Elon Musk has been making himself look like a fool recently, but as with most billionaire CEOs, behind all the bravado and drama there lie some intriguing nuggets of wisdom.

I'm currently stuck in a useless monthly two-hour-long sprint review, so I'm going to make myself useful by outlining and sharing Musk's famous rules regarding meetings because I (like most others) am intimately acquainted with the drawbacks of breaking them.

Here's a video of these points, courtesy of Casey Neistat.

Elon Musk's 6 Sigma rule for productivity

1. Avoid large meetings.

Large meetings waste valuable time and energy.

• They discourage debate
• People are more guarded than open
• There’s not enough time for everyone to contribute

Don’t schedule large meetings unless you’re certain they provide value to everyone.

2. Leave a meeting if you're not contributing.

If a meeting doesn’t require your

• input,
• value, or
• decisions

Your presence is useless. It’s not rude to leave a meeting, but it’s rude to waste people’s time.
(Unfortunately, in my experience, it is considered rude to leave meetings almost everywhere, even if you're not contributing at all.)

3. Forget the chain of command.

Communicate with colleagues directly, not through supervisors or managers. Fast communication means fast decisions, which leads to a competitive advantage.

4. Be clear, not clever.

Avoid nonsense words and technical jargon. They slow down communication. Choose words that are concise, to the point, and easy to understand.
Don't sound smart; be efficient.
see: Paul Graham's Write Simply

5. Ditch frequent meetings.

There is no better way to waste everyone's time. Use meetings to

• collaborate
• attack issues head-on, and
• solve urgent problems.

But once you resolve the issue, frequent meetings become unnecessary. You can resolve most problems without meeting. Instead of meetings, send a text / email. Don't interrupt your team's workflow unless absolutely necessary.

6. Use common sense.

If a company rule doesn't

• make sense,
• contribute to progress, or
• apply to your specific situation,

Avoid following the rule with your eyes closed. Don't follow rules. Follow principles.

source: @LiamKircher's Twitter thread