My first senior leadership job in Miami was running an $8.5 billion capital program.

My boss, the man who hired me, was an amazing leader. One of the first things he told me was, "Go sit in this meeting and see for yourself."

So there I was on the fourth floor, in that big conference room with the huge presidential-style table. There must have been close to 100 people. Government team members at the table. Consultants standing along the walls or squeezed into chairs in the back. We spent an hour and a half just on introductions. No agenda.

By the time we went around for updates, most people barely spoke. The consultants (highly skilled, highly capable) never got a chance to really contribute.

I didn't realize it at the time, but years later when I came across Elon Musk's six rules for productivity, it clicked: I had already been forced to apply them subconsciously.

(And yes, I laughed at myself — maybe I was "channeling Musk" without knowing it. Or maybe these rules are just universal truths that apply whether you're running a startup, a government program, or your own calendar.)

Here's what I saw in that room — and how it lined up with those six rules:

1. Avoid large meetings → A room of 100 people can't make decisions.

2. Leave if you're not contributing → Dozens of people sat silent. That was time they couldn't get back.

3. Forget the chain of command → Updates went by seniority, not to problem-solvers.

4. Be clear, not clever → An hour of intros is the opposite of clarity.

5. Ditch frequent meetings → This wasn't a one-off. It was weekly.

6. Use common sense → If the format doesn't make sense, fix it.

So I changed it.

Smaller groups. Clear agendas. If you're responsible, you come prepared. You don't bring five people to speak for you. It wasn't always popular, but it cut waste and it gave everyone, inside and outside government, a chance to focus on what mattered.

Within six months, we cut project review time by 40%. Decisions that used to take weeks started happening in days.

That experience has stayed with me. And when I saw Musk's six rules later, I realized they aren't just for Silicon Valley. They're universal principles for any organization: government, private sector, or even how we run our own lives.

So here's my challenge to you:

Where do you see the biggest drain in your world? Meetings that could be emails, approval chains that stop momentum, or processes that exist only because "that's how we've always done it"?

And what's one thing you've done (or seen done) that actually worked to fix it?

Because every hour saved is an hour for real work. Every dollar saved is a dollar that can go toward impact whether that's serving your community, growing your business, or investing in your team's development.

The best solutions don't come from consultants standing in the back of the room. They come from the people brave enough to say, "There's a better way."