Former Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) president Jon McNeill said consistent reading is the most critical habit for career success, pointing to top leaders who rely on it daily.
Leadership Habit Of High Performers
McNeill, who worked closely with Elon Musk and later served as COO of Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT), said reading is the defining habit that separates top performers from others, reported The Fortune on Saturday.
“Reading is probably the single most important thing you can do,” McNeill told Fortune, noting that elite leaders consistently rely on books to sharpen decision-making.
He pointed to Warren Buffett, who has said he spends up to 80% of his day reading, and Musk, who credits books for much of his learning.
McNeill said he now follows a disciplined routine of reading about 90 minutes daily. “This exercise of reading every day really refreshes my brain every morning,” he said.
He added that reading builds curiosity, which often leads to opportunity.
Recalling his first meeting with Musk, McNeill said he asked, “What’s the biggest problem that is keeping you up at night right now?”—a question that sparked a two-hour conversation and eventually led to his Tesla role.
Musk’s Leadership Style, Legal Fight And Space Vision Highlighted
Earlier, Musk was described as a highly hands-on leader who prefers lean, technical teams and minimal management layers.
Former Tesla director Andrej Karpathy said Musk resisted rapid hiring and often pushed for smaller teams, prioritizing technical performance and quickly removing low performers.
Separately, Musk faced allegations in a U.S. court case brought by former Twitter investors, who claimed his public comments on fake accounts in 2022 hurt the company’s valuation during his acquisition period.
His legal team denied wrongdoing, arguing he raised legitimate concerns and that market movement did not equal fraud.
Musk also reiterated his long-term vision of making life multiplanetary, saying the effort to secure humanity’s future beyond Earth would require significant financial resources, despite the challenges involved.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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