Billionaires are often known for their bizarre routines. While some barely sleep, others prioritise rest over the “hustle,” yet all tend to set the tone for their respective workplaces. Elon Musk, currently one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, is famous for his relentless drive for productivity.
To eliminate travel time and maximise work hours, Musk has reportedly preferred sleeping at his office. Eschewing a lavish lifestyle, Musk famously laid down his “anti-meeting” commandments in a 2018 email to Tesla employees.
Like Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos prioritises efficiency and the shortest path of communication. Bezos famously implemented his “Two-Pizza Rule”: he believes no meeting should have more participants than two large pizzas can feed. He maintains that smaller groups work faster and prefers keeping meetings brief to maintain high-level focus.
Elon Musk’s ‘no meeting’ rules
According to the 2018 email, Musk wrote, “Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get out of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.”
He added, “Also, get rid of frequent meetings, unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter. Meeting frequency should drop rapidly once the urgent matter is resolved.”
- Avoid large meetings
Large meetings, according to this philosophy, often slow down work instead of improving it. The idea is simple: if too many people are in the room, conversations become longer, decisions take more time, and accountability gets diluted. The emphasis is on keeping discussions focused and practical. Frequent meetings are also viewed as disruptive, especially when they interrupt actual work.
- The walk-out rule
One of the more striking workplace ideas is the suggestion that employees should simply walk out of meetings once they realise they are no longer contributing anything meaningful. The thinking behind this is rooted in efficiency rather than disrespect.
Staying in a room out of obligation, even when your presence serves no purpose, is seen as a larger waste of time. The quote, “It is not rude to leave — it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time,” as per Musk, reflects a culture that places high value on productivity and individual contribution over traditional workplace etiquette.
- Hierarchy
In hierarchy, the philosophy challenges the traditional corporate chain of command. Instead of information slowly moving through multiple managerial layers, communication is expected to travel through the shortest and fastest route possible.
If an employee needs an answer from another team, they are encouraged to directly contact the relevant person rather than waiting for approvals to move upward and downward through management structures. The belief is that rigid hierarchies often create unnecessary delays and confusion.
- Corporate jargon
Complicated acronyms, technical buzzwords, and vague corporate language are seen as barriers to effective communication rather than signs of intelligence. The idea is that if a term constantly needs explanation, it is already making communication slower and less accessible.
At Musk’s Tesla, there has been a strong preference for simple, direct language that anyone in the organisation can understand immediately. The goal is to remove unnecessary complexity and make conversations faster, clearer, and more action-oriented.