Which would you prefer? Shopping at Costco or shopping at CVS?
Buy-in-bulk vs. buy one-at-a-time.
Use most vs. use it all.
Use the best vs. use you got.
Isn’t that a good way to think about work? Do in bulk.
Who doesn’t prefer going to Costco? Just gotta get yourself there.
South Park and Chappelle’s Show have made Comedy Central millions. Same with their creators. So why are Matt & Trey still going strong while Dave Chappelle vanished after a few incredible years? Few theories.
Scope creep. The scope of Trey and Matt’s duties have’t changed despite the shows evolving sophistication in animation, effects and sound. These guys still make shows in one week using a few meetings in a conference room. When Chappelle’s show got bigger, however, so did the scope of his work. More filming, more promos, more writing.
It’s lonely at the top. For Chappelle, who had his back? Who was he sharing the highs and lows with? Chappelle had a couple co-creators, but he was the star. For Trey and Matt, it’s always 50/50.
Not in it for the money. Trey and Matt may have been at first, but certainly aren’t now. Today, they have more money than they could ever spend. And yet, they’re still working hard. Dave Chappelle was just a stand-up comedian. He worked his butt off to reach the top of Comedy Central Mountian. Why? To get paid. The ending credits to his show said it, “I’m rich, biatch!”
Lessons here? Be more like the South Park guys. Set some expectations, find a partner in your work and do what you love.
Good talk.
Here’s a classic clip of Dave Chappelle on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2001
Facebook recently spoke about their news feed. Their algorithm filters through an average of 1,500 news items and delivers us a mix of 300.
The results are staggering. Increased revenue. Increased engagement. Increased satisfaction (addiction).
It’s kind of like Facebook took its top 20% (300 / 1500) of its toolkit and ditched the rest.
No algorithm required for that math.
Pre-committment is a powerful tool.
Schedule a workout on your calendar. Tell readers that you’ll be writing every day. Be the coach for your kid’s little league team.
Pre-committed. Pre-committed. Pre-committed.
Try making excuses when you’re pre-committed. Yup.
If you’re a homeowner, your toolkit probably has a hammer, screwdriver and maybe a power drill. The rest is a bunch of other stuff you only use 20% of the time.
If you’re a small business owner, your toolkit probably has MS Office, a printer and maybe an email marketing app. The rest is a bunch of other stuff you only use 20% of the time.
If you’re an amateur chef, your toolkit probably has some knives, pans and maybe a Vitamix. The rest is a bunch of other stuff you only use 20% of the time.
So, since all theses toolkits probably take up lots of space, and 80% of it is hardly used, why not downsize? Someone else probably has a toolkit to replace your “bunch of other stuff”. And that’s what that toolkit does 80% of the time.
John Oliver has been hosting the Daily Show. Not great, right?
The awesome TA gave today’s lecture. Not great, right?
The cool maintenance guy ran the front desk. Not great, right?
It’s never easy to be the stand-in. John Stewart, and the professor and the doorman are great. But as the stand-in, wouldn’t it be better to just be you? People may not like it. But, at least it’s you. Isn’t that why you got asked to stand-in?
Horse blinders are common in thoroughbred racing. They keep the horse from seeing what’s behind. And to the side. By wearing blinders, the horse stays focused on what’s ahead. Focused on powering to the finish line.
For it’s the jockey’s job to look around. To survey the competition. To strategize.
Meaningful projects are similar to the horse and jockey. The challenge is keeping blinders on the horse. Cause if you remove the blinders, all bets are off.
HFCS-free yogurt is Yoplait’s new product. And they’re damn proud of it. As they should be. The makers of Yoplait, General Mills, has been under fire. Same with the rest of Big food (take five minutes and enjoy paragraphs 10 – 13).
In related news, RJ Reynolds is making TSNA-free cigarette. They’re damn proud, too.
Third world countries don’t know “Portion Control”. Developed Middle East countries don’t know “Portion Control. Old European countries don’t know “Portion Control”.
Outside of America, drugs are the most relevant context for the phrase “Portion Control”. Pharmaceutical companies and illegal drug dealers alike say, “Use Portion Control or there will be severe side effects. Bloating, high blood pressure, fatigue, decreased libido, paranoia, withdrawal. But, if you are able to exercise ‘Portion Control’, you’ll be okay.”
Why has our food in America become like a drug?
So you’re an expert. Now what?
You spent 10,000 hours mastering a piece of business software. You’re an expert. Cool.
You spent 10,000 hours as a market maker. You’re an expert. Congratulations.
You spent 10,000 hours as an insurance salesman. You’re an expert. Good for you.
So you’re an expert. Now what? Why not become an expert at something else? You don’t need to give up your original expertise.
Guitarists, chefs, woodworkers, mechanics, gardeners, comedians, filmmakers, are all experts. But most of ’em still have a day job.