Elon Musk, an Effective Person - Essay Example

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is a south African-born American business man, engineer, inventor and investor. By October 2017 he had an estimated net worth of 20.8 billion US dollars and was ranked 21st wealthiest person in American. This [person has a great vision of changing the world for the better. As such he has been involved in various activities which are meant to change the world for the better and that is through engaging in activities that are likely to transform the world. He is a technology and innovation enthusiast who has been involved in the development of different corporate institutions which have had an impact in the society. This essay will discuss Elon Musk as an effective person and explain different examples that show his effectiveness.

Throughout his life, Elon has led a life where he has been engaging in activities that are meant to improve people’s lives and the society at large. He has been doing this because of his vision of impacting the world and making it better for all. His engagements are meant to take care of the environment and this is meant to promote sustainability in the future. A lot of activities that people and corporates have been engaging in have had a negative impact in the environment where pollution has affected people through global warming. Elon has been innovating various products which are meant to reduce the levels of pollution in the environment as well as improve efficiency in the society. The world today is suffering global warming due to pollution that arises from industrialization where there are many toxic substances being emitted to the environment which cause pollution and hence affect the environment negatively. Elon has been working towards minimizing emissions to the environment (Musk & Easto, 2017). 

He is Proactive

Elon is a proactive person and this is one of the characteristics of a highly effective person. He shows concern from his activities and engagements. He works towards avoiding problems rather than reacting to such problems. For instance, he has been working towards developing electric cars which have a lower impact on the environment when it comes to pollution. Electric cars do not emit toxic substances to the environment. This is unlike the fossil fuel engines which have carbon emissions which pollute the environment. Being an enthusiast, he works towards innovating ways in which such toxic substances can be reduced in the environment. The other innovation he is working on is the electric jet engine where there is no need of using jet fuel to power the engine. This is a move towards reducing the level of pollution that is caused by airplanes which use jet fuel. These innovations will have an impact in a way of reducing pollution in the environment. Also, he is involved in using solar as a source of energy. Solarcity is one of the ways through which he is encouraging the use of solar as a source of green energy which is less harmful to the environment.

All the efforts he has had in producing eco-friendly products in the market are in a way helping in preventing the harmful effects of pollution which are being experienced in the world today. Tesla is involved in producing electric cars which are more environmentally friendly than those that use petroleum fuel. Being proactive is one of the characteristics of being effective. Whenever a person is proactive, they tend to find solutions to problems and also work towards avoiding such problems. Taking initiative and showing concern of the happenings in society is highly commendable since it helps in reducing chances of getting into problems. Effective people will tend to have solutions to issues such as environmental pollution since this is a factor that is affecting the society (Covey, 2004). Global warming is one of the issues that has been under discussion yet most corporates are not ready to give solutions to this problem. Elon has been on the forefront in working towards salvaging the environment since he develops products and concepts which are meant to protect the environment.

People who are not effective tend to have problems of developing solutions to issues that arise. Such people are not proactive and only focus on solving issues after they arise. Prevention of such issues is not part of their reasoning. Most ineffective people are less innovative and cannot create preventive measures to a problem. As a result they lead normal lives where they are less concerned about the happenings around them. This relates to how they reason or engage in various aspects of life. Being effective needs that a person be proactive in whatever they do to ensure that avoidable mistakes or problems do not happen and this is how Elon has been operating to ensure that the environment is kept safe for sustainability. This is one of the ways in which he portrays himself as an effective person who is proactive and does not wait for disaster to happen in order to react.

Synergize

Synergizing is engaging in networking which is meant to improve a person’s abilities or make achieving certain goals easier for a person. Engaging different people and corporates is necessary in ensuring that a person’s performance is enhanced. Collaborations are normally meant to improve performance or effectiveness of a person or a corporate (Covey, 2004). That is why there are acquisitions in the business environment which are meant to improve their overall performance. When people and corporates merge, they tend to be better because they benefit from the synergies that are created. For instance, one organization can be perfect in marketing while the other is good in production. The two corporates can merge so that they benefit from each other’s strengths. The producing company will benefit from the marketing experience of the other company and through this they will be able to cover a wider market both in the short-run and in the long-run. Effectiveness is achieved when there are synergies accruing from engaging different partners and corporates. This is because each partner has strengths that they can utilize in ensuring effectiveness is achieved.

The same way corporates can benefit from synergies that accrue through collaborations, individuals can also benefit in a similar manner. Effectiveness is achieved when a person has a wide network of people and corporations which support him or her to be more effective in life. For instance, Elon has a wide network and engages different organizations which are in different industries. He does this as an investor where he picks some of the corporations that are fit for his vision. For instance, Tesla is one of the organizations that works in line with his vision and engaging them is one of the ways his effectiveness is improved by the company. Producing electric cars is one of the ways in which the environment can be conserved and protected for sustainability. His being affiliated to Tesla makes him more effective because this company is producing products that he is advocating for. Being part of the innovators team of the electric car, he is in a better position to push for his agenda of conserving the environment.

Paypal is the other company that fulfils his effectiveness in his quest to make the world a better place. Paypal is a money transfer system that has been able to improve people’s lives because it has made the transfer of money from one person to another easy (Vance, 2017). Being associated with this company is a good idea because it is through this that people can lead an easy life. Besides, the organization has made e-commerce easier because payments can be made through their platform. The company has improved efficiency and effectiveness in various industries across the globe which is a strength that makes Elon an effective person. Identifying people and organizations that enhance ones performance is great in ensuring that there are synergies that such a person can benefit from since effectiveness is achieved easily. Seeking first to understand then to be understood is the other characteristic that effective people have which is related to synergizing. When a person understands situations it becomes easy for them to be understood since they push for a defined agenda. Elon is such a person who understands issues first before seeking to be understood. His course to make the world a better place to live has been developed through an understanding that he has had through analyzing different scenarios in order to come up with solutions and seeking assistance from other corporates.

Putting First Things First

This is a factor that is concerned with priorities that individuals have and how they align these priorities to achieve effectiveness. Elon portrays this character in the way he approaches different issues. Being a business man, he has not put net worth and profits as priorities in his functions. He has prioritized improving the environment and making the world better. All his investments and businesses are focused on reducing pollution and conserving the environment. The environment is a matter of urgency where there is a need to develop immediate solutions which are meant to conserve it due to the speed at which global warming is affecting the climate. The fact that he prioritizes the environment before profits or financial success can be exhibited in how he uses a lot of resources to come up with a concept that has an impact in conserving the environment. For instance, Tesla can produce cars which use fossil fuels but he chose to develop an electric car, a concept that may have been despised by many because they do not believe that such cars can work the same way as the fuel powered engines. Besides, he is working on an electric jet engine which is an expensive course which may take long to have his returns. Despite being that challenging, he still engages in this activities because he knows they are of help in conserving the environment and in the long-run they will be profitable.

Effective people tend to develop priorities for specific issues which are important if implemented. Whenever a person has priorities in life, they tend to develop programs and schedules which guide them to deliver on their projects based on their priorities. This is a character that is portrayed by the effective people in life. Having schedules is a sign of being careful on what is being delivered effectively. Elon is a person who schedules his activities and they have to happen the way he likes them to. He is effective because he follows his schedules and makes use of them appropriately. Whenever there is a problem in delivering on the scheduled projects, he has to find ways of ensuring that such projects are completed within the stipulated period of timelines.

Elon thinks of wins which is the other characteristic which complements scheduling and putting first things first. This creates a spirit in him which makes him to deliver on his projects effectively and efficiently. Whenever a person is set to win, he has to set strategies on how such a win can be achieved which makes them effective in what they do. Elon has the winning spirit and the strategies he uses are effective.

To conclude, having analyzed the different characteristics that Elon exhibits, he is an effective person since he is focused on his vision which he finds to be important to safeguard the environment through engaging in projects that reduce negative impacts on the environment. He has most of the characteristics that effective people have and that makes him a very effective person in life since he has all his projects working out effectively.