Elon Musk’s Rules For Meetings

Elon Musk has already cemented his place among the world’s most productive people of al time. He’s currently running companies including Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, Neuralink and The Boring Company. He also seems to find time to father 9 children, and also share memes on Twitter. While there are probably several reasons why Musk is so astonishingly productive, the Elon Musk meeting rules probably help.

Elon Musk has sent out a list of meeting rules to Tesla employees. These rules lay out when to conduct a meeting, how long meetings should be, and what to do if a meeting isn’t relevant. Here are the six Elon Musk meeting rules.

Elon Musk’s meeting rules

  1. Elon Musk meeting rule 1: Avoid large meetings

Large meetings waste valuable time & 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. Elon Musk meeting rule 2: Leave a meeting if you’re not contributing

If a meeting doesn’t require your Input, or Value, or Decisions, your presence is useless. It’s not rude to leave a meeting. But it’s rude to waste people’s time.

3. Elon Musk meeting rule 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. Elon Musk meeting rule 4: Be clear, not clever

Avoid nonsense words and technical jargon. It slows down communication. Choose words that are Concise, To the point and Easy to understand. Don’t sound smart. Be efficient.

5. Elon Musk meeting rule 5: Ditch frequent meetings

There’s no better way to waste everyone’s time. Use meetings to collaborate, attack issues head-on, and 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 or Communicate on a discord or slack channel. Don’t interrupt your team’s workflow if it’s unnecessary.

6. Elon Musk meeting rule 6: Use common sense

If a company rule doesn’t make sense, contribute to progress, or apply to your specific situation, avoid following the rule with your eyes closed. Don’t follow rules. Follow principles.