Elon Musk has shared a “simple algorithm” that helps him make fewer mistakes. Musk apparently has a 5-point agenda to optimise the working and increase productivity at his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.
A handle shared an image of the “algorithm” pasted on a wall said to be at SpaceX.
Wonder if @DOGE will adopt this like @SpaceX has
The algorithm has 5-points:
1. Make Requirements Less Dumb
2. Delete the Part or Process Step
3. Optimize
4. Accelerate
5. Automate
Replying to this post, Musk said that he came up with this to ‘make fewer mistakes’.
“This simple algorithm that I came up with to help me make fewer dumb mistakes in the future is incredibly powerful,” the Tesla CEO wrote on X.
The “algorithm” made debut in Elon Musk’s biography
Walter Isaacson, who wrote a biography of Elon Musk, mentioned this algorithm. It also has an explanation of these “algorithms”.
Question every requirement:Each should come with the name of the person who made it. You should never accept that a requirement came from a department, such as the “legal department” or the “safety department.”
Delete any part or process you can:You may have to add them back later. In fact, if you do not end up adding back at least 10 percent of them, then you didn’t delete enough.
Simplify and optimize:This should come after step two. A common mistake is to simplify and optimize a part or process that should not exist.
Accelerate cycle time:Every process can be speeded up. But only do this after you have followed the first three steps. In the Tesla factory, I mistakenly spent a lot of time accelerating processes that I later realized should have been deleted.
Automate:That comes last. The big mistake in Nevada and at Fremont was that I began by trying to automate every step. We should have waited until all the requirements had been questioned, parts and processes deleted, and the bugs shaken out.