I have deep respect for Elon Musk, even though he is criticized and called "a marketer who left on NASA's best practices." Even if such criticism is justified, humanity lacks a healthy drive and a desire for something far away. After all, this is the first person in history who is simultaneously trying to colonize the Solar System, make electric cars mainstream and expand the potential of the brain (and zuch more). But those who are close to him have to pay for these far-sighted goals.
Numerous stories from employees and partners show that Musk can prioritize his work at any cost - even to the detriment of his professional and personal relationships. Just about one such instructive case and read under the cut.
Fast forward to 2014, in which Musk's personal assistant, Mary Beth Brown, decided to ask for a raise. Brown worked for the modern Tony Stark for 12 years, commuting back and forth between Los Angeles and Silicon Valley every week, working late into the night and even on weekends.
She made Musk's work schedule for two companies (SpaceX and Tesla), was engaged in public relations and often helped Musk make business decisions. She was like an extension of the Mask. At least, that's what she thought.
Ashley Vance in her book "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" mentions this story and describes Brown as follows:
Brown-or MB, as everyone called her-became a loyal assistant to Musk, creating in real life a semblance of a relationship between Tony Stark from Iron Man and Pepper Potts.
If Musk worked twenty hours a day, so did Brown. Over the years, she brought Mask food, made business appointments for him, spent time with his children, picked up his clothes, handled press inquiries and, if necessary, pulled Mask out of meetings so that he would keep up with the schedule. As a result, she became the only link between Musk and all his interests and was an invaluable assistant for the company's employees.
Ashley also noted that Brown made an outstanding contribution to the development of SpaceX's early culture, as she paid close attention to every detail and helped balance the atmosphere in the office.
In early 2014, Brown turned to Musk with high hopes and asked for a salary increase. To be precise, she wanted to receive compensation, like the top managers of SpaceX. Musk, in response, suggested that she take a vacation for a couple of weeks so that in her absence, he would realize the value of Brown's duties. In other words, he wanted to understand how indispensable Brown was to him.
"I told her, listen, I think you're a very valuable employee. Maybe this compensation is correct. You need to take a two-week vacation, and I'll evaluate whether that's the case or not," Musk said, according to Ashley's footnotes.
Brown took a two-week vacation, and Musk took up her work. After two weeks, when Brown came to the office, Musk told her that he no longer needed her services.
When she returned, I concluded that this relationship would no longer work." Twelve years is a good time for any job. It will work great for someone.
It was a real shock for his assistant. After all, no one is fired for asking for a salary increase, right? In the book, Ashley writes that this unceremonious event amazed people inside SpaceX and Tesla and confirmed rumors about Musk's cruel stoicism and lack of empathy. Musk claims that he offered Brown another job with the same salary, but she refused and left the company.
Now the question arises — why did Musk fire his assistant, who did everything right for him for a long time? Is it really because she asked for more money? Or has Musk realized that their relationship is no longer working? Or is it that Brown was unable to appreciate/understand Musk, despite having worked with him for twelve years?
From Brown's point of view, it is obvious that she was confident in her contribution to the companies that Musk managed, and therefore wanted Musk to treat her as the best player on his team. Musk, on the other hand, looked at this issue from a very realistic point of view, ignoring all of Brown's previous contributions.
Thus, in just two weeks, Musk discovered that he no longer needed Brown's services. That is, for the Mask - Brown could not become irreplaceable.
If you agree with Musk's decision to fire his assistant, it will teach you how important it is to make yourself as indispensable as possible before asking for a pay raise. On the other hand, if you side with the assistant, this is a valuable reminder that you should not tolerate underpayment and underestimation for years.
The story about Brown's dismissal was refuted by Elon Musk. On August 11 , 2017 , he tweeted:
Of all the fake stories, this one bothers me the most. Ashley never checked this story with me or my assistant. This is complete nonsense. Mary Beth has been a wonderful assistant for over a decade, but as the company grew, this role required several specialists instead of one station wagon.
For those who think that Musk is a saint who can't do wrong, I have to say that in reality Musk — like all other cool businessmen - ruthlessly fires people who disagree with him or hinder him (according to Tim Higgins' new book "Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century").
If anything, it's just a joke, not a call to write bad code.
Whatever the real reason, I think this story teaches us some valuable lessons. We should not work in companies where our contribution goes unnoticed. Again, we shouldn't take our job (or our boss) for granted. After all, it doesn't matter how many years you have worked in the company or how close you are to the management — you can be replaced at any time. Keep this in mind and attach more importance to your personal life than the company you work for.
And, of course, before you ask for a salary increase, do not forget to give your lead at least a dozen reasons (if not more) why you deserve it. Moreover, it is better not to work in those companies where you need to ask for a raise.