What makes Elon Musk a successful entrepreneur? | CIOLOOK

What makes Elon Musk a successful entrepreneur?

Influential and charismatic people have a big impact on the masses basically due to their phenomenal success, mind-blowing innovation, extraordinary skills, power, and the huge income they earn and enjoy. They are the fortunate few who are looked up to by the millions of success aspirants worldwide for inspiration.

The most influential businessmen of today who create news through their comments, actions, and decisions; include Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Travis Kalanik, and many more.

Talking about the modern day influential entrepreneur whose tweet can create a whirlpool in the markets across the nation, Elon Reeve Musk is the world-renowned American business tycoon and investor having numerous

businesses in various modern sectors. He is one of the most successful and powerful influencing business leaders who has created numerous benchmarks through his innovative business strategies.

As we ponder on Elon Musk and his success journey, it is revealed that he has been very differently accurate in his business decisions. Let’s identify some of the interesting aspects that had been the distinct factors in his success as an entrepreneur and light on Elon Musk Leadership style.

Big Thinking

The open mindset of big thinking is one of the prime factors of his success. Elon always had big plans and big dreams. He believes in the fact that big dreams prepare us for a higher level and demand higher work output with different thinking. Big thinkers think from a vast and macroscopic perspective which elevates

the

entire

process

from

thoughts,

plans,

working,

actions,

implementation, and results.

In 2016 Elon Musk founded The Boring Company in Los Angeles. The company is an infrastructure and tunnel construction services company having numerous ongoing and proposed projects exclusively designed for intra-city transit systems. It has completed two tunnels in Las Vegas for loop travel.

Elon is currently the angel investor, CEO, and principal architect of Tesla Inc. In 2004, he was an early investor in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.).

He became its chairman and product architect, eventually assuming the position of CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a solar energy company that was later acquired by Tesla and became Tesla Energy. He planned for one of the most advanced, highly efficient, and luxurious electric vehicles that would revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and change the perspective of the people looking at electric vehicles as an efficient and reliable source of clean energy.

In 2015, Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI, a non-profit research company promoting friendly Artificial Intelligence (AI). The company is into AI research and deployment on a mission to ensure artificial intelligence benefits all humanity.

Extremely Decisive

Elon is a quick thinker and fast implementor. He is very action-oriented and likes to act as quickly as possible on the plans. He is a multi-tasking person who sets many actions as he expects things to happen that can be done. Elon believes that a lot of information can be processed simultaneously through fast work. Except for a few cases, this quality increases his decisiveness giving him a competitive advantage.

Elon is an efficient person who applies rational thinking, physics, and science in deriving quick solutions without allowing ego, favouritism, and politics in the purely professional business ecosystem. Elon believes that action leads to clarity,

and inaction creates doubts. He was impressed by one quote, “Make a decision and then make it right.”

The recent news about the Elon Musk Twitter acquisition made waves across the news verticals. Earlier, he planned the acquisition of the world’s most popular social media platform, which he cancelled, citing certain feasibility issues. The Twitter management had sued him for backing out of the deal.

However, he has refuted all the allegations.

Strong Work Ethic -Futuristic Goals

Most people want to be successful, and they easily say it too. But there is a handful few who are desperate to become successful and are ready to do everything that it takes. Referring to a proverb, “If you kind of wants something, then you’ll kinda get it.” No matter how much one wants something, if the work ethic doesn’t match the goal, they cannot achieve it. Simple. He has a reputation for outworking the work as he has worked 16-hour days for years; it becomes feasible if it is done with a ‘matter-of-fact’ attitude.

Elon believes in working to justify the business goals. Does the work ethic match the goals should be the question? Investors believed in his aggressive work ethic and his attitude toward getting things done.

Knowing Mission Clearly

Elon believes that there is a shortage of passionate people with excitement and inner fire to do something important to them. He took up a different mission of

giving humans the plan B of living on Mars. For some, it sounded crazy, but it didn’t matter to him as it was an important mission. Most tasks seem crazy until someone does them and shows the way.

In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, of which he serves as CEO and Chief Engineer. Visualizing the mission to be fulfilling as a reality, Musk is committed to the mission and has invested his funds, building a team in his company SpaceX and collaborating with numerous astrophysicists in moving forward.

Dynamic Optimism

During the early stages of Tesla, he got a lot of criticism and pessimistic comments like ‘it can’t be done. It was a tough time finding vendors and quality suppliers as most people didn’t believe in his plans. He was fiercely optimistic and very focused on implementing his EV dream through Tesla. He took numerous roles and functions that some of the team members didn’t believe to work and made them happen. Elon approached numerous companies and miscellaneous business entrepreneurs to get this plan rolling.

He worked on numerous presentations and mutual benefiting strategies to rope in companies to partner in his company. It took him some time till he got all the things lined up as planned. He built one of the finest electric car companies without any prior knowledge of the automobile industry or any experience in electrical engineering. His optimism is not stupid, or vague e constantly believes in his plans and strives to add the threads of possibilities to make them realize.

Priorities – Understanding and Living them

As a hardcore practical entrepreneur, Elon Musk learned everything the hard way. He strongly believes that life and business are all about priorities. Priorities are the important factors that open the opportunities and pave the way for success. He never expected others to understand and care about his priorities or his goals. For him, his goals are the most important priorities. Elon has created a different culture of priorities in the organization. Everyone is expected to be fulfilling the priorities with complete discipline and dedication.

He has identified a strange but cruel reality about the professional world, “if you don’t set your priorities and live by them, then others will dictate their priorities to you. It is how you allow others to treat you, so you will be treated.”

Solving Bigger Problems

Elon disapproves of the habit of complaining and complacency. People often feel good while complaining about the existing problems and continue the traditional patterns through their complacency. He is obsessed with focusing on bigger problems. He believes in coming out of our comfort zone of traditional practices and getting out of the addiction to fossil fuels to look up to renewable energy sources of solar and wind energies. These powerful energy resources are free and permanent, yet they are underutilized. These alternative sources are

abundant and can fulfil the energy requirements of all those who utilize them wisely.

Elon thought of a futuristic perspective of expanding the human civilization on Mars planet in an ambitious initiative by 2050. He always thinks about implementing technology for the betterment of mankind. He has discovered one aspect through his experience that bigger problems are sources of bigger opportunities

and

lead

to

the

strengthening

of

abilities,

increasing

resourcefulness, and empowerment with most valuable self-confidence.

Scaling Newer Dimensions

Elon Musk is an excellent example of dynamic entrepreneurship fuelled with a strong purpose focusing on a big futuristic vision taking humanity to a whole new dimension altogether. His commitment to purpose and passion for achieving his goals is a powerful motivation for people worldwide. He has proved through his examples that any dream is possible if you have the passion and courage to follow it.

About the Author

Kedar Borgaonkar is a senior content writer and talent head by profession at Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. He has also completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in History, Post-Graduation in Advertising and Public Relations and a Diploma in Printing Technology. He is an avid reader, writer, and motivational trainer for soft skills and English professional communication.