musk or not, there is no denying his ability to grow the company quickly.
Brewdog’s story is also impressive. It started as a small business in Scotland and became a global beer brand worth over a billion dollars. Watt believes Musk’s idea played a role in this success, as the brewery followed a similar approach very early on.
His advice to other companies ends the post: Check out Elon Musk’s email and ask what you can remove from your company culture. “…most of the processes you think are important actually get in the way you expand – not assisting it.”
Netizens’ reactions
One LinkedIn user responded: “I used to have trouble with IBM because they didn’t follow the process. Interestingly, Ginni Rommety, the then CEO, had the same opinion, but every IBMer followed the process. I guess it was an inertia of an old process-driven organization.”
“It’s a good reminder that being busy doesn’t mean being productive. The key is cutting unnecessary things and focusing on the factors that actually move the needle,” another responded.
