Elon Musk — currently the richest man in the world — after buying the company fired about 80% of employees of Twitter (now X), shortly after taking over the company in late 2022. This move involved reducing headcount from 7,500 to about 1,500.
Recently a US court dismissed the lawsuit — Elon Musk won the labor dispute with Twitter employees, which means that he is not required to pay at least 500 million dollars in severance to the thousands of employees he massively laid off after buying the social media company.
The opposite of what modern management preaches
While many experts advocate employee autonomy, work-life balance and avoiding micromanagement — Musk does the exact opposite, running numerous innovative companies such as SpaceX and Tesla.
Let’s compare modern trends with Musk’s approach.
Micromanagement vs. delegation and autonomy
- General trend: Modern management promotes delegation and team autonomy to increase creativity and productivity.
- Musk trend: Gets involved in the details of operations and expects high standards.
Work-life balance vs. intense work
- General trend: Flexible working conditions and remote work improve employee satisfaction and productivity.
- Musk trend: Employees work long hours and face high pressure.
Empathy and emotional intelligence vs. direct communication
- General trend: Leaders develop empathy and emotional intelligence for better understanding and support of teams.
- Musk trend: Direct and often blunt communication.
Data-driven decision making vs. intuitive decisions
- General trend: Using analytics for decision-making improves precision and efficiency.
- Musk trend: Relies on intuition and fast decisions.
Conclusion — there is no universal formula
It should not be concluded that modern management principles are less valuable or worthless — but rather that there are many ways to achieve success. The key is to find a balance that suits the specific needs of your organization and employees.
What is certain is that there is no universal formula for management, communication or decision-making. Just as every person is unique, so is every company and organization. Results are what show whether you are doing well or not.
This text serves to raise awareness among all those who think they are doing something wrong because they are doing it differently from what they hear at seminars — or others who do what they hear at seminars and then see a Musk who does things completely differently.
In the end: your organization, your team, your family, your friends, your nation, your world — are actually you.
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