Elon Musk, tech baron and aspiring influencer, has earned acclaim for hiring practices that have rewarded him with topnotch employees, especially in the field of engineering.
A CNBC piece notes that “Musk looks for ‘evidence of exceptional ability’ when it comes to hiring.” “If there’s a track record of exceptional achievement, then it’s likely that that will continue into the future.” CNBC reports, “He asks each candidate he interviews: ‘Tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them.’”
According to another article, “This question helps Elon Musk gauge a candidate’s problem-solving skills, communication skills, decision-making abilities, and adaptability. … Candidates who can handle complex and challenging situations are more likely to thrive in a fast-paced and rapidly changing environment.”
Musk seems to aspire to the position of a Major Influencer. Some might argue he’s already attained that goal. He believes, with some justification, that his views have considerable value for national and international policy makers.
However, as such Major Influencers play an oversized role in our lives, it may make sense for Elon to sit for a job interview. Would we, collectively, hire him to influence the public path we will tread over the next decade?
In such a mock interview, we probably should use Elon’s proven techniques. However, in our case, the selection of the “difficult problem” should not be open ended; rather, the “difficult problem” should pertain to the unique job qualifications of a Major Influencer.
Fortunately, Elon himself provided clues that help us select the appropriate problem, which turns out to be: “The existence of the soul.”
In a Fox News Tucker Carlson interview, Elon notes that he’s not certain he has a soul.
Elon’s uncertainty regarding Man’s essential nature, including his own nature, presents a major challenge. Should we hire someone to influence solutions to our shared problems if that person does not have certainty regarding our true essence? After all, hiring a Major Influencer who lacks certainty regarding Man’s basic nature might prove catastrophic. (History shows that leaders who get Man’s true nature wrong bring about disaster and ruin.)
Thankfully, Elon has provided a few pre-interview hints that will help us shape an assessment of his qualifications. For example, in the Tucker Carlson interview, Elon opines that when it comes to the existence of soul we’re heading into philosophical areas that prove hard to resolve. (Perfect. We’ve hit upon a difficult problem that meets his job-interview criterion.)
He goes on to say that he takes an agnostic scientific view — “we might have a soul, or we might not have a soul.” He doesn’t know. Does this agnosticism disqualify him from serving as a Major Influencer? How will he guide us to correct policy prescriptions when he’s uncertain about our true nature? Might his Influence do more harm than good?
He continues, “It feels like we have some sort of consciousness that exists on a plane that is not what we observe… that is certainly how I feel… it could be an illusion, I don’t know.” At this point, the need for an in-depth job interview seems clear and even pressing.
But we’re being unfair. Elon had no idea he should interview for the position of Major Influencer. To be fair, we must allow him ample time for preparation. After all, throughout history, this “most difficult problem” of “the existence of soul” has stumped many great thinkers.
If Elon chooses to tackle this problem, given sufficient time, who knows what he might discover. It is possible that this might end up being one of the truly great job interviews of all time.