Question every requirement

Elon Musk, in his biography of Walter Isaacson, explains to have 5 commandments.

1. Question Every Requirement

Every requirement must have the name of the person who made it. Don’t accept vague sources like “the legal department” or “the safety department.” Find out exactly who is responsible. Once you know who it is, question the necessity and details of the requirement, no matter how smart or experienced the person is.

Important: Requirements from smart people can be the most risky because others might not question them enough. Always question these, even if they come from me. This will help make sure the requirements are better and less likely to cause problems.

2. Delete Any Unnecessary Parts or Processes

Get rid of any part or process that isn’t absolutely necessary. You might need to add some back later. If you don’t end up adding back at least 10% of what you removed, you probably didn’t delete enough. The aim is to simplify and make things more efficient.

3. Simplify and Optimize

After deleting the unnecessary parts, focus on making what’s left simpler and better. Make sure everything works as efficiently as possible. A common mistake is trying to simplify and optimize parts that shouldn’t even be there. Make sure you’ve removed all unnecessary parts before moving on to this step.

4. Speed Up Processes

Once everything is simplified and optimized, work on making the remaining processes faster. Every process can be quicker. However, only do this after you’ve completed the first three steps. At the Tesla factory, I made the mistake of speeding up processes that should have been eliminated instead.

5. Automate

Automation should be the last step. The big mistake Musk made in Nevada and Fremont was starting with automation. They should have waited until all requirements were questioned, unnecessary parts and processes were removed, and everything was simplified and optimized. Only then they should have automated.

Source:

Isaacson, Walter. Elon Musk