Musk's five-step process rule:
Step 1: Identify requirements
Step 2: Vigorously remove the part or process
Step 3: Simplify and optimize
Step 4: Speed up cycle times
Step 5: Automate
Note that do not accelerate until the third step.
This is a complete process of dealing with things, and from these 5 laws, Musk's style of doing things can be strongly felt.
If you simplify it, Musk's whole process of dealing with engineering things is: determine the direction of simplification to accelerate automation, ok, next.
According to these 5 rules, Musk managed 9 related high-tech companies at the same time.
In fact, the first step is the most important, repeatedly determining the need is to determine the direction, if the direction is wrong, the more effort to get farther away from the goal.
Carefully analyzing these 5 laws, we found that Musk and Apple have similarities, that is, the ubiquitous "minimalism".
Of the 5 laws, except for the first and last ones, the middle 3 are all related to minimalism.
Step 2: Vigorously remove the part or process. The simpler the structure, the higher the reliability, the fewer links, and the lower the probability of error, which is common sense. Therefore, it is worthwhile to focus at least 1/5 of your energy on removing unnecessary parts or processes. Musk uses the word "extreme" here to emphasize the importance of this step.
Step 3: Simplify and optimize. It seems to repeat the second law, on the one hand to emphasize minimalism again, on the other hand, simplification and optimization is an iterative process, which may have to go back to the second step and repeat it many times to complete. On the basis of the fewest parts and processes, the parts are optimized again and the process is simplified to achieve the ultimate in simplicity.
Step 4: Speed up cycle times. When you pack lightly, things that have been simplified can be accelerated. Therefore, this law is also related to minimalism.
Step 5: Automate. The accelerated simplification process is fixed, the human factor is removed, the automation is realized, and the ability to efficiently handle the same kind of thing is formed.
What cannot be ignored is that these 5 laws are based on certain technical capabilities and funds, without which these can only be castles in the air.
On the basis of certain technical capabilities and economy, allocating most of the energy to "minimalism" is the crystallization of wisdom summarized by Musk.
Avenue to Jane.
The reason for internal friction is that there are many parts and links, and while each component plays its own role, it will inevitably restrict each other from competing for resources and produce internal friction. Therefore, it is necessary to remove internal friction through certain laws, and at the same time, an environment without internal friction is more conducive to the implementation of these 5 laws.
Another basis for the pursuit of "minimalism" is that human beings are not yet able to deal with complex things beyond their own cognitive ability, so it is necessary to reduce the complexity, so that all participants deal with the relevant links within the limits of their own ability, and then gather together to form a whole of the transaction.
For the concept of "minimalism", can our enterprise refer to it? The answer is that it can be worked on, but it is difficult.
Take the minimalism of the process, if we try to remove some unnecessary processes, it may be possible to cancel some related jobs, and the current employment environment is not suitable, and it may be more urgent to solve employment at this stage than to improve efficiency. At the same time, the purpose of setting up more links is to check each other, and more links also mean more rights distribution, which is closely related to our management culture.
Therefore, we see that the core ability of Musk's team, in addition to technology, is the ability to "simplify", and behind the "simplification" ability is the ability to remove internal friction, and ultimately related to culture.
After all, most people do not work in Musk, do not manage multiple companies at the same time, and everything is the same, we ordinary people can also draw nourishment from Musk's 5 laws.
Due to the different cultural backgrounds and different economic conditions, it is difficult for us ordinary people to influence the overall situation in the team, but we can still handle the things within the scope of our own involvement to the greatest extent, and we can also handle the various things in life according to these 5 laws.
When we deal with daily affairs, we can repeatedly confirm the direction, after confirming the direction, use a lot of energy to simplify the affairs, seize the key links, key people, key resources, allocate more energy to optimize the process, reduce internal friction, and then form a routine fixed, and finally achieve the goal of efficiently handling similar affairs. In this way, we can free up our hands to expand more capabilities.