BY BEATRICE DIXON, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, THE HONEY POT COMPANY
Here's how Musk aims to streamline the flow of information by circumventing chain of command.
Here's how Musk aims to streamline the flow of information by circumventing chain of command.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Elon Musk has had plenty to share with business owners over the years, and he's spent plenty
00:11of time thinking outside of the box.
00:13But his take on chain of command may be one that more business leaders should consider
00:18in a world disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
00:21Here are three things, according to Elon Musk, you should do to improve your chain of command.
00:26Number one, remove the hierarchy.
00:29The chain of command has long been a part of the corporate world.
00:32For Musk, however, that kind of hierarchy is a very inefficient system.
00:37When messages are being pushed up the chain of command, they can get stuck in bottlenecks.
00:42They may also change in tone, importance, or context as more people communicate them.
00:47Even if a message remains intact on its way up, it may take too long to get to the right
00:52person, creating potentially costly problems for the company.
00:56Number two, communication is key.
00:59In a letter penned to his Tesla employees in 2018, Musk says, communication should travel
01:05via the shortest path necessary to get the job done, not through the chain of command.
01:10Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves
01:15working elsewhere.
01:17A major source of issues in companies come from when communication doesn't flow freely.
01:22As he told his Tesla employees, it must be okay for people to talk directly and just
01:26make the right thing happen.
01:28Number three, adapt.
01:31Business leaders need to think seriously about blowing up that chain of command since it
01:34can easily fall short.
01:36And in a time when businesses are under pressure, nothing that hurts the company's ability
01:40to communicate should live on.