Why My Clients Love Elon Musk
2 min read
Are you tired of all the hoopla surrounding Quit Quitting and The Great Resignation? I am.
As I have been meeting with many of my clients as 2022 comes to an end, I can tell you that many of them are too.
I have written extensively on Quit Quitting, Quiet Firing, Quiet Hiring, and The Great Resignation, but I believe we are reaching a tipping point.
Let me explain. Enter Elon Musk.
Even among my most left-leaning progressive hiring authorities, I find many managers privately admitting that they wish they could run their firm like Elon Musk runs his including, most notably, Twitter.
His name has surfaced multiple times among different clients in the way he is turning the tables over at Twitter. I was surprised.
Privately, many envy his style and his push to get employees to do their best. Musk wants Winners. He wants to win. He wants to do great things. He is literally building a rocket ship to Mars. To work for him is the opportunity of a lifetime for many…and in exchange, he demands loyalty and commitment. My clients agree.
To change the world as Musk envisions, he needs winners on his team. Winners are those that work hard, persevere, and overcome obstacles. With grit and determination. They are folks that just don’t know the meaning of quitting. And that is why Musk is firing nearly 50% of his management. He wants less remote, and more in-office engagement. He wants management’s head in the game. Everyday. He wants winners. Not whiners. Way to go, Elon.
So why exactly are my clients being drawn to Musk? It’s the no-nonsense, unapologetic high standards he is setting for his employees. People are just tired of whining and complaining. Musk was quoted as recently saying, “Prepare yourself for a level of intensity that is greater than anything most of you have experienced before…” Now that’s a Battle Cry. A Call to Arms. Love it.
My best clients already do this, but Musk’s publicly documented approach at Twitter is providing some sorely needed inspiration to other CEOs and hiring authorities. I feel a power shift in the making here. Few want to admit it, but we all know the workforce has gone soft since the Pandemic.
Musk’s unfiltered style and incessant desire for maximum effort is refreshing to my clients. I run my recruiting business like this as well. If you don’t perform to standard, you’re out. It’s how military special operations trains…attrition is necessary. Survival of the Fittest.
Like Musk, many of my small business insurance agency owner clients have earned this right to set standards and insist their employees meet them on a consistent basis. They have earned this right. They are the ones that at one point in the distant past invested their time and money to build their businesses. They took the risk so they get to call the shots.
Elon Musk is just saying what everyone else is thinking. Bravo, Elon. You got some guts, man.
Well done.
Yes, I expect you will make it to Mars.
Warmest Holiday Regards,
Rob Houghton
