I'll tell you this one right now.
Most companies are breathtakingly inefficient.
Because no one gets fired for doing what "we have always done".
Because boomer middle managers hate engineers, and most their interactions with them are for the purpose of micromanaging them or emphasizing their own status.
Because three hour meetings including everyone they can think of allow nonproductive people to look busy.
Because boomer c-suite executives couldn't inspire an autistic nine year old boy to talk about trains.
This results in companies that are process-oriented, rather than result-oriented.
The purpose of a process-oriented culture is to dilute responsibility so no one can be held accountable for failure.
The only way such companies succeed is by eventually, mechanistically running out of mistakes to make, and grinding their way across the finish line.
This means that it's actually pretty easy, in principle, to make most companies far more competent and efficient .
But you have to be willing to break social rules and offend people. In other words, you have to be a sperg.
What you do is simple.
Create a culture of accountability. Every single act, every single component, every single product, every single decision, must be connected to a single name, who owns it and is accountable for it.
Cripple meeting culture by allowing anyone to not show up, or to walk out at any time, if they deem their presence unnecessary. Most meetings serve no purpose other than to dilute responsibility by artificially adding consensus to what should be an individual decision.
Eliminate any role which doesn't directly and obviously contribute.
Focus on results, and remove anyone who plays it safe instead of pushing forward. But never punish failure, if the failure resulted from a reasonable decision that turned out to be wrong. Failure is inevitable. Learning from failure is what brings success.
Don't allow HR to have any power in hiring decisions. Their job is to handle payroll, benefits, sick leave, and paperwork, and that's it. They shouldn't even be allowed to talk to candidates before they are hired.
Hiring, like any other decision, cannot be by consensus. No dilution of responsibility can be permitted. Team leaders hire their teams.
Power in the company must rest firmly in the hands of its core function. If you are an engineering company, designing and building new technology, power must rest with the engineers. Not sales, not marketing, not accounting. Engineers.
Above all, know how to inspire your people. This must be done with real, meaningful action, not pretty speeches.
Engineers are some of the smartest people on Earth, and have high levels of integrity, but boomer middle managers despise them because they speak without subtlety, and don't care about professional appearance games... so they tend to treat engineers as irresponsible children. In reality, middle managers are the ones playing games.
To earn an engineer's loyalty, you need do only three things:
- Shield him from having to play, or even know about, office politics, and from unnecessary busywork. An engineer's time should not be spent doing unproductive things he is not good at.
- Treat him fairly in pay, benefits and job expectations. Engineers expect not to have to argue for what they get. They create value, and their share of that value should not be gated behind the exercise of a set of skills that are not necessary for job performance.
- Give him something important to do, something that he can be proud of. An engineer's profession is an important part of his identity and sense of self, and he needs to feel as if he is dedicating that part of himself to something that matters.
What does this look like?
Watch the video with the sound on.
Hear the cheering. Watch the people's reactions in the left half of the screen.
Listen to the announcer. She's crying.
When people believe like this, they will work harder than they ever have. They will pull together and resolve problems. They will treat each other like trusted members of their tribe.
They will set team goals above their own.
So what is Elon Musk's secret sauce?
Asperger's Syndrome, that's what.
Most companies are breathtakingly inefficient.
Because no one gets fired for doing what "we have always done".
Because boomer middle managers hate engineers, and most their interactions with them are for the purpose of micromanaging them or emphasizing their own status.
Because three hour meetings including everyone they can think of allow nonproductive people to look busy.
Because boomer c-suite executives couldn't inspire an autistic nine year old boy to talk about trains.
This results in companies that are process-oriented, rather than result-oriented.
The purpose of a process-oriented culture is to dilute responsibility so no one can be held accountable for failure.
The only way such companies succeed is by eventually, mechanistically running out of mistakes to make, and grinding their way across the finish line.
This means that it's actually pretty easy, in principle, to make most companies far more competent and efficient .
But you have to be willing to break social rules and offend people. In other words, you have to be a sperg.
What you do is simple.
Create a culture of accountability. Every single act, every single component, every single product, every single decision, must be connected to a single name, who owns it and is accountable for it.
Cripple meeting culture by allowing anyone to not show up, or to walk out at any time, if they deem their presence unnecessary. Most meetings serve no purpose other than to dilute responsibility by artificially adding consensus to what should be an individual decision.
Eliminate any role which doesn't directly and obviously contribute.
Focus on results, and remove anyone who plays it safe instead of pushing forward. But never punish failure, if the failure resulted from a reasonable decision that turned out to be wrong. Failure is inevitable. Learning from failure is what brings success.
Don't allow HR to have any power in hiring decisions. Their job is to handle payroll, benefits, sick leave, and paperwork, and that's it. They shouldn't even be allowed to talk to candidates before they are hired.
Hiring, like any other decision, cannot be by consensus. No dilution of responsibility can be permitted. Team leaders hire their teams.
Power in the company must rest firmly in the hands of its core function. If you are an engineering company, designing and building new technology, power must rest with the engineers. Not sales, not marketing, not accounting. Engineers.
Above all, know how to inspire your people. This must be done with real, meaningful action, not pretty speeches.
Engineers are some of the smartest people on Earth, and have high levels of integrity, but boomer middle managers despise them because they speak without subtlety, and don't care about professional appearance games... so they tend to treat engineers as irresponsible children. In reality, middle managers are the ones playing games.
To earn an engineer's loyalty, you need do only three things:
- Shield him from having to play, or even know about, office politics, and from unnecessary busywork. An engineer's time should not be spent doing unproductive things he is not good at.
- Treat him fairly in pay, benefits and job expectations. Engineers expect not to have to argue for what they get. They create value, and their share of that value should not be gated behind the exercise of a set of skills that are not necessary for job performance.
- Give him something important to do, something that he can be proud of. An engineer's profession is an important part of his identity and sense of self, and he needs to feel as if he is dedicating that part of himself to something that matters.
What does this look like?
Watch the video with the sound on.
Hear the cheering. Watch the people's reactions in the left half of the screen.
Listen to the announcer. She's crying.
When people believe like this, they will work harder than they ever have. They will pull together and resolve problems. They will treat each other like trusted members of their tribe.
They will set team goals above their own.
So what is Elon Musk's secret sauce?
Asperger's Syndrome, that's what.
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