5 ms·

So does he propose that people always spell out the full name of all components? To me it comes across as selfish, he only wants people to use acronyms that he

So does he propose that people always spell out the full name of all components? To me it comes across as selfish, he only wants people to use acronyms that he personally knows, even when they're not talking to him. For instance I work on aircraft. Basically every component has its acronym. Yes, it's hard when you're new to the area. But nobody is going to take the time to write or say "Integrated Drive Generator", "Power Control Unit", or "Over-Pressure Shut-Off Valve" every time. Everyone spends their day referring to components. Most documents have a lexicon however, and there's a web interface to search them.

hanifc 6y ago
> So does he propose that people always spell out the full name of all components? To me it comes across as selfish, he only wants people to use acronyms that he personally knows, even when they're not talking to him. I'm curious what makes you attribute that selfish motivation to him? I thought he was pretty clear in saying that it's particularly tough for new employees: "Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees. No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees."
- mLuby 6y ago
  "No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on [me]." Selfishness is a bit too strong a word, but I'd bet he wrote this after a particularly acronym-heavy meeting where he was annoyed at feeling dumb for not following the conversation. So it's a good policy directive that's also self-serving. Also this is a difficulty inherent in micromanaging large organizations, something Musk and Jobs are famous for. Leaders who trust their delegates don't need to understand jargon as much as manager-speak.
  - andrewflnr 6y ago
    Not only are you ascribing ill motives without justification, you're doing it based on pure supposition. The whole story exists only in your head. Snap out of it. It's not as if there aren't real reasons to think Musk is an ass. Wait for one of those to come up before you start the hate train.
jagged-chisel 6y ago
You'll say or write "Over-Pressure Shut-Off Vale" once, and then context now makes it possible to say "valve" for instances after. Unless you're discussing several valves at one, why does one need to use whatever acronym (with more syllables than the word 'valve')?
ryandrake 6y ago
I agree that it's unclear from the E-mail whether he actually means that these things should be fully spelled out or something else. And this is the problem I have with the E-mail: It's unclear. The details really matter when the edict comes from the CEO, and there will be senior people in the company that make and enforce huge, sweeping changes to the business that hang on the exact wording coming from the CEO. I've worked at a company where the CEO (and sometimes SVP leadership too) was basically treated as a God-King figure. I mean that in a literal sense: People would walk behind him, writing down every word he said in the hallways and every meeting with him had multiple note takers. Kind of like those guys with the notebooks following Kim Jong Un around writing every word down. If a senior exec said something that wasn't clear or didn't make sense YOU DID IT ANYWAY because it came from [Person's Name]. In E-mail forwards, the words of top leadership would be quoted in a different color, and then scrutinized and interpreted until everyone thought they understood every little nuance of what was said. I don't know if SpaceX and Tesla are like that but I have my suspicions :). When an E-mail like that comes from Elon, I'm positive there are dozens of people who make it their full-time job for the next few weeks to carry out to the letter exactly what he said. So if it's unclear or incomplete, there's a big problem.

hanifc 6y ago

> So does he propose that people always spell out the full name of all components? To me it comes across as selfish, he only wants people to use acronyms that he personally knows, even when they're not talking to him. I'm curious what makes you attribute that selfish motivation to him? I thought he was pretty clear in saying that it's particularly tough for new employees: "Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees. No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees."

mLuby 6y ago
"No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on [me]." Selfishness is a bit too strong a word, but I'd bet he wrote this after a particularly acronym-heavy meeting where he was annoyed at feeling dumb for not following the conversation. So it's a good policy directive that's also self-serving. Also this is a difficulty inherent in micromanaging large organizations, something Musk and Jobs are famous for. Leaders who trust their delegates don't need to understand jargon as much as manager-speak.
- andrewflnr 6y ago
  Not only are you ascribing ill motives without justification, you're doing it based on pure supposition. The whole story exists only in your head. Snap out of it. It's not as if there aren't real reasons to think Musk is an ass. Wait for one of those to come up before you start the hate train.

jagged-chisel 6y ago

You'll say or write "Over-Pressure Shut-Off Vale" once, and then context now makes it possible to say "valve" for instances after. Unless you're discussing several valves at one, why does one need to use whatever acronym (with more syllables than the word 'valve')?

ryandrake 6y ago

I agree that it's unclear from the E-mail whether he actually means that these things should be fully spelled out or something else. And this is the problem I have with the E-mail: It's unclear. The details really matter when the edict comes from the CEO, and there will be senior people in the company that make and enforce huge, sweeping changes to the business that hang on the exact wording coming from the CEO. I've worked at a company where the CEO (and sometimes SVP leadership too) was basically treated as a God-King figure. I mean that in a literal sense: People would walk behind him, writing down every word he said in the hallways and every meeting with him had multiple note takers. Kind of like those guys with the notebooks following Kim Jong Un around writing every word down. If a senior exec said something that wasn't clear or didn't make sense YOU DID IT ANYWAY because it came from [Person's Name]. In E-mail forwards, the words of top leadership would be quoted in a different color, and then scrutinized and interpreted until everyone thought they understood every little nuance of what was said. I don't know if SpaceX and Tesla are like that but I have my suspicions :). When an E-mail like that comes from Elon, I'm positive there are dozens of people who make it their full-time job for the next few weeks to carry out to the letter exactly what he said. So if it's unclear or incomplete, there's a big problem.