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Vishu Bheda
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Medial • 3m
𝗘𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗸 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟯 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 Most CEOs work from fancy offices. Elon Musk? He slept under his desk. For 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, Musk lived inside Tesla’s factories in Fremont and Nevada. His bed? A couch, sometimes a tent, or just the cold factory floor. But why? Because 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. Musk didn’t want his team to think he was relaxing while they struggled. Instead, he slept where they worked—so every Tesla employee could see their CEO grinding just as hard. “𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐢 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠.” That’s why, during shift changes, workers saw Musk sleeping under his desk. It wasn’t for show—it was to prove he was in the trenches with them. The result? 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭. Musk believes this principle so much that he later banned remote work at Tesla, saying: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.” Leadership isn’t just about giving orders. It’s about setting the standard. If you want your team to give it their all, show them you’re willing to do the same. Would you work harder if your CEO slept on the floor next to you? If you found this helpful. Follow Vishu Bheda for more valuable startup insights from the world's best founders!
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