I recently finished reading the Elon Musk biography written by Walter Isaacson. Each chapter is a short story that allows us to understand Musk’s personality and how he accomplished all of his achievements: the commercialization of electric vehicles, world-leading self-driving technology, reusable rockets, satellite communications, and more. These are daunting feats, yet he made them happen. Musk is not a perfect person, nor does he need to be. We can try to learn from his working methods but should not become as lacking in empathy as him.
Clear Metrics
Innovation requires clear metrics. For rockets, it is the cost per ton to orbit. For self-driving, it is the average miles driven without human intervention.
First Principle
Other than basic principles of physics, nothing is beyond questioning. Just as humans can judge an object’s distance and motion by sight alone, cars should be able to self-drive using only cameras.
Algorithms
Question all conventions (except laws of physics), simplify and eliminate processes. If nothing needs to be added back in the end, it means there is still more to cut out. After cutting, optimize, shorten cycles, and automate.
Idiot Index
The idiot index is defined as: how much more a final product costs over its basic materials. So the higher the idiot index, the more value was added in the production process, indicating more potential for cost savings via new technologies. According to Musk’s calculations, rockets have an extremely high idiot index. Carbon fiber, metal, fuel and other materials only account for a tiny fraction of the final cost of rockets made using traditional methods. After figuring this out, he decided to build rockets himself. This is also an extension of first principle.
Cavalry Captains Should be Able to Ride
Product designers need to understand how their designs get built on the production line. They can’t just sit in offices looking at computer simulations. Software managers should still spend 20% of time coding, not just talk. Engineering and product design should not be separated. If production line workers feel building the product is difficult, designers need to resolve it immediately.
Musk leads by example here. When production encounters bottlenecks, he discusses technical issues with engineers and pushes them to experiment with crazy ideas. Some succeed and become industry-leading innovations. Failures are his responsibility, wasting his own money.
Get Information From the Source
When Musk needed to assess the stainless steel thickness for rockets, he didn’t ask a steel vendor’s executives. He asked the welders themselves. That’s why he observes Tesla’s production lines directly when improving them. Information becomes less accurate as it passes through more people. Go to the source for the best intel.
Learn Quickly From Failures
Get products out quickly, try rapidly, take risks. Launch rockets even if they may explode, as long as risks are acceptable. You don’t know if it’ll really explode until you try. Fix issues after real explosions (with unmanned test flights, of course). The focus should be on quickly finding and resolving problems, not avoiding them entirely.
Crazy Deadlines
Set a timeline no one thinks is possible, then pare down work with the algorithms above. Usually impossible, but try anyway to make some progress. Musk doesn’t fire people for missing impossible demands (most things he asks for are impossible) but he will fire people unwilling to try. He personally predicts full self-driving launches on Tesla cars every year, then misses each deadline… but the tech does improve annually.
Thoughts
There’s no denying Musk leads teams to accomplish things others deem impossible or won’t even attempt. You may dislike him, but has lessons worth learning.
As an experienced software engineer, even in work and life, his methods are worth trying. Everything needs clear metrics to optimize and focus time on the tasks most likely to reach goals - true for machine learning and life’s pursuits, avoiding wasted effort on unhelpful things.
Questioning rules, trying quickly, and rapid failure learning are important methods for better life too. Leaving one’s comfort zone is uncomfortable, as is failure, but my most uncomfortable times were also my greatest growth spurts.
These methods do work. Even halfway there, “only” halfway to Musk’s results would still be remarkable accomplishments.