Most people struggle to run one company, but Elon Musk simultaneously runs six. And he manages to do so by hiring great people at each of them.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, X, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and xAI, had once shared his unconventional hiring philosophy. He outlined a deceptively simple yet insightful approach to evaluating potential employees. Rather than focusing on resumes or traditional qualifications, Musk prioritizes understanding the candidate’s journey and problem-solving abilities. This approach reflects a belief that past experiences, particularly how individuals overcome challenges, offer a crucial window into their true capabilities.
“I suppose, honestly, that it tends to be gut feel more than anything else,” Musk explained about how he hires people. “So when I interview somebody, my question is always the same. It’s just, ‘Tell me the story of your life and the decisions that you made along the way and why you made them.'”
He continued, “And also tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them.”
Musk emphasizes the significance of this latter question: “That question, I think, is very important because the people that really solved the problem, they know exactly how they solved it; they know the little details. And the people that pretended to solve the problem, they can maybe go one level and then they get stuck.”
Musk’s hiring strategy reveals several key insights. Firstly, it suggests a deep belief in the power of narrative. By asking candidates to tell their life story, he’s looking for self-awareness, clarity of thought, and the ability to articulate personal motivations. Secondly, the focus on problem-solving goes beyond technical proficiency. He’s not simply interested in *whether* someone solved a problem, but *how* they did it. This probes their critical thinking skills, resilience, and attention to detail. The “little details,” as Musk calls them, separate genuine problem-solvers from those who merely appear to be.
Ultimately, Musk’s approach reveals a preference for individuals who demonstrate a deep understanding of their own experiences and possess a genuine capacity for analytical thinking. It’s a philosophy that prioritizes the ability to learn, adapt, and solve complex problems over traditional metrics of success, arguably explaining his unconventional leadership style and the innovative culture he fosters across his ventures. And it’s a strategy that seems to be working — as Musk gets involved in newer projects, like helping out the US government, the people he’s hired to run his many businesses are making sure that his companies keep running without a hitch.