Jena McGregor, The Washington Post, May 4, 2018

Wash-Po-Elon-Musk

Elon Musk may have said what many frustrated chief executives — eager to talk about big visions or new strategies rather than answer questions about capital expenditures — dream of saying in response to financial analysts’ wordy questions: You’re boring. Your questions are dull. Next.

But that doesn’t mean they say it — or would ever be advised to. Yet in Tesla’s epic quarterly earnings call Wednesday, Musk did just that.

Even if Musk is known for his unconventional approach, that doesn’t mean he has to be that way in every circumstance, said Davia Temin, a communications and management coach on leadership issues.

“If your personal brand is as an iconoclast, there’s a tendency to want to be seen as an iconoclast on everything, but that’s not what really works,” she said. “You want your product to be the thing that stands out. Not your demeanor on an earnings call.” […read more]