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Areeba Farooq
Areeba Farooq

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Elon Musk 6 rules for productivity.

[Reportedly] Elon Musk sent an email to the staff at Tesla with his 6 rules for productivity. Unsurprisingly, it leaked.

Here they are:

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.


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.


3) Forget the chain of command

  • Communicate with colleagues directly.
  • Not through supervisors or managers.
  • Fast communicators make fast decisions.
  • Fast decisions = competitive advantage.

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.


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 a discord or slack channel.

Don’t interrupt your team’s workflow if it’s unnecessary.


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.

CREDIT: SALMAN LAKHANI

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