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Have you ever received an email from your CEO at 1am?
And let's just say that e-mail … was not pretty.
After highlighting Tesla's many accomplishments over the past year, Musk is hailed by announcing a new round of job cuts, reducing the number of full-time employees about 7%.
Musk argues that job cuts are needed to help the company meet the unique challenges it faces. Challenges such as "making our cars, batteries and solar products cost competitive with fossil fuels," products Musk admits "are still too expensive for most people."
Musk also acknowledges that since Tesla has been competing "against huge and well-established competitors …[employees] must work a lot more than other manufacturers to survive. "
All this hard work is worth it, said Musk, to support the "mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable transportation and energy, which is important for all life on Earth" .
Difficult not to be inspired by this message.
Everyone, including the world's leading automakers, knows that the continued use of fossil fuels is not sustainable. And no one can deny that these companies would probably not be as invested in clean energy as they are right now, if it was not for Tesla who was leading the charge.
But although I'm a fan of much of Musk's philosophy, it's the next part of the memo that worries me:
"Many companies can offer a better work-life balance, because they are larger and more mature, or in less competitive sectors." Trying to make large-scale, affordable energy products requires extreme effort and relentless creativity, To succeed in our mission, it is essential to ensure that the future is good, so we must do everything in our power to advance the cause. "
"We must do everything in our power to advance the cause."
Musk's personal goal of saving the planet may be admirable, but what he implies is not.
Treat people like people
We generally think that emotional intelligence is a positive quality, a quality that can help you manage a conflict or establish deeper relationships. But in my book, QE applied, I describe how one could also use their knowledge and understanding of emotions to motivate or even manipulate others for the sole purpose of achieving a goal strategically.
Once this goal is reached, or when individuals are no longer able to pursue it, they are dismissed without much concern for their well-being.
Even though it is likely that Musk really believes in his own rhetoric, what he is trying to do, namely to get people to adhere to the mission of "saving the world" by working hard, is not enough. is just not sustainable.
And that hurts Tesla employees.
On the other hand, the most effective mission-oriented organizations encourage balance and take care of themselves. They realize that anything other than this is stupid and will eventually harm the cause, in the form of damaged workers and, subsequently, damaged culture.
Yes, the best organizations use their messages to inspire and emotionally reach their employees. But they do so by taking into account their individual needs.
The best organizations encourage their employees to get enough sleep by not sending email at 1am.
The best organizations encourage their employees to take time off by offering an adequate vacation policy and encouraging business leaders to set a good example by not working for their own vacations.
The best organizations set a pace that their employees can maintain indefinitely. Because they realize that long-term success is brought about, not necessarily by those who are fastest or who work the longest days, but by those who are stable and reliable.
By keeping the overview and treating their employees as real people, as opposed to disposable commodities, the best organizations inspire the loyalty of the company.
The first faces of musk this reality, the chances of the great Tesla to truly change the world.
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