The one productivity hack Elon Musk got wrong

Recently, Elon Musk sent a company-wide email to Tesla employees sharing a number of updates as well as his frustration on numerous fronts, which he plans to remedy in the coming weeks and months. The email has since been leaked, reposted, and referenced ad nauseam. While most of the content was directed at Tesla, there were a number of productivity hacks that Musk shared which have now gone viral. These hacks, especially the ones related to meetings, have media outlets and bloggers praising Musk for actually saying what theyve always wanted to: meetings are a waste of time. We need less of them. And when we do meet, it should be better organized, more efficient, and we all should be more engaged. And although I agree with most of Musk’s sentiments, there is one that I think he got wrong: Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time. Elon Musk, CEO Co-Founder, Tesla Inc., Company-wide email, 4/17/18 Listen, I hate meetings as much as anyone. And I am constantly searching for ways to make them more productive. But this little tidbit of wisdom isn’t the way to do it. In fact, it does the exact opposite. Whats the surest way to show contempt for your colleagues? Walking out of a meeting. Unless, of course, it is an actual emergency and youve discretely told someone that you need to go. But to simply leave a meeting because you dont feel youre adding value is not only disruptive and disrespectful, it signals that you think your time is more valuable than everyone else’s in the room. In addition, it also displays an extreme amount of arrogance and an unwillingness to learn. Surely you wouldn’t have been invited to the meeting unless the organizer believed you could add value or learn something by attending. The notion that you should just get up and walk out if you don’t feel you can contribute is counterproductive. To simply leave a meeting because you feel you can’t add value is not only disruptive and disrespectful, it signals that you think your time is more valuable than everyone else’s. Global business demands protocol, sensitivity, and respect Having had the privilege of working for and with several transformative global leaders throughout my career, I cannot imagine any of them abruptly walking out of a meeting unless an emergency dictated. Conducting business globally involves having an intimate understanding of and appreciation for your relationships. It requires sensitivity and respect for protocol and unwritten rules—all of which vary in intensity depending on where you are and the industry youre engaged in. When it comes to observing these protocols, dignity and respect should be projected in every aspect of how a meeting is arranged, conducted, and concluded. Protocol matters. Showing respect for others matters. And the potential for offense extends beyond the cross-cultural. Theres a further disadvantage if you are a female executive who does this. Women at work are prejudged and misjudged more harshly for all our actions and interactions, big and small. This is especially true in Silicon Valley, where we are few and far between in the leadership ranks. If we started abruptly leaving every meeting where we weren’t sure about the value we could add, we may miss the rare leadership opportunities when they present themselves (not to mention the negative blowback from peers who would misread our intentions). Dignity and respect should be projected in every aspect of how a meeting is arranged, conducted, and concluded. Protocol matters. Meetings are an opportunity to find out where you can add value or learn something from your colleagues.  But can there be less of them and can they be run better? Absolutely. My favorite meeting and team productivity hacks I appreciate Musk’s emphasis on direct communication, limiting excessive meetings, and eliminating acronyms. In addition, here are some of my favorite productivity hacks to increase efficiency and engagement in meetings. 1. Pre-work A few days before a big meeting, or even a week prior for global teams, try having one or two pre-work homework questions.   These should get people thinking ahead of time and increase their engagement in the meeting itself. I am consistently amazed at the number and quality of the ideas that come forth when people simply take a few minutes to focus on the concepts we are engaging with prior to coming together. I have also found that this is the best way to increase accountability from the entirety of a team, because everyone is being asked to contribute and share their ideas. I have sometimes expanded this to include an anonymous survey that people complete prior to a meeting. This is helpful if we are discussing anything sensitive—like HR, security concerns, diversity, inclusion, or gender equality efforts. This allows for unfiltered and specific feedback, which people would never feel comfortable sharing or discussing publicly. 2. Embedding engagement rituals If you want to increase engagement, you need to embed rituals in your meetings that will set expectations and encourage it. This can start with everyone sharing their responses to the assigned pre-work questions. Doing this does two things: One, it gets everyone to participate and engage at least at a basic level to prepare responses to your prompts. And two, it engages the introverts who may not feel comfortable jumping in. I like to start every meeting with 10 minutes of people sharing their responses to the pre-work, which gets everyone involved and engaged from the outset. Its a small investment of time that can build deeper engagement, transparency, and confidence going forward. The second engagement ritual that I like to embed and recommend to clients is to  not interrupt others when they are speaking. It is bad form to interrupt someone—we all know this. And yet it has become a habit to just interrupt someone at work, because we have time constraints and urgent matters to attend to. I get it, and I appreciate that we can’t let everyone drone on and on. But if we all tried to limit our interrupting, not only would it increase engagement because people feel fully heard, but you also might be surprised by what you hear when you let someone complete a full thought. Just something to consider. 3. Limit all technology and enforce a take-notes-on-paper policy One of the biggest complaints I get from my clients is how unproductive their meetings are because people are distracted by doing other things—on their phones, laptops, tablets, etc. When I hold my masterclasses and seminars in companies, I share my policy for only taking handwritten notes. This is the same policy I enforce for all the grad courses I teach at Hult International Business School. There are countless neuroscience studies that show we engage a larger, different part of the brain when we put pen to paper. Not only does note-taking increase one’s retention, creativity, and ability to actively listen, it also increases one’s situational awareness, which is essential to read the environment and adapt effectively. Taking it a step further—and as someone who has a Moleskine journal in hand at all times—you can find a great reference  for hacking your note-taking to increase productivity  here. The above three hacks are tried-and-tested with my global clients. I look forward to hearing your favorite hacks and recommendations, too. This is an area where we can always improve. Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business. To find out more, take a look at our blog Hult International Business School Book Reveals The Secrets To Success Of 50 World-Leading Businesses. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself. Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021 Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021"> During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . Happy New Year, Hultians! . Happy New Year, Hultians! .