Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter is turning into a Harvard Business Review case study on how the maxim, "It's not what you say, but how you say it,"applies in business.
A week ago, I wrote about how part of me is still optimistic about Elon's acquisition of Twitter considering that, when you strip out the impulsive and often moronic way in which he conducts himself, the high majority of his ideas are pretty sound and logical. And I stand by what I said in that post: the lion's share of what he said he was going to do, and everything that has actually materialized — specifically a much greater emphasis on subscription revenue and the unfortunate but likely necessary mass layoffs that will cut costs and refocus operations — is likely a good idea.
But none of that matters. Because he burned so much of the public's brain space in the dumpster fire we affectionately call "the last five months" that few people are willing to give this experiment the time of day anymore. Not Twitter users. Not the press. Not Twitter employees. Nobody.
What I failed to recognize was that Elon's success will likely not be determined by the quality of his ideas, which is often good. It will be determined by his complete inadequacy in executing those ideas in a way that motivates rather than alienates. This week is a valuable lesson that you can't just try to lie and lawyer your way out of a $44 billion deal for months on end, embarrassing yourself and everyone involved in the process, and then expect to immediately command the public's respect and the acquired company's trust when the deal is complete.
Maybe this will change in a year when all the dust settles. But until then, Elon might be screwed.
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