Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Let Us Now Praise Elon Musk

(I'm pretty sure that note is well-thought out sarcasm. Just go with it a moment.)

Inc. would like you to think better of Elon Musk's recent announcement to Tesla staff to return to the office or find a new job. They praise, not his announcement per se, but his decision to make it, and note three "C's" to learn from Mr. Musk's "take no prisoners" method:

1. Choices: Let Results Drive Decisions 

2. Conviction: Be Confident 

3. Communication: Be Clear  

I think Mr. Musk's announcement bears comparison to the note in the tweet above.  I agree there's a difference in style; I'm struggling to find a difference in substance.

My 30 year old daughter tells me her generation has decided they will work in order to live, not live in order to work.  It's a bit idealistic, but it sounds like what her parents were saying when they were younger than 30, and didn't trust anyone over 30 (or so they said).  Once out of college, of course, most of the children of the '60's became yuppies in short order, and started lusting after Beamers (BMW 320i's were the car of choice by the '80's) and getting not just the house and 2.5 kids like dear old mom and dad, but the McMansion and NO KIDS because they were still children themselves.  Kids only became fashionable again later, like in the '90's. (Yeah, people were still having kids; but then a bare fraction of '60's kids went to college, or became yuppies; it was all a matter of media attention and narrative. Kinda like Elon Musk's "genius," in fact.  Remember when Bill Gates was the world-defining genius?  Yeah, like that.)

Anyway, she says her cohorts don't see life as a matter of work hard until you're 70 (new real retirement age; ask Social Security).  They'd rather work from home, and despite the new narrative pushing back on that  (I saw an article comparing those who stay in the office with those who work at home; the former group "wins," you don't be surprised to learn), they are going to.

I think it's always a push me-pull you conversation.  Her office has tried three times to force everyone back into the office space, and finally gave up.  Now they're downsizing their offices and realizing few of their best employees are going to make the daily commute anymore, especially the ones who moved out of state during COVID.  No word yet on how many Tesla employees will be leaving Mr. Musk's employ (Inc. insists people WANT to work for Tesla; no word on where they get that information), and Apple is apparently struggling to get employees to move into its sparkling new giant donut headquarters.

My bet is, in other words, that COVID upset the apple cart and moved everybody's cheese (does anybody else remember that stupid management metaphor from late in the last century?) and some of that cheese (as the books meant with the metaphor) aren't going back into their old places.  Inc. may think Musk is a management genius, but few gave him high marks for his high-handed declaration.

I think the usual outcome of the three "C's" is a note that looks like the one above, be that one serious or (much more likely) sarcastic.  Sarcasm is a way of speaking the truth, and the truth is employers don't control the workspace like they did in the '50's.  Work from home has its downside (when are you ever not at work?), and I can see it as a problem in lawfirms where you need to law library (or now Lexus/Nexis; I'm not THAT old), but you also need the counsel of seasoned lawyers, (easier to get if you walk down the hall than if you send an e-mail).  Then again, what do I know?  I haven't practiced in 30 years, my experience is all pre-internet in the office.

It's going to be interesting times.  But I don't think the "market" is going to force all the "Millenials" to snap back in line with how their grandfathers did office work.  I think those days are gone; and the mockery of their defenders is just getting started.

Of course there’s work, and there’s work: And then there's Vonnegut’s Player Piano scenario: The times, they are still a’changin’.
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