Elon Musk’s DOGE Playbook: How to Ruthlessly Cut Waste and Make Your Business a Profit Machine

​I spent some time with ChatGPT helping me write this one and I think it came out pretty good and useful for you! - Dave

Elon Musk is on a mission to make the government more efficient—and if you’ve ever dealt with bureaucratic nonsense, you know that’s no small task.

His Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is designed to eliminate waste, streamline decision-making, and remove useless middlemen.

And here’s the truth: Your business is probably running like the government right now—bloated, inefficient, and burning resources on things that don’t actually move the needle.

So, let’s take a page from Musk’s playbook and apply it to your business. Here’s how to cut the fat, focus on profit, and scale like a machine.

1. The Musk Rule: If You Can’t Justify It, Kill It

🔥The Problem: Businesses (and governments) love adding layers of complexity—processes, meetings, and tasks that no one can actually explain why they exist.
🚀 The Fix: Musk’s rule is simple: If something isn’t necessary or doesn’t directly create value, it’s gone.
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➡ What to Do Now:

• Audit everything in your business. Look at expenses, software, meetings, processes, and even employees.
• Ask one simple question: “Would we start doing this today if it didn’t already exist?” If the answer is no, cut it or fix it.
• Kill useless meetings. If you have meetings where no real decisions are made, they need to go.

✅ Example: Musk cut Twitter’s workforce by 80%, yet the platform still runs. What can you cut in your business without losing performance?

2. The 10X Thinking Rule: Cut Costs by 50%, Increase Output by 2X

​🔥 The Problem: Most businesses grow by spending more money, hiring more people, and adding more complexity.
🚀 The Fix: Musk asks his teams: “How can we cut costs by 50% while doubling output?”

➡ What to Do Now:

• Challenge your team (or yourself) to find ways to increase efficiency. What would it take to double revenue without increasing expenses?
• Automate everything possible. If a task is repeatable, systemize or automate it so people aren’t wasting time.
• Cut middle management bloat. If you have managers who don’t actually contribute to growth, restructure their roles or eliminate them.

✅ Example: SpaceX makes rockets for a fraction of what NASA used to spend—because Musk forces extreme efficiency. Apply the same principle in your business.

3. The Speed Rule: Move Fast, Break Stuff, Fix It Later

🔥 The Problem: Most companies move way too slow—spending months planning instead of executing.
🚀 The Fix: Musk runs his companies on speed and iteration—launch fast, learn, and improve.

➡ What to Do Now:

• Cut decision-making time in half. If a decision won’t kill the company, make it fast and adjust later.
• Launch, then refine. Perfect is the enemy of progress—get your product, service, or idea into the market, then improve based on feedback.
• Adopt a “bias for action.” If something can be done today, do it now instead of waiting for the perfect time.

✅ Example: Tesla releases beta versions of self-driving software and updates on the fly—not waiting for “perfection.” Do the same in your business.

4. The First-Principles Rule: Stop Copying, Start Creating

🔥 The Problem: Many businesses just copy competitors instead of rethinking how to do things better, faster, and cheaper.
🚀 The Fix: Musk uses first-principles thinking—breaking problems down to their core and rebuilding from scratch.

➡ What to Do Now:

• Stop looking at what competitors are doing and start asking: “What’s the best possible way to solve this problem?”
• Rebuild outdated processes. If something feels inefficient, tear it apart and build a better version.
• Challenge industry norms. Just because “this is how it’s always done” doesn’t mean it’s the best way.

✅ Example: SpaceX builds rockets in-house for a fraction of the cost of government contractors because Musk rethought the whole process.

5. The Relentless Execution Rule: No Excuses, Just Results

🔥 The Problem: Most people get stuck in endless planning, talking, and analyzing instead of actually executing.
🚀 The Fix: Musk expects ruthless execution—if something needs to be done, it gets done.

➡ What to Do Now:

• Stop overcomplicating. If you have an idea, execute immediately and tweak it as you go.
• Hold yourself (and your team) accountable for results, not effort. Effort means nothing if it doesn’t produce results.
• Set hard deadlines. No “we’ll get to it next quarter” BS—put a deadline on it and get it done.

✅ Example: Musk took Twitter (X) from bloated to streamlined in months. Apply that same urgency to your business.

Final Thought: Run Your Business Like Musk Runs DOGE

Elon Musk isn’t wasting time with government inefficiency, and you shouldn’t tolerate inefficiency in your business either.

Take these 5 principles and apply them ruthlessly:

✔ If you can’t justify it, kill it.
✔ Cut costs, increase output.
✔ Move fast, break stuff, fix it later.
✔ Stop copying, start innovating.
✔ Execute relentlessly—no excuses.

👉 Which of these do you need to implement today?

Because at the end of the day, winners don’t waste time. They get results.