Stop Solving Your Team’s Problems: 6 Ways to Execute Like Elon

2026-07-28

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If you look at the spectacular results that Tesla has achieved as a business, it might entice you to try to emulate Elon Musk’s leadership approach. But that would most likely be disastrous. People love to romanticise the image of the founder who’s so deep in the detail that he can solve the toughest technical problems better than his own engineers. How many LinkedIn posts extol the virtues of entrepreneurs who lead like this? But for 99.9% of leaders, this could never work. In this episode, I pull the principles of Musk’s algorithm apart, and explore what he actually did, why it wo...

If you look at the spectacular results that Tesla has achieved as a business, it might entice you to try to emulate Elon Musk’s leadership approach.

But that would most likely be disastrous. People love to romanticise the image of the founder who’s so deep in the detail that he can solve the toughest technical problems better than his own engineers.

How many LinkedIn posts extol the virtues of entrepreneurs who lead like this? But for 99.9% of leaders, this could never work.

In this episode, I pull the principles of Musk’s algorithm apart, and explore what he actually did, why it worked for him, and why trying to copy it will not only fail, but also stunt the growth of your leadership pipeline.

Instead, I give you 6 things you can actually do, when you don't have a brain the size of a planet.

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No Bullsh!t Leadership episodes:

Ep.408: The Real Reason Your Team Moves Slowly

Ep.386: Truth Doesn’t Travel Up

Amazon links:

The Algorithm

The Goal

The 4 Disciplines of Execution

Multipliers

YouTube link:

Alan Mulally - Speaking Up