No matter you consider him, there’s no denying that Elon Musk is an interesting particular person. At at present’s date he’s the richest particular person on the planet, together with his internet price estimated at $222bn, and he has cofounded firms together with electrical automobile maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and tunnelling startup Boring Firm. His success fee is extremely excessive.
How Elon Musk solves issues: 4 key frameworks
Contrasting Musk to Jeff Bezos, the second richest particular person on the planet who has gained huge however famously failed at 57 completely different initiatives (and fortunately admits to his, “cascade of experiments and errors and failures”), Musk’s method seems to be rifle shot somewhat than scattergun. Musk and Bezos are the 2 richest individuals on the planet, so there should be benefit in each strategies. However how does Musk proceed to construct firms that by no means fail in a giant approach?
When you might chalk these constant successes as much as his IQ, reported to be 155, there are many individuals with simply as excessive an IQ who aren’t billionaires. What makes Musk completely different is he’s considering in a different way, being restricted solely by the legal guidelines of physics, after which, he stated, “every little thing else is a suggestion.”
On high of this, Musk makes use of particular psychological fashions to unravel actual world issues. Moderately than being anecdotal enterprise concept, they’ve confirmed to work in apply throughout his numerous enterprises. 4 of those fashions are first rules considering, imagining issues within the restrict, the platonic ideally suited and his optimization framework. Right here they’re in additional element.
1. Apply first rules considering
A primary precept is a foundational reality that’s “recognized by nature.” First rules considering is the place you take away subjective assumptions, bias and conjecture from issues and deal with solely what’s true. The objective, subsequently, is to search out the best reality that exists inside the legal guidelines of physics, freed from your private limitations and beliefs. As soon as this absolute reality is outlined you purpose up from there. Reducing away, stripping again, then constructing.
In apply, seize any reply you’ve got arrived at after which take away all assumptions. Musk thinks you’ll both discover a higher reply or the identical one as everybody else. He admits, “I do zero market analysis, by any means” as a result of it’s not useful and everyone seems to be unsuitable. “Regardless of who you’re, everyone seems to be unsuitable among the time. All designs are unsuitable, it is only a matter of how unsuitable.”
Musk utilized first rules considering to battery packs, for instance. You would possibly hear individuals say, “battery packs are costly and that’s the way in which they’ll at all times be.” However batteries are fabricated from cobalt, nickel, aluminium, and polymers, supplies which might be pretty cheap. What’s costly is the manufacturing of these supplies, how they’re mixed right into a battery. First rules considering leads you to grasp that batteries aren’t costly, the manufacturing of them is, which suggests the issue to unravel is the manufacturing.
2. Take into consideration issues within the restrict
Serious about issues within the restrict is a thought experiment wherein any drawback is scaled proper up and scaled proper right down to assess the adjustments that occur at each magnitudes. A latest instance considerations Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, after which he signalled that the 280-character restrict can be edited, tweeting that the “skill to do lengthy tweets [is] coming quickly.” Considering of Twitter’s character allowance within the restrict means imagining what the platform would seem like with tweet size scaled proper right down to, say, 50 characters, and proper as much as, say, 1000. Each limits would have completely different repercussions for the social community.
Whether or not an issue together with your product, service, staff or outcomes, give it some thought scaled up and down and mess around with the solutions. For instance, take a pricing drawback the place you’re making an attempt to work out why one thing is dear, then think about your quantity was one million items. Would the product nonetheless be costly? In that case, there’s maybe an economies of scale drawback to unravel.
Hold going with limits, each colossal and miniscule. When you managed only one particular person, would you continue to have your HR drawback? What about ten thousand? When you offered your service to 5 purchasers in comparison with one million, what would change? Incorporate the concept of tiny and large scale into each drawback you need to give it some thought like Musk would. Make selections with out being restricted by legacy, guidelines, cash or sources and see what’s potential.
How Elon Musk solves issues: 4 key frameworks
3. Think about the platonic ideally suited of the proper product
Imagining the platonic ideally suited means visualizing your answer in its most good kind earlier than making an attempt to create it in actuality. This implies the main target is on the proper product somewhat than the proper software of what occurs to be your present skillset.
When designing a product or beginning a enterprise, most individuals begin from the premise of their instruments, abilities and information, then take into consideration what they’ll construct with that. Musk says, as an alternative, you must work backwards from the proper product. Conceptualize it, and solely then search for the instruments, abilities and information that you must deliver that product to life. In keeping with Musk, you must strive to consider “the platonic ideally suited of, say, the proper rocket or automobile.” Take into consideration the traits it will have, “after which make that. After which, I discover that for those who try this, individuals will wish to purchase it” he stated.
Considering on this approach means you create what is definitely required somewhat than merely what suits inside your skillset. It stops you being restricted by your life decisions and information. It stops you being biased or clouded by your expertise, which could not be related in any respect. Inside your profession and enterprise, what’s the ideally suited answer? The right workplace, the proper service, the proper product. Visualise that, get aware of each half after which work backwards from there. This would possibly lead you to rethink processes, restructure your staff or rework your providing, all based mostly on the platonic ideally suited.
4. Take these 5 steps when optimizing
Musk believes that the only greatest mistake made by sensible engineers is optimizing one thing that shouldn’t exist in any respect. Subsequently, you must first work out if optimization is even vital. To use this technique, earlier than making an attempt to optimize something, observe these 5 steps. The first step is “query”, or in Musk’s phrases, “make your necessities much less dumb.” Right here’s the place you query whether or not or not your answer to the issue is the suitable one. Zoom out and have a look at the issue with perspective. Does it matter?
Step two is “delete”. Musk believes that when designing an answer, individuals have a tendency so as to add issues “simply in case.” Falling for addition bias, the place our tendency is so as to add somewhat than subtract, results in a bloated outcome. Musk says you must delete every little thing that’s pointless, even going so far as to say, “for those who’re not including again at the very least 10% of the belongings you’re deleting, you’re not deleting sufficient.” Take away, scale back, take away some extra.
Step three is solely, “optimize”. Now you’ve got the perfect try on the proper answer, optimize and simplify from there, whereas persevering with to note the place there is likely to be errors. After that there’s step 4, speed up the cycle time and step 5, automate.
Though Musk and SpaceX have used this technique to rethink rocket design (and create “minimal viable rocket”) it may be utilized to enterprise, manufacturing and all fields of product design. When you simplified your necessities and lower every little thing away earlier than optimizing, quickening and automating, how completely different would possibly your corporation look?
Give your self a shot at success on an Elon Musk scale by fixing issues in an analogous approach. Suppose how Elon thinks, learn what Elon reads and method challenges from first rules, the idea of limits, the platonic ideally suited and his five-step optimization framework.