'Walk Out of a Meeting'—Elon Musk's Rule That Defines Billionaire Success

"Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren't adding value," Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk once wrote in a company-wide email in 2018. "It is not rude to leave; it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time."

The line reflects a broader billionaire mindset: ambitious, efficient, and unafraid to break norms.

"What most CEOs have—that almost nobody else has—is that their ambition is way over the top," coaching firm LifeHikes CEO Bill Hoogterp told Fortune. "Now, if you combine that with lazy, you create a really nice blend because if you're really, really hungry to get success, but you're always looking for shortcuts, the combination of those two things leads to lots of little breakthroughs."

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According to Hoogterp, this ambitious and lazy combo pushes leaders to constantly seek shortcuts, asking, ‘How can I get this done faster, easier, better, and have time and energy for other things?'

Speed Over Ceremony: How Top CEOs Keep Things Moving

That emphasis on speed and efficiency is a common theme among other top executives.

To prevent siloed communication, Nvidia Corp NVDA CEO Jensen Huang avoids one-on-one meetings with direct reports, favoring open forums that accelerate information flow.

Speed often means stepping back. Amazon.com Inc. AMZN CEO Jeff Bezos has long emphasized that less CEO involvement leads to a faster company. He advises executives to "delegate early and often" to maintain organizational speed and agility.

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During Facebook's rapid growth years, Meta Platforms Inc. META CEO Mark Zuckerberg adopted the now-famous motto "move fast and break things," which he described as a core value in his 2012 letter to investors for Facebook's IPO.

Hiring for Culture, Not Just Credentials

The focus on efficiency and attitude is also changing hiring practices. According to Fortune, executives at companies including Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO, Duolingo Inc. DUOL, and Amazon are placing more weight on personality and cultural fit than on traditional credentials.

"It's more about the person first and foremost than it is about skills or experience," Cisco U.K. Chief Executive Sarah Walker told Fortune, adding that she looks for positive energy and a can-do attitude.

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Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn said, "It's better to have a hole than an a**hole," referring to his approach to building company culture. 

A growing share of employers are adopting these approaches. According to a survey released in June by hiring assessment platform TestGorilla, 76% of companies that hired in the past year reported using skills or personality assessments to evaluate candidates' fit.

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