I consider Elon Musk to be one of the greatest CEOs of our time. He was the founder of Zip2, an online directory service, and PayPal. Musk is presently CEO and CTO of Tesla Motors, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, and SpaceX, a designer of space transport services. Through my analysis of Musk’s exploits, I conclude that his strength as a leader is threefold: his ability to inspire others with his vision, his unwavering motivation to seek profitability through sustainability and purpose, and his unrelenting leadership style borne out of a superhuman work ethic the struggles of entrepreneurship.
Musk’s success as a leader is perhaps most attributed to the scope and audacity of his vision. Some leaders see things as they are and ask why, Musk …show more content…
The Falcon 1 was the first privately owned rocket to achieve orbit; however, the story of its success was fraught with difficulty and doubt. After an engine misfire resulted in in a third launch failure, Musk succeeds in rousing his team to success through strong rhetoric and sheer force of will. In a speech to his team, Musk commended their success so far by listing countries that had failed successfully execute a first stage launch, then vowed that he would never concede to the challenge of reaching orbit. As Singh recounts, “it was the most impressive display of leadership that I have ever witnessed. Within moments the energy of the building went from despair and defeat to a massive buzz of determination as people began to focus on moving forward instead of looking back. This shift happened collectively, across all three hundred people in a matter of not more than five seconds. It was an unbelievably powerful experience” (Feloni). After a mere seven weeks, on September 28 2008, the Falcon 1 successfully launched, making history as the first private rocket to reach orbit and SpaceX was later awarded a $1 billion contract from NASA for five missions to the International Space Station. It was an incredible triumph for Musk in his vision to revolutionize space exploration, and marked SpaceX as a leader in its …show more content…
Musk is a paragon of the notion that profitability and sustainability are not enemies, but rather the foundation of a successful business model today. His success as a leader a combination of his ability to inspire others in his dream for the future succeed in business that attempt to realize his vision. His harsh leadership style is further backed by an unrelenting work ethic and selfless dedication to his goal – aspects of his character that can not help but inspire his team to “follow him to the gates of hell” (Feloni), and has certainly inspired
Musk’s success as a leader is perhaps most attributed to the scope and audacity of his vision. Some leaders see things as they are and ask why, Musk …show more content…
The Falcon 1 was the first privately owned rocket to achieve orbit; however, the story of its success was fraught with difficulty and doubt. After an engine misfire resulted in in a third launch failure, Musk succeeds in rousing his team to success through strong rhetoric and sheer force of will. In a speech to his team, Musk commended their success so far by listing countries that had failed successfully execute a first stage launch, then vowed that he would never concede to the challenge of reaching orbit. As Singh recounts, “it was the most impressive display of leadership that I have ever witnessed. Within moments the energy of the building went from despair and defeat to a massive buzz of determination as people began to focus on moving forward instead of looking back. This shift happened collectively, across all three hundred people in a matter of not more than five seconds. It was an unbelievably powerful experience” (Feloni). After a mere seven weeks, on September 28 2008, the Falcon 1 successfully launched, making history as the first private rocket to reach orbit and SpaceX was later awarded a $1 billion contract from NASA for five missions to the International Space Station. It was an incredible triumph for Musk in his vision to revolutionize space exploration, and marked SpaceX as a leader in its …show more content…
Musk is a paragon of the notion that profitability and sustainability are not enemies, but rather the foundation of a successful business model today. His success as a leader a combination of his ability to inspire others in his dream for the future succeed in business that attempt to realize his vision. His harsh leadership style is further backed by an unrelenting work ethic and selfless dedication to his goal – aspects of his character that can not help but inspire his team to “follow him to the gates of hell” (Feloni), and has certainly inspired