Two-pizza team rule
Keep teams small enough that two pizzas can feed everyone in the room. Musk and Bezos both enforce this constraint to minimize communication overhead and maximize ownership.
Steps
Audit your current project teams — count the people in each one
If a team exceeds 6-8 people, split it into smaller autonomous units
Give each small team a clear mission and the authority to execute independently
Reduce standing meetings — small teams should communicate asynchronously
Review team performance monthly and resist the urge to add headcount
Practitioners
Related Systemsin Focus & Productivity
5-Minute Time Blocking
Break your entire day into 5-minute increments on a paper schedule. Elon Musk's extreme time management approach that squeezes maximum productivity from every hour.
Flow State Training
Train your ability to enter a state of complete absorption and peak performance. Bruce Lee's approach to achieving effortless mastery through focused practice.
First-Principles Thinking
Strip a problem down to its fundamental truths and reason up from there. Used by Elon Musk to challenge industry assumptions and build revolutionary companies.
Deep Work Blocks
Schedule uninterrupted blocks of cognitively demanding work. Eliminate shallow tasks during these periods to produce your highest-quality output.