Elon Musk and Twitter: a masterclass in moving fast and breaking things…
Most media coverage of Elon Musk’s Twitter describes a disaster movie: half the workforce sacked and the rest told they can only stay if they pledge to work much harder and return to the office — prompting a further exodus, with some employees posting videos of themselves clearing their desks. The verification system has come under fire, the content moderation is a fiasco, etc., etc. In short, the company is dying on its feet.
Is Elon Musk destroying Twitter? The answer is yes, without a doubt. He is fast-tracking the destruction of all recognizable elements of the company: its management, its corporate culture, its best-known employees, its management systems… everything. It’s the management equivalent of a neutron bomb.
Instead, the question few pundits are asking is why Elon Musk, who is not only very rich, but also loves Twitter and has used it to his advantage over the years, would, after paying way over the odds to buy, then burn it to the ground.
And while some people might think that heaping $44 billion into a pile and setting it on fire is a fun thing to do, I’m pretty sure Elon Musk doesn’t. In which case, perhaps he’s an idiot who has bitten off more than he can chew, but won’t admit it. Then again, he is arguably one of the best managers of all time, capable…
