• Question every requirement: Challenge assumptions. Know who made each requirement and why.
• Delete parts or processes: Remove anything unnecessary. If you never add anything back, you haven’t deleted enough.
• Simplify and optimize: Only optimize what remains.
• Accelerate cycle time: Make the process faster.
• Automate: Automate only after the first four steps.

Golden rule: Never optimize something that shouldn’t exist.

Sequence: Question → Delete → Simplify → Accelerate → Automate.

Source: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 (Everyday Astronaut, July 2021), around the 13:30 mark.