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> Meanwhile Tesla and SpaceX have continued to succeed beyond expectations for over a decade now. I think people underestimate how essential Gwynne Shotwell is

by rtsil 6y ago

> Meanwhile Tesla and SpaceX have continued to succeed beyond expectations for over a decade now. I think people underestimate how essential Gwynne Shotwell is to SpaceX.

trianglem 6y ago
Yeah for process but there’s no spacex without Elon.
- sjwright 6y ago
  I personally feel there's a big overlap between Jobs and Musk—but none more so than the fact that they had the key combination of sufficient intelligence, clear vision, high self-confidence and (most importantly) strong influence over corporate direction. One of my favourite Steve Jobs quotes is just after he returned to Apple and began dismantling the massive pile of legacy cruft. When asked about a particular (terrible) technology that Apple scrapped, Steve went on a particularly insightful rant that holds numerous insights into what he believes to be key to a successful company. And history proved those insights to be exactly right. The quote— "Some mistakes will be made along the way. That's good. Because at least some DECISIONS are being made along the way, and we'll find the mistakes and we'll fix them." https://youtu.be/yQ16_YxLbB8?t=3286 https://youtu.be/yQ16_YxLbB8?t=3286 In other words, as long as you're right often enough, being decisive is more important than being right every single time. Musk strikes me as sharing that mentality. He's right often enough that it's more efficient to "fix" the mistakes than to suffocate big decisions with big committees. And it's not like any big committee is sure to be right more often than Jobs/Elon anyway. (That YouTube video is fantastic IMHO. Watched with the benefit of hindsight it shows that Apple's success wasn't an accident. Steve really did understand the formula that ultimately led to it.)
  - xeromal 6y ago
    I love this comment. Thanks for sharing.
  - matthewbauer 6y ago
    I don’t think Jobs was ever as irresponsible as Elon is. At least not publically.
    - icelancer 6y ago
      Far more in many respects. Treatment of Wozniak, the Apple II project, refusing to correct his vision on the Macintosh, etc. Treatment of key employees. It became public enough.
    - sjwright 6y ago
      Steve had personality flaws at least as severe as Elon. The difference was Steve was a much better showman and had a laser focus on the nuances of messaging. Whereas Elon embodies the age of Twitter. Yes, there are plenty of specific events where any sensible person would have slapped Elon on the back of the head and told him to stop being an idiot. Ultimately though, Elon's "irresponsibility" is largely a problem within the press, the short-sellers and with regulators who are lobbied by aforementioned short-sellers. Whatever. Let them sook. It's not like any of Elon's failings have affected Tesla sales or SpaceX successes.
  - MPSimmons 6y ago
    I differ, in that I don't think Steve Jobs had a clear vision that he could communicate to others. I think he was very, very gifted as someone who could see the right path forward, and he seemed to execute ruthlessly. The evidence I would put forth is that, in the decade since Steve Jobs died, Apple has added a watch to their lineup, and changed virtually nothing else. Their supply chain efficiencies might be better, but without Steve to look at what the rest of the world was offering, and to say, "That is all shit, THIS is what should be next", Apple has merely been a high-end manufacturer of electronics. Elon, on the other hand, has a very clear vision, and it can be communicated in simple statements: "Humanity needs to be a multiplanetary species". "Electric vehicles are the only viable, sustainable means of mass short range travel". When you combine this with the drive he has to succeed, you get people lined up behind him, not because they want to emulate him, but because their goals are aligned. The people who work at SpaceX want humanity to go to Mars - not because Elon says so, but because they know it has to happen for us to survive, and because Elon's company is the best hope we have right now.
    - askafriend 6y ago
      > in the decade since Steve Jobs died, Apple has added a watch to their lineup, and changed virtually nothing else The Watch is incredibly popular, AirPods are a runaway hit, the iPad Pro is killing it, the new Mac Pro is awesome, Apple Music took off, Apple Pay/Card is super popular.... I genuinely don't know why you say they haven't done anything. If anything it's incredible that the company manages to stay true to itself time and time again. That's a testament to the strength of the culture Steve left behind.
      - enitihas 6y ago
        People somehow hope that Apple can create an iPhone every 5/10 years, a product whole sales dwarf the revenues of Microsoft+Google taken entirely probably over the last 10 years. Yeah, not gonna happen. The iPhone is the most profitable consumer electronics product of all time maybe. You can't really re create it again and again.
    - raverbashing 6y ago
irjustin 6y ago
I don't feel like she's underestimated. I do feel she's under-spoken. Anyone who scratches the surface of SpaceX knows she's an absolute force. Elon says things during press conferences ranging from semi-ridiculous to full on crazy and Shotwell rarely comments, but when she does, it's taken rather seriously.
- sq_ 6y ago
  > Shotwell rarely comments, but when she does, it's taken rather seriously That's for sure. Elon can spout whatever he wants and space reporters, etc, will be like "Ok, Elon says this, but temper your expectations". When Gwynne Shotwell says something, the response is usually pretty much "Ok, this is happening."
nickik 6y ago
I love Shotwell, but there are a number of people who could do a fair job to run rocket operations. Its not like other rocket companies have major issues with running operations. The part that no other company can do is the part that Elon does, and that is ultimately why the operation side is so successful.
- killjoywashere 6y ago
  Yeah, I don't see Dave Calhoun, Tory Bruno, or Peter Ruddock sleeping on the factory floor. That said, they don't need to. I'd want to work for Elon in my 20s. I'm not sure I'd want Elon to be my CEO one year before my pension vests.
- greedo 6y ago
  "Its not like other rocket companies have major issues with running operations." I think in light of the issues with SLS, you might want to reconsider this in terms of Boeing.
  - nickik 6y ago
    Boeing doesn't have rocket operations right now. They are building a rocket as a NASA contractor. NASA runs the operations and NASA made the design of SLS.

by rtsil 6y ago

> Meanwhile Tesla and SpaceX have continued to succeed beyond expectations for over a decade now. I think people underestimate how essential Gwynne Shotwell is to SpaceX.

trianglem 6y ago

Yeah for process but there’s no spacex without Elon.

sjwright 6y ago
I personally feel there's a big overlap between Jobs and Musk—but none more so than the fact that they had the key combination of sufficient intelligence, clear vision, high self-confidence and (most importantly) strong influence over corporate direction. One of my favourite Steve Jobs quotes is just after he returned to Apple and began dismantling the massive pile of legacy cruft. When asked about a particular (terrible) technology that Apple scrapped, Steve went on a particularly insightful rant that holds numerous insights into what he believes to be key to a successful company. And history proved those insights to be exactly right. The quote— "Some mistakes will be made along the way. That's good. Because at least some DECISIONS are being made along the way, and we'll find the mistakes and we'll fix them." https://youtu.be/yQ16_YxLbB8?t=3286 https://youtu.be/yQ16_YxLbB8?t=3286 In other words, as long as you're right often enough, being decisive is more important than being right every single time. Musk strikes me as sharing that mentality. He's right often enough that it's more efficient to "fix" the mistakes than to suffocate big decisions with big committees. And it's not like any big committee is sure to be right more often than Jobs/Elon anyway. (That YouTube video is fantastic IMHO. Watched with the benefit of hindsight it shows that Apple's success wasn't an accident. Steve really did understand the formula that ultimately led to it.)
- xeromal 6y ago
  I love this comment. Thanks for sharing.
- matthewbauer 6y ago
  I don’t think Jobs was ever as irresponsible as Elon is. At least not publically.
  - icelancer 6y ago
    Far more in many respects. Treatment of Wozniak, the Apple II project, refusing to correct his vision on the Macintosh, etc. Treatment of key employees. It became public enough.
  - sjwright 6y ago
    Steve had personality flaws at least as severe as Elon. The difference was Steve was a much better showman and had a laser focus on the nuances of messaging. Whereas Elon embodies the age of Twitter. Yes, there are plenty of specific events where any sensible person would have slapped Elon on the back of the head and told him to stop being an idiot. Ultimately though, Elon's "irresponsibility" is largely a problem within the press, the short-sellers and with regulators who are lobbied by aforementioned short-sellers. Whatever. Let them sook. It's not like any of Elon's failings have affected Tesla sales or SpaceX successes.
- MPSimmons 6y ago
  I differ, in that I don't think Steve Jobs had a clear vision that he could communicate to others. I think he was very, very gifted as someone who could see the right path forward, and he seemed to execute ruthlessly. The evidence I would put forth is that, in the decade since Steve Jobs died, Apple has added a watch to their lineup, and changed virtually nothing else. Their supply chain efficiencies might be better, but without Steve to look at what the rest of the world was offering, and to say, "That is all shit, THIS is what should be next", Apple has merely been a high-end manufacturer of electronics. Elon, on the other hand, has a very clear vision, and it can be communicated in simple statements: "Humanity needs to be a multiplanetary species". "Electric vehicles are the only viable, sustainable means of mass short range travel". When you combine this with the drive he has to succeed, you get people lined up behind him, not because they want to emulate him, but because their goals are aligned. The people who work at SpaceX want humanity to go to Mars - not because Elon says so, but because they know it has to happen for us to survive, and because Elon's company is the best hope we have right now.
  - askafriend 6y ago
    > in the decade since Steve Jobs died, Apple has added a watch to their lineup, and changed virtually nothing else The Watch is incredibly popular, AirPods are a runaway hit, the iPad Pro is killing it, the new Mac Pro is awesome, Apple Music took off, Apple Pay/Card is super popular.... I genuinely don't know why you say they haven't done anything. If anything it's incredible that the company manages to stay true to itself time and time again. That's a testament to the strength of the culture Steve left behind.
    - enitihas 6y ago
      People somehow hope that Apple can create an iPhone every 5/10 years, a product whole sales dwarf the revenues of Microsoft+Google taken entirely probably over the last 10 years. Yeah, not gonna happen. The iPhone is the most profitable consumer electronics product of all time maybe. You can't really re create it again and again.
  - raverbashing 6y ago

irjustin 6y ago

I don't feel like she's underestimated. I do feel she's under-spoken. Anyone who scratches the surface of SpaceX knows she's an absolute force. Elon says things during press conferences ranging from semi-ridiculous to full on crazy and Shotwell rarely comments, but when she does, it's taken rather seriously.

sq_ 6y ago
> Shotwell rarely comments, but when she does, it's taken rather seriously That's for sure. Elon can spout whatever he wants and space reporters, etc, will be like "Ok, Elon says this, but temper your expectations". When Gwynne Shotwell says something, the response is usually pretty much "Ok, this is happening."

nickik 6y ago

I love Shotwell, but there are a number of people who could do a fair job to run rocket operations. Its not like other rocket companies have major issues with running operations. The part that no other company can do is the part that Elon does, and that is ultimately why the operation side is so successful.

killjoywashere 6y ago
Yeah, I don't see Dave Calhoun, Tory Bruno, or Peter Ruddock sleeping on the factory floor. That said, they don't need to. I'd want to work for Elon in my 20s. I'm not sure I'd want Elon to be my CEO one year before my pension vests.
greedo 6y ago
"Its not like other rocket companies have major issues with running operations." I think in light of the issues with SLS, you might want to reconsider this in terms of Boeing.
- nickik 6y ago
  Boeing doesn't have rocket operations right now. They are building a rocket as a NASA contractor. NASA runs the operations and NASA made the design of SLS.