“Grok” is the name of one of the most inspiring phrases being popularized by SpaceX Founder and Co-Founder of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk. As an idea from the famous science fiction novel “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert A. Heinlein, grok means to see, to perceive, to know a subject fully and intuitively, or to empathize with it, to understand it completely at a deep degree.
Musk exhorts the audience that the word “grok,” while only limited to cognitive understanding, represents a much deeper understanding which implies relationships. It illustrates that the degree of understanding by a more developed and integrated individual can be much more than just empathizing and learning simple things, it can be in the form of creative solutions and future strategic thinking patterns. In summary, “groking” a concept means to submerge one’s whole self into it whereby they begin to know the details and dimensions of that concept and visualize all those implications it holds.
The common denominator is that Musk often resorts to the word “grok” when discussing Tesla and SpaceX achievements which are about transportation or renewable energy revolution or about habitability of the Phobos and Mars or colonization. Musk through this kind of communication gets his team stand out of the crowd as they face these difficulties and they try to ‘grok’ them to create creative solutions.
This remains the message beyond business to people who share similar attitudes to Musk’s fast-paced, new creative ideas and solutions. If thinking outside the box is the kind of mindset that focuses on curiosity, empathy and interdisciplinarity, because these are highly effective in solving the many problems that the 21st century is facing today.
Consequently, to “grok” means more than just crossing the narrow confines of knowledge and perception, but also to comprehend the holistically of the various ideas. Additionally, intentional transformation is to what one loves to turn to or strives for. Elon Musk’s world revolves around ‘groking’ which is the process of understanding the future and thereafter making every effort to guarantee it happens.