Will Elon Musk Succeed Or Fail With Twitter?

If you are a fan of reality tv documentaries like Back To The Floor or Undercover Boss I suggest you start following Elon Musk on Twitter as you don’t need a tv subscription to watch the latest corporate drama unfold real time. 

A video of Musk walking into Twitter HQ carrying a bathroom sink with the caption “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” was how many found out that the sale of Twitter to Musk was complete. It was a rapid conclusion to the endless “will-he won’t-he?” buy Twitter question last week.  

The deal got done and Musk immediately fired CEO Parag Agrawal, finance head Ned Segal, and head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde. But the real question is will Musk succeed or fail with his $44B investment? And will this be a distraction from Tesla and SpaceX that neither business can afford?

Musk’s first few days at the helm of the social media giant have been as frantic as the legal battles to determine the fate of the 7,500 Twitter employees. 

During the acquisition phase, Musk told investors that he could double Twitter’s revenue in 3 years and that he believed 75% of its workforce was not needed. Lofty goals and certainly claims that will put many current employees on edge even if the headcount cuts are being downplayed internally. 

Though the deal has been done, I doubt that the debate is over on the mechanics of the valuation as Musk has tasked a team to change the much coveted Twitter blue check to a paid only subscription. A sure way to weed out all of the bots that were at the heart of Musk’s claim that Twitter’s own reporting of users (and therefore their valuation) was exaggerated. While this is a great idea, but if the report in The Verge is true that the team has been told launch this by November 7th or you are fired, then it won’t help to win the hearts and minds of the Twitter teams. 

I do support Musk’s focus on inefficient middle managers, he’s supposedly asked the Tesla Engineers he trusts to identify technical middle managers who haven’t contributed to the code base. Now there could be an opportunity for some productivity gains!

Musk has often been quoted saying he wants to reduce Twitter’s content moderation, and concerning reports over the weekend indicate racial slurs on Twitter has risen since Musk took over the company. Celebrities including Lebron James called out Musk personally on Twitter over the weekend to ask Musk to address this and take it seriously. 

The window into Twitter has been opened as Musk answers LeBron and others questions real time on Twitter; polling if he should bring back Twitter’s short form video Vine; seemingly sharing evidence to support his past legal claims against the Twitter board, and ridiculing automated internal management training prompts publicly. His 112 million followers all following along. 

While everyone else waits for the next season of HBO’s brilliant series Succession to return, we only need to tune in to Twitter to watch the self named Chief Twit himself take center stage for his next performance. I expect Tesla and SpaceX won’t be seeing as much of Musk for a while.

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

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Three Easy Ways To Get What You Want Sooner Than You Think

“I can’t believe they said yes to everything I asked for, Val!”

That’s what an executive told me Friday morning who had just spoke to the CEO of a company who had offered her a new role. 

This was an example of the first way you get what you want far faster than you think: Just Ask. 

“I laid it out, salary, equity, budget control, executive development support, conferences I wanted to attend and they said yes to every single thing!”

I love hearing leaders talk about the impact of my advice especially when it benefits them personally and professionally. It really is that simple you just ask. Clearly and confidently asking for what you want helps reduce the guessing game and more often than not you get what you ask for. 

I’ve just returned from Las Vegas where I took my three daughters to watch Katy Perry perform her last show in her Vegas residency. A year ago, despite high demands for her to launch another world tour she said no, she didn’t want to travel the world. She wanted to be home more to spend time with her new daughter Daisy. Just saying No is the second way you get what you want. If you don’t say no, you don’t leave space for when you can say yes to what you really want. By saying no to a world tour it allowed Katy to be available to fulfill one of her career goals of performing in Vegas. - which she was paid $168million for! Certainly worth saying no. While many might not be able to command that level of reward, it never ceases to amaze me the money executives leave on the table for themselves and their company for failing to get what they want. 

The third and final way you get what you want is by asking others if your request is realistic and reasonable.  I find in my conversations with executives that too often their requests that they want to make are either overly optimistic or extremely cautious. Having someone who can calibrate expectations, offer comparisons of what is typical in other companies, and reset what you ask for is how you get what you want more often. Whether discussing your strategy with your board, pitching partnership opportunities, or deliberating potential acquisitions, the external barometer of advisors is crucial. 

Finally, if you get a chance to see Katy Perry in concert, her performance is magical. It was a full theatrical performance complete with audience participation, personal stories, and fabulous sets.

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/

How To Immediately Grab Attention When Emails Are Ignored

I’ve received a bamboo toothbrush, arugula seeds, a metal straw, and seed pods for attracting bees.

All from skincare company emerginC. Whose emails I rarely open despite buying from them every couple of months.

I am also on first name terms with their warehouse manager Jeff, as he always leaves me a lovely hand written card in my order with a personalized note. I probably know more about emerginC’s sustainability programs than any other company. Why?

Because:

They don’t rely on email.  

They put their action where their talk is. 

They try creative ways to tell their story. 

Their giveaways aren’t gimmicky - they solve the issues they stand behind - and they are useful!

When I speak at conferences and corporate events I give away unusual items that make a point about my talk. Props that I have used on stage that act as a reminder for what I am suggesting the audience does next. Props that the audience takes photos of and shares, further sharing my message and becoming more memorable. 

This goes beyond corporate life.

Last year I was helping out my daughter's school fundraising auction and it was clear that the email communication wasn’t working. So I bought a few boxes of mandarin oranges, created stickers with QR codes for ticket purchases and donations, and gave the oranges away at morning car line. No one really expected to be handed an orange at 8am in the morning, never mind with a QR code attached. It was a conversation starter, it piqued people’s curiosity and the message quickly got out there!

The High School Volleyball team at my eldest’s school just made the playoffs. Go Ravens! Sunday evening I took my daughter to the campus entrance to stick up a poster she had made encouraging people to come to the game. Everyone will drive past it at the car line drop off and see it as they walk through the campus gate. A hand written old school sign. You can go over to my Instagram page to see it. I have to say that seeing her putting up signs in the dark with crows on them gave me serious Banksy vibes! —he who epitomizes eye-catching communication. You can read my Inc Magazine Interviews on Banksy here and here. 

Back to business life, everyone who used to be on the road and traveling for work is now starting to return at various speeds. Conferences are back. Attention spans are short. It is time to get creative. 

How are you catching the attention beyond email?

I too want to make sure my communications are catching attention, it’s why three years ago I started using SuperPhone technology for text messages when I speak at events around the world. You can sign up to text chat with me here and if you text the phrase #goravens before 5pm PT on 10/18 you will have 24 hours to ask me anything as a gift from me. 

This weekly publication will celebrate its tenth anniversary in a few months. Thank you to all of you who have been here since the beginning and those who have joined along the way and are part of several thousand readers who receive this each Monday.  I love hearing you reactions and feedback every week. 

To allow even more people access, I am also launching this VAL-uable Insights publication on LinkedIn as they have invited me to use their newsletter service. You will see added bonus sections there so look out for the invite in your LinkedIn Inbox to never miss a publication. 

How are you catching the attention and getting your message across beyond email? Let me know and I might feature your company in a future publication.

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/