If you run a business, you’ve likely heard of Elon Musk. Musk isn’t just the leader of several companies; he’s reportedly a genius. There is no public data on Musk’s intelligence quotient (IQ), but estimates are about 155. For comparison, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking had IQs of 160. Until 73-year-old Bernard Arnaut recently nudged him out, 51-year-old Musk had topped the list of wealthiest persons in the world.

Musk co-founded the company that later became PayPal. He’s in charge of the rocket company SpaceX, which developed Starlink, the satellite internet provider. He provided the initial concept for SolarCity and Tesla Energy.

Then there’s Neuralink, which is working on integrating the human brain and artificial intelligence. And let’s not forget the Boring Co., which constructs tunnels to alleviate traffic. Or Hyperloop, a vacuum tube train, and OpenAI, an AI research company.

But Musk had been best known for his leadership at the electric vehicle company, Tesla, before he made even more news through his hostile takeover of Twitter.

Once Musk took over Twitter, he remained in the headlines because of various controversial management decisions. Ironically, a Twitter employee leaked an internal email from Musk citing his six rules for “insane productivity.”

Tip No. 1: Avoid large meetings

Musk says, “Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get off all large meetings unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience.” The math supports Musk’s assertion. Suppose there is an hour-long meeting with eight attendees. In that case, the company lost eight person-hours, the equivalent of a workday. The more time spent in broad, nonproductive meetings, the less time spent working on essential projects.

My colleague, Ron, owned a large money management firm in central Vermont, He would hold weekly 8 am Monday meetings. It was an all-hands-on-deck gathering. Everyone crammed into the conference room, the latecomers standing around the table. Each salesperson reported their KPIs, and then separate department heads did so. Ron commented on each summary.

The intention was good — let everyone know what was happening at the company. However, the outcome was a net negative. The size and format of the meeting discouraged debate and engagement. There were too many attendees to allow everyone a chance to contribute. Many who had something important or urgent to share were reluctant to do so in that setting and didn’t have other opportunities to share feedback. As a result, immaterial data was distributed to the wrong people, and essential information was not shared.

Tip No. 2: Leave a meeting if you’re not contributing

My high school economics class was taught by Mr. Callahan. School hierarchy is straightforward — teachers make the rules, and the kids follow them. On the first day of class, Mr. Callahan told students that if we needed to use the restroom, just go. Don’t raise your hand and ask for permission. As seniors, we were mature enough to decide if it made sense to walk out to care for other needs.

That was one of the best life lessons I learned in school — despite tradition, we have permission to determine if it makes sense to walk out on something. People may feel reluctant to ditch a meeting because they think it’s rude. But it’s not rude to leave a forum that does not require your presence; it is disrespectful for the host to waste your time when you could be helping workmates with meaningful projects. Still, this is a tough one for people to feel comfortable with. Empowering your staff to dismiss themselves from an unproductive meeting is up to you.

Tip No. 3: Forget the chain of command

Musk says, “Communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done.”

Carly, the CEO of a molding technology company in Woburn, Mass., has a healthy to-do list. Carly has prioritized continuing education for employees. Her staff knows more about each of their respective department than she does, which is how it’s supposed to be. When Carly sees change is required in service or workflow, she knows that it’s best handled by her departmental teams. By leaving Carly out of the decision-making process, her team can create fast communication, which leads to quick decisions. The ability to make quick decisions is a competitive advantage.

Tip No. 4: Be clear, not clever

Musk asserts, “In general, anything that requires an explanation inhibits communication. We don’t want people to have to memorize a glossary just to function.”

I remember Ron, the owner of the Vermont money management firm I mentioned above, used a “clever” way of letting concerned clients know that they would not run out of money in retirement. Ron would tell clients, “We ran a Monte Carlo simulation to predict the variety of outcomes when the potential for random variables is present… .” Ugh! Ron! What are you saying? The client just wants to know they’re going to be OK. #talkhuman

Tip No. 5: Do away with frequent meetings

The less time spent in meetings the more time spent doing the work. Meetings are important, especially in-person engagements. According to Musk, meetings should be used to “collaborate,” “attack issues head-on,” and “solve urgent problems.” After that, frequent meetings are not necessary. Email, Slack, text, etc., can be used just as effectively but without interrupting your team’s workflow.

Tip No. 6: Use common sense

Musk says, “if following a company rule is obviously ridiculous in a particular situation…then the rule should change.” My April 9, 2022, column, “Kill A Stupid Rule,” explains tip No. 6 in more detail.

Elon Musk is a “love him or hate him” personality. If you fall into the “hate him” camp, that’s fine. I’m not trying to convince you to change your opinion of the man. But, for the benefit of your company, I’d encourage you to appreciate some of the leadership advice from one of the most successful entrepreneurs of this generation.

This article first appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on January 13, 2023.