Elon Musk on Meetings vs effective communication

Elon reportedly send this mail to Tesla employees:

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) Leave a meeting if you’re not contributing

If a meeting doesn’t require your:

- Input

- Value

- Decisions

Your presence is useless.

It’s not rude to leave a meeting.

But it’s rude to waste people’s time. 

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) Be clear, not clever

Avoid nonsense words and technical jargon.

It slows down communication.

Choose words that are:

- Concise

- To the point

- Easy to understand

Don’t sound smart. Be efficient.

5) Ditch frequent meetings

There’s no better way to waste everyone’s time.

Use meetings to:

- Collaborate

- Attack issues head-on

- 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

- Communicate on a discord or slack channel

Don’t interrupt your team’s workflow if it’s unnecessary.

6) Use common sense

If a company rule doesn’t:

- Make sense

- Contribute to progress

- Apply to your specific situation

Avoid following the rule with your eyes closed.

Don’t follow rules. Follow principles.