It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the entrepreneur of entrepreneurs knows how to run a good meeting, especially when he believes that meetings are terrible almost by definition and that they happen when people aren’t working!
We can find Elon Musk’s formula for better meetings in one of his (many) leaked emails to Tesla employees as well as from the shared experienced from previous Tesla executives: Elon has a laser focus on efficiency to save time, communicate well and maintain clear accountability.
1. Get rid of large meetings – no more than 6 people – unless you are 100% certain it provides value to the entire audience, in which case keep it very short.
2. Get rid of frequent meetings – unless you are dealing with an urgent matter which justifies it. Meeting frequency should drop rapidly once the urgent matter is resolved.
3. Don’t be late for a meeting. Be on time so the meeting starts on time with everyone present, and doesn’t run over its allocated time and delay the next meeting.
4. Be prepared. You are wasting your time and other people’s time by coming in unprepared and unable to answer questions related to your department.
5. Stick to the agenda. Don’t rumble on. If you’re done earlier than expected, end the meeting, no need to sit around and fill in the time.
6. Leave the meeting as soon as you’re not adding any more value. It is not rude to leave if handled properly but it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.
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