What do Richard Branson and Elon Musk have in common? When it comes to making money moves, they are among the best entrepreneurs we have on the planet! No wonder the two are firmly in the billionaires’ club!
Additionally, the two men are equally ambitious, and they’ve never been known to let failure stop them from reaching their goals. In a way, you’d describe them as two peas in a pod.
And who doesn’t know that they are no strangers to controversy? You just have to go through Elon Musk’s tweets to know that he means business. As for Branson, who can hardly forget when he shaved off his beard and wore a wedding dress to promote his bridal company? Being 1996, his “modeling career” made headlines.
Words of advice
Point is, either man would understand what it means to lead the life of the other. No wonder Branson has some words of advice for his fellow entrepreneur.
Speaking to CNBC last year, the Virgin Group founder said that some personal time would do Musk some good. According to Branson, the Tesla CEO should focus more on both his health and his family. Could he be overworking?
This seems to be Branson’s opinion, with the knight (yes, he’s Sir Richard Branson) saying that Musk should delegate most of his duties, and this starts by having the right kind of people in his team.
While giving this piece of advice, it was evident that Sir Branson admires Elon Musk, describing him as an individual with quite the creative mind. To always have it operating at its maximum, the Briton advises that the CEO should get enough sleep.
This is definitely sound advice, no? You may not be quite as busy as Musk, but you can heed Branson’s advice and see yourself achieving your goals faster.
Delegation
Most of us may believe that things can only run smoothly when we do them ourselves. Though this may be true to some degree, it’s not always the case. According to Jenny Blake, a career strategist, delegation can save collapsing businesses, and can even double or triple their income.
This is because by delegating tasks, the management is able to effectively use their time, instead of wasting it on mundane tasks. In all honesty, some relatively simple tasks may not be the best way for the management to utilize their time.
According to Jeffrey Pfeffer, a business professor at Stanford, delegation is one sure way of ensuring that members in the entire team develop new skills. Pfeffer says that lack of delegation leads to decreased productivity since individual members of the team are unable to grow.
Additionally, delegating different tasks is a show of trust. Employees feel that the management has enough confidence in them to have them handle business on their own, and they’ll, in turn, give whatever task they have been assigned their best.
Concerning finding time some personal time, it is well documented that a leader’s best ideas come when they are in their “me-time.” Time spent alone is usually good for reflection, and you can figure out the next best direction for your company.
