The eternal dreamer who is not interested in money: what is the secret of Elon Musk's success

[Carding Forum]

Today, a bright innovator of our time celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Implanting a chip into the brain to connect it to a computer, organize a settlement on Mars that does not obey Earth's laws, launch a high-speed train capable of covering 600 km in 30 minutes ... Behind these futuristic ideas, it is hard not to recognize the brightest eccentric of our time, Elon Musk. On June 28, he turns 50. For half a century, the restless Musk made many technical breakthroughs and, by the way, entered the top of the richest people in the world.

The boy who was addicted to games​

Musk was born on June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, the son of a model and an engineer. The couple divorced when Ilona was ten. Around this period, he began to get involved in computers. The boy grew up withdrawn and his closest friends were books. As a child, Ilon experienced bullying from peers, until at 15 he began to attend karate classes.

In 1992, Musk moved to the States to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. After completing his bachelor's degree, the young man moved to Stanford University in California. It was then that the Internet boom began and Musk's childhood fascination with computers returned. Therefore, he left Stanford and in 1995, together with his brother, founded his first company, the Zip2 Corporation. She specialized in developing newspaper software that allowed news to be posted on the web. In 1999, the brothers used money from the sale of Zip2 to found X.com, an online payment service company.

Musk planned to create a kind of platform that would send payments via the Internet for a small percentage. X.com soon merged with startup Confinity to form what is now known around the world as PayPal. The sale of a stake in it brought Musk the first billion, or rather one and a half billion (now Elon Musk's fortune is about $ 150 billion).

His other company, SpaceX, is no less famous. Musk created it in 2002 to fulfill his childhood dream of space travel. However, the company has established itself as a serious player and received a green light from NASA for cargo transportation for the International Space Station.

Musk is also the co-founder, CEO and architect of Tesla Motors. It was established in 2003 and is engaged in the production of affordable electric cars, as well as batteries and solar roofs.

What is the secret of Elon Musk's success?​

Many experts point out Musk's extraordinary tenacity and determination. Despite numerous setbacks and losses of almost all property in the economic crisis of the late 2000s, he did not abandon his seemingly strange plans. Musk himself attributes his success to the inspiration he received as a child in video games.

If we collect the statements of Elon Musk, we can assume that in order to succeed, he follows these rules:

• Never give up

"I must be dead or completely incapacitated to surrender."

• Love your job

"It's really important to love what you do, if you don't like it, life is too short." Musk doesn't think of dying rich. In an interview, he noted that he did not mind if most of his money was spent on the colonization of Mars. He considers himself an engineer, not an investor, and admits that he wakes up with a desire to solve technical problems.

• Don't listen to the "little" person

Musk advises not to take criticism too closely. It's easier to ignore it if, like Musk's example, you focus not on how much money the startup is making, but on what problems it solved.

• Take risks

"Take risks now and do something bold, you won't regret it."

• Do something important

"If there is something important, you should try, even if the chances of failure are high."

• Look for solutions to problems

Musk always strives to solve problems that will help humanity make technical breakthroughs. So, he announced that he would open all Tesla patents to accelerate the development of electric vehicles around the world.

• Attract great people

According to Musk, the success of a team depends on how "the group is talented or hardworking, and on how well its members work in the direction that determines the success of the company."

• Create the best product

“You always prefer a reliable brand if there isn't much difference. Many times an entrepreneur comes up with something that is only better, but it cannot just be better, it must be much better. "
Musk advises working on "the things that matter." “If you’re the CEO of a large company and you strive for something that is a modest improvement, and it takes longer than expected and doesn’t turn out well, then no one will blame you,” Musk said in an interview. On the other hand, he continued, if you have the courage to go for really breakthrough cultivation, but it doesn't work, you will probably get fired. This is why most companies focus on small enhancements to existing products, he said.

• Work super hard

Musk is a well-known workaholic - he boasts 120-hour work weeks. “If someone works 50 hours and you work 100, you get twice as much in a year as another company,” he says.

Musk's tips for increasing productivity​

In an email to all Tesla employees in 2018, Musk provided six tips for improving productivity.

1. Avoid large gatherings.​

“Excessive meetings is a tough situation for large companies and almost always gets worse over time,” Musk wrote. "Please stay away from all major meetings if you are not sure if they are of value to the entire audience, in which case keep them too short."

2. Stop frequent meetings.​

“Also get rid of frequent meetings if they do not touch on pressing issues. The frequency of meetings should drop quickly once the pressing issue is resolved. ”

3. Feel free to leave the meeting.​

“Leave the meeting or end the call as soon as it becomes clear that you are not adding value,” Musk wrote. “Don't be rude to leave [the meeting], rudely forcing someone to stay and waste their time.”

4. Stop using acronyms and buzzwords.​

“In general,” Musk writes, “anything that requires an explanation slows down communication. We don't want people to have to memorize a glossary just to work at Tesla. "

5. Stop following the (communication) command chain.​

“Communication must follow the shortest path needed to get the job done, not through the 'chain of command,'” Musk writes. “Any manager who tries to establish a chain of command will soon be working elsewhere.”

6. Don't restrict communication between departments.​

"The main source of problems is poor communication between departments," says Musk. - The way to solve it is to allow the free flow of information between all levels.

7. Stop following stupid rules.​

“In general, always use common sense as your guide,” stresses the innovator. “If adhering to a company rule“ looks ridiculous in a particular situation, for example, it might become part of a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule should be changed.”