Elon Musk coined his name among the most successful and ambitious entrepreneurs in his early forties. At the time, people compared his entrepreneurship and business skills to Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison, all established business gurus globally. He is the co-founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX. he developed entrepreneurial visions at an early age. His astounding vision for the business is visible in the largescale projects he manages. Musk came into millions 19 years ago when he sold his X.com founded company renamed as PayPal to eBay in 2002.
Using the funds from the PayPal sale, Musk started three companies, namely Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Tesla Motors and Solar City. Musk had the vision to make life interplanetary through SpaceX. It is a high-risk tech venture not many entrepreneurs want to consider (Urban, 2015). In no time, the company secured contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop reusable rockets that deliver payloads at cheaper costs than competitors. Currently, SpaceX has contracts worth $4.2B to transport astronauts and materials into space. It shows that Musk’s vision in the high-risk business bore fruits.
While some incidences looked to bring down Space X, it remains a successful venture. A few hitches in Space X launches could halt its operations. The resilient nature of Musk saw the company on its feet again. One of the most notable successes of SpaceX involves the Dragon spacecraft that delivered 500 pounds of supplies to the International Space Union nine years ago. The spacecraft returned in record time, meeting the target schedule earlier than expected. His other venture is Tesla Motors. With the world turning to renewable and environmentally friendly fuels, Musk founded the electric car company (Musk, 2020). He projected that by 2025, Tesla would be at par with Apple as the world most valuable companies. In another investment to help the world go green, Musk started SolarCity, a company that supplies Tesla, utility firms, and domestic usage batteries.
Musk’s deep interest in technology and helping the planet reduce dependence on carbon-generating fuels is the primary driver to developing the companies. He studied a gap in the world market and made immediate decisions to fill it. Considering the risks and competition in capital-intensive ventures, Musk is a strong believer in his projects. While at first, it looks unmanageable, his efforts to turn investments into success are crucial. Take an example of his three main businesses. Each of them reported hitches at some point. Instead of dissolution, he pumped in more funds to rescue them.
His spirit of determination and optimism lays a foundation for his success. He is strict and believes in his capabilities and creativity to turn things around. Previous employees at his firms describe Musk as autocratic and result-oriented. He yearns for success thus considers only top talents for his projects. His primary interest when recruiting employees is their ability to solve a problem. He inquires about someone’s past and the problems they solved (Musk, 2017). Musk’s attention to detail helps him manage his businesses. The ever-presence works in a positive way to inspire workers and put them on close monitoring. His combative and hungry-for-success approach is responsible for the success of his businesses. They were high-risk ventures and faced stiff competition implying Musk is always ready to defy critics and make progress.
In his companies, Musk plays the role of a CEO, and at times he can act in all positions. Unlike other CEOs who sit behind a computer to receive updates about activities’ progress, Musk gets into the ground to inspect various processes in the companies. In the past, Musk worked in designing the first Tesla car, implying he possesses automotive knowledge he can dispense at any time of his supervisory roles. He is unpredictable because of the introverted nature. As an ardent lover of technology and reader, he is updated and knowledgeable about the fields he invests in. while he risks his fortunes in the businesses, he gets to the ground to ensure the ventures register success.
Reporting to Musk directly is an advantage and disadvantage depending on one’s perception. Musk is a result-oriented person who is keen to deliver and has no room for excuses. In the recruitment, he looks at top talents and scrutinizes them to get the best into his workforce. Thus, he expects minimal or no deviation from set targets. It could boost one’s efforts and hard work to attain his standards. Reporting to Musk directly helps one understand the vision of the company directly from the owner. On the other hand, it could be risky reporting to an impatient CEO. There are high chances of losing your job, especially if he says you’re incompetent. You’re also unsure of his reaction when things go south. There is intense pressure that may limit one’s potential, especially with Musk’s criticism. With no room for reckless or shaky decisions, reporting to Musk is a Herculean task.
Elon Musk fits well as a business leader than he could make in society leadership. In business, the critical goal is to identify a market gap, fill it and make profits. It is why his management approaches work in business. His key aim is to solve societal problems and register profits for the companies. He has no room for failure or a second chance to improve an employee’s output. In society, Musk’s strictness and result-oriented approach are incompatible with different characters. Leaders should adapt to varied societal characters. In the society setting, Musk’s approach is inapplicable as it offers no room for improvement. While he excels in business leadership, he would fail in society management.
Musk’s business approach and determination are similar to Steve Jobs. They both got into business with one key aim to turn things around and offer solutions to existing problems. Musk is rated among renowned business gurus like Steve Jobs and Henry Ford. They are iconic businesspeople who invested in high-risk ventures but later on became successful. Musk and Steve Jobs share the determination aspect. They are both result-oriented with zero tolerance to laxity in their firms (Anderson & November, 2013). Musk’s approach to people shares similarities to Steve jobs, especially in their strictness, zero tolerance to laxity and result-oriented characteristics.
Musk’s reliance on problem-solving as a criterion for hiring is helpful to his businesses. He invests in high-risk ventures, implying he understands the kind of workforce suitable for his areas. He looks at past events where prospect candidates problem-solving incidences that make them ideal for the job. It is an effective way to recruit employees because high-risk ventures need experienced employees. While it looks hurting to new graduates but the one-on-one interaction and interview with Musk is an avenue to give fresh graduates a chance to showcase their abilities. Recent graduates can convince Musk with their skills and their possible additions if granted an opportunity. With Musk’s thirsty for results, talented new graduates still stand a chance to work at his firms.
References
Anderson, C., & November, F. (2013). The shared genius of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. Fortune,(November 21)(https://fortune. com/2013/11/21/the-shared-genius-of-elon-musk-and-steve-jobs/).
Musk, E. (2017). Making humans a multi-planetary species. New Space, 5(2), 46-61.
Musk, E. (2020). Elon Musk Biography.
Urban, T. (2015). Elon Musk: The World’s Raddest Man. Wait But Why.
