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Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

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Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#71

Post by diebeforei485 »

jedberg wrote: post #17
justinzollars wrote: post #7

The most significant thing he said in this interview was probably on the regulatory burden that California businesses have to deal with. He compared regulatory creep to a frog boiling slowly in water. He also indicated his 2 companies Tesla and SpaceX are the last - automotive and aerospace companies in California, a state that was once a leader.

> He also indicated his 2 companies Tesla and SpaceX are the last - automotive and aerospace companies in California, a state that was once a leader. Except it isn't true. Other companies still make rockets in SoCal. For example Areojet Rocketdyne is still headquartered in El Segundo (next to LAX). They made the main engine for the Space Shuttle and are currently still making it for the upcoming SLS.

Do you have a cite for them making rockets (not just engines) in CA? I glanced at their 10-K from last year and they talk about moving some of their production from CA to AR and VA.

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#72

Post by jjk166 »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #53
nbardy wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our society has plenty of Elon Musks. Their being snuffed out by a academic system designed to churn out people can repeat "the correct answer". Heterodox thinking is a liability not an asset in Academia now. Along with the fact that most people don't even have the option to take risk with the massive increase of cost of housing. Our society has been designed to squeeze out cash flow and it's smothering our creatives…

>Along with the fact that most people don't even have the option to take risk with the massive increase of cost of housing. This just means people won't be taking risks in places like SF. There's plenty of cheap housing out there. Just not in places where the market is driven up by supply constraints and money printers. And before anyone says "hurr durr, nobody wants to live in BFE Alabama" I'm talking about places l…

You need decently large populations of risk takers living in reasonably close proximity to create an environment like silicon valley. There are plenty of places that have low cost of living, but as soon as you create that environment, the costs of living will skyrocket. Further, while costs may be lower than is SF, costs are rising nearly everywhere faster than inflation. For example in Cleveland the median home price was a mere $18k in 2008, in 2016 it was $40k, it's currently $110k. Buffalo went from $95k in 2016 to $180k now, hartford from $100k to $190k, and atlanta from $200k to $350k. Cost of living is of course more complicated than just median home price but you get the idea.

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#73

Post by sixQuarks »

Someone1234 wrote: post #50
sixQuarks wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure where you’re getting your info from. Musk and his brother started and sold zip2 for millions, while living a very frugal existence. He used that money to start x.com, which merged with PayPal, sold to eBay. He used that money to start SpaceX and invest in Tesla.

The Musk's families wealth is common knowledge and widely reported[0][1][2]. But more to the point Elon and Kimbal's dad funded Zip2, which completely undercuts your point. > In Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk, it is claimed that the Musks' father, Errol Musk, provided them with US$28,000 during this time, but Elon Musk later denied this. He later clarified that his dad provided around 10% of US$200,000 as part…

You’re really grasping at straws here. Even if the articles you linked to are true, that means Elon raised 90% of the initial $200k from outside his family. $20k from his dad is hardly what I would consider wealth privelage, especially after considering what Elon has gone to achieve

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#74

Post by eightysixfour »

inglor_cz wrote: post #2

He is onto something there. Bean counting is useful and companies cannot survive without good cashflow, but it should not become Mission A of the company, or engineering (and other) talent will look elsewhere. If one company's de facto mission statement is "We want to grow our market by 8.2 per cent and give our bosses higher Christmas bonuses" and another one comes and says "Guys, we want to fly to fscking Mars!", c…

The book "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy" discusses this. There seems to be a group of people that think that "grow by 8.2 percent" is a strategy. It is not, it is a goal. Companies with a good strategy will eat the lunch of a company who doesn't know what a strategy is.

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#75

Post by neltnerb »

_jal wrote: post #6

Finally, he says something I can agree with. MBAs are for optimizing stable firms. They're walking death for startups, I personally have seen it happen.

I'm definitely never going to work for a startup with an MBA in charge ever ever again. They enjoy negotiating and often assume that their employees do too, so it's like pulling teeth to get the smallest issues dealt with, much less big ones like getting reasonable pay without having to raise a stink first. It was stupid and counterproductive.

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#76

Post by ta988 »

nbardy wrote: post #46
mhaberl wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is in a very specific situation, he is the founder and the CEO and has a lot of money to burn. He wants to do big things and he can do them. A lot of companies have stock holders who expect some return every year without risking too much. As a society we sure would be better off if had more Elon Musk type company leaders, but for that too happen we would need more exceptional people like him (not going to happen)…

Our society has plenty of Elon Musks. Their being snuffed out by a academic system designed to churn out people can repeat "the correct answer". Heterodox thinking is a liability not an asset in Academia now. Along with the fact that most people don't even have the option to take risk with the massive increase of cost of housing. Our society has been designed to squeeze out cash flow and it's smothering our creatives…

Yes and now you have academics getting MBAs to get administrative positions in universities.

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#77

Post by nine_k »

lazyjones wrote: post #54
orky56 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spot on. MBA's aren't meant for 0 to 1. They're meant to optimize and sustain business models with the foundation of innovation and revolutionary ideas. Companies that only stick to one or the other are doomed, or require their industry to be that much more technical or business focused.

How is this working for other car makers, who are full of MBAs? Elon comes along and takes their market share.

Is e.g. Toyota MBA-driven? (I have no idea.)

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#78

Post by [deleted] »

diebeforei485 wrote: post #71
jedberg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He also indicated his 2 companies Tesla and SpaceX are the last - automotive and aerospace companies in California, a state that was once a leader. Except it isn't true. Other companies still make rockets in SoCal. For example Areojet Rocketdyne is still headquartered in El Segundo (next to LAX). They made the main engine for the Space Shuttle and are currently still making it for the upcoming SLS.

Do you have a cite for them making rockets (not just engines) in CA? I glanced at their 10-K from last year and they talk about moving some of their production from CA to AR and VA.

[deleted]

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#79

Post by mmmBacon »

haolez wrote: post #13

I, for one, sometimes miss the knowledge that an MBA might give me. I'm a technical CTO and I have some trouble with long term planning, budget, managing people, etc.

I report to a CTO and manage a large team. You probably need to delegate your planning and budget activities and serve as mostly an approver for those things.

Managing people is hard and it’s unlikely you will learn how to manage people from an MBA. Managing people is an experience thing.

If you’re bad at managing people, my advice is that you hire people who are good a managing people and have those people report to you. At the same time, you probably want to minimize your number of directs.

You might even consider keeping your org small and have a VP of Engineering report into someone else on the C-Staff for all things execution related.

This will allow you to focus on your strengths which hopefully are technology roadmap/vision and selling that vision to customers.

Re: Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America

#80

Post by dmode »

justinzollars wrote: post #7

The most significant thing he said in this interview was probably on the regulatory burden that California businesses have to deal with. He compared regulatory creep to a frog boiling slowly in water. He also indicated his 2 companies Tesla and SpaceX are the last - automotive and aerospace companies in California, a state that was once a leader.

Weird thing for him to complaint about "regulations", considering said regulations helped kick start the electric car industry and saved his car company. The 7.5k fed credit, the 2500 CA tax credit, mandated charging stations, solar subsidies, HOV sticker, upcoming mpg mandate - all of this was necessary to support Tesla. I literally bought electric for the HOV sticker that comes with it. I feel like I am losing respect for Elon everyday, even though I own two Teslas.
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