In the context of repeated epidemics and car core shortages that continue to plague the industry, Tesla always seems to be able to find a better way to cope, and in 2021, it also set a new record for more than 900,000 vehicles delivered annually. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is still so difficult to figure out, what kind of secret does he have to constantly overcome many challenges?
In 2006, Musk first created the first part of the famous "Secret Grand Plan" 10-year Master Plan for Tesla, first building an expensive electric sports car Roadster, using profits to develop a cheaper high-end sedan Model S, and then using the money earned to build an affordable entry-level electric car Model 3, and he also envisioned using renewable energy to charge electric vehicles. Finally, it was popularized into the solar energy industry.
Ten years later, Musk released the second part of the ultimate plan in 2016, including providing integrated power generation energy storage systems, launching electric trucks and buses, developing a fully self-driving system, Robotaxi car sharing, etc., vowing to build a sustainable energy company, in addition to electric vehicles, but also to provide other product-related services.
Now, Musk has begun the third chapter of Tesla's "secret grand plan", and he will insist on using large-scale means to increase production and influence the world in a positive way. So behind this, what is the secret of Tesla's continuous improvement in productivity? Presumably, it is a problem that colleagues in the industry care about.
A few days ago, overseas blogger Dan Silvestre released "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Pursuit of a Better Future" on social platforms after reading the feeling, saying that he understood the underlying logic of Musk's thinking, and the productivity secret of many companies he runs, the blogger summarized the most critical 10:
1. Start your day with the most important work
As the helmsman of several companies, there is no doubt that Musk has a lot of problems to solve every day. He usually starts the day at 7 a.m. and prioritizes email for half an hour to keep employees running smoothly. He once said: "Focus on signals rather than noise. Don't waste your time on things that don't make things better."
2. Establish a feedback loop and question yourself more
Musk's schedule is very tight and also needs to optimize time management. He admits that he hasn't read any books on time management, "It's very important to build a feedback loop, to constantly think about what you do and how to do it better." Musk's most practical advice is to constantly think about how he can do things better and question himself.
Musk not only reflects his own feedback in the feedback closed loop, but also incorporates feedback from others. While it may be hard to start with some negative feedback, you'll learn more from it in the end. Not only that, but he also focuses on hiring talent in any field who can provide real feedback.
"Don't tell me what you like, but tell me what you don't like." Musk believes that shortening the feedback closed loop can lead to higher efficiency, faster execution, and better quality of results.
3 . See the world from the perspective of "first principles"
The "first principle" is Tesla's way of looking at the world, and the meaning is to see through the essence of things, decompose things into the most basic components, and solve problems from the source without referring to experience or other situations.
Musk said: "You can build your reasoning based on basic principles and see if the conclusion is feasible." It may be different from what people used to do in the past. But this way of thinking is often more difficult. ”
At the beginning of Tesla's establishment, the team first encountered the industry problem that the battery cost was too high. In order to overcome the cost problem, Musk and engineers began to think about the material composition of the battery pack, and after calculating the market price according to the raw materials of the battery, they found that the original cost was only $80 per kWh. Therefore, he chose to independently carry out the research and development of the core components of the battery, and greatly reduced the average price of the battery in just a few years.
4. Adhere to asynchronous communication and improve communication efficiency
Asynchronous communication is to try to concentrate on responding, strive to maximize the efficiency of communication, and leave yourself a large chunk of time to focus on doing things that are more difficult and require creative imagination.
Compared with synchronous communication (instant communication), Musk advocates communication methods such as email within the team. "I prefer to use email, which is probably my core competency." He also uses a humble email address that makes it difficult for people outside the company to reach him in order to focus on the company's work.
5. Avoid the use of abbreviations and express your ideas clearly
Musk's email writing style is very clear, concise and direct. He once sent an internal email titled "Abbreviations are really annoying." "People work better when they have a clear idea of what the goal is and why. And will look forward to going to work. ”
As we all know, Musk is also a master of speech, always able to speak complex concepts into easy to understand language. He often uses the present tense when talking about forward-thinking topics, a language technique that makes the listener feel that the future is at hand.
6. Multi-threaded tasks to solve work problems in batches
When faced with multiple tasks, whenever possible, Musk will combine several tasks to batch process. For example, replying to emails at mealtimes, meetings at lunch. "I've found that when I'm with my kids, I'm still able to handle emails. You can also flip through emails and invoices during conference calls or interviews. ”
7. Make a daily schedule
Running several companies is not an easy task, and Musk follows a very detailed and specific "daily schedule." He would cut his schedule into many 5-minute time slots and it would be difficult to find gaps. He tends to prioritize engineering, design, and manufacturing, jobs that take up 80 percent of his time. "I don't spend time talking about conceptual things; I spend time solving engineering and manufacturing problems."
8. Set breakthrough goals and continue to challenge the status quo
In the eyes of the outside world, the goals set by Musk are often very high, even high to a little unrealistic. But he uses resilience goals as a way to change perceptions: "The first step is to identify that something is possible before there's a chance of it. ”
It has been said, "Musk's target expectations are often twice as high as others'." Musk himself said, "What I say usually comes true." Maybe it won't be as scheduled, but sooner or later it will happen. He believes that setting a goal to maintain the status quo does not break through.
9. Cultivate growth thinking
Despite what has been achieved, Musk has never been satisfied with the status quo. He believes that there is always room for improvement in every area, and there are always better, faster or cheaper ways to achieve it. This is called a growth mindset, and even if it fails, it will think differently until a solution is found. Musk once said: "Failure is an option. If things haven't failed, it means not enough innovation. ”
10. Build a broad knowledge base
From an early age, Musk is accustomed to reading two books a day and has a broad understanding of many sciences, Musk believes: "It is important to think of knowledge as a semantic tree, and before entering the leaves (details), make sure to understand the basic principles, that is, the trunk and large branches, otherwise the leaves will have no place." ”
When running the company, Musk also tries to learn from those around him, often discussing technical problems with engineers. Over the years, Musk has developed "T-shaped" skills: a lot of knowledge in one particular area, but also a lot of knowledge in many other disciplines and topics. This allows him to become a world-class figure in one field, to use knowledge to innovate and to collaborate effectively with professionals in other fields.
It can be said that Musk's "10 productivity secrets" pushed Tesla to spend more than a decade to almost complete the first and second parts of the final plan. In the third phase, Tesla's main targets are shown to be a massive expansion, as well as fully autonomous driving software and humanoid robots that are expected to assist in the production of jobs. This is all about allowing human society to completely abandon fossil fuels and expand the foundation necessary for the use of artificial intelligence.
Musk insisted on his insistence, and the confidence to do big things next doubled, and he recently said a more radical idea at the opening ceremony of the Berlin Gigafactory: I hope that within 10 years, Tesla's annual production capacity can reach the goal of 20 million cars!