Lessons from the Elon Musk Biography: The Art of Working Fast

How the Musk Algorithm can help you move forward quickly

How do you beat your competitors to market?

How do you accomplish more than your peers in less time?

When faced with obstacles or bureaucracy, how do you respond?

Today’s piece is not necessarily only for those working in the creative industries, but is of general applicability to other industries as well.

One of the key passages in Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography of Elon Musk outlines the decision making and problem solving process that is used at SpaceX and Tesla to achieve seemingly impossible deadlines and quickly navigate obstacles that would stifle most all other companies. How can one person run multiple companies that move so quickly and accomplish so much in highly regulated industries (automotive and space travel)?

“The Musk Algorithm”, as it is called in the book, is a road map you can use to cut through unnecessary, nonsensical bureaucracy: