Not exactly about AI, but about Elon Musk 👽

In the recently published biography of Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, there is an intriguing chapter, "Musk's Rules in Rocketry," which describes Musk's principles that allowed him to create the most successful aerospace company 🚀

1. Question every cost 🪙

The cost-effectiveness was critical for his ultimate goal: colonizing Mars. Musk challenged all costs quoted by aerospace suppliers, aiming to manufacture more in-house. For instance, when a supplier quoted $120,000 for a component that would rotate the engine nozzle, Musk declared it was not more complicated than a garage door opener and instructed his engineers to make it for $5,000.

2. Have a maniacal sense of urgency ☄️

Knowing Musk's demand for speed, the engine development team proactively prepared an aggressive work schedule, cutting the time in half. "How the fuck can it take so long? This is stupid. Cut it in half," Musk reacted when he saw the plan. He insisted on setting unrealistic deadlines even when there was no need.

3. Learn by failing 🧑‍🎓

Musk took an iterative approach to design. Rockets and engines would be quickly prototyped, tested, blown up, revised, and tried again, until finally something worked. Move fast, blow things up, repeat. "It's not how well you avoid problems. It's how fast you figure out what the problem is and fix it."

4. Improvise 🎙

Musk, showing tolerance for risk, pushes engineers to find makeshift solutions. Once, lightning struck a test stand, causing a bulge in the fuel tank. In a normal aerospace company, this would mean replacing the tank, which would take months. "Go up there with some hammers and just knock it back out, weld it, and we'll keep going," Musk said. He believes that any situation is salvageable. Sometimes it works.

What are your thoughts on such an approach? Would you like to work in Musk's team?

@hiaimediaen