Hi friend,
Here are my favorite things that I found this month:
The Pyramid of Clarity (Article)
Recently we’ve been back in hiring mode. This article attempts to answer a question I’ve been wrestling with for some time.
How do you get your company to produce great results?
“even if your company is comprised of smart, well-intentioned people. It’s hard to get everyone aligned in the same direction, and it’s even harder to get everyone to continue running in the same direction.”
Rory Sutherland on the Magic of Original Thinking (Video)
He’s the author of Alchemy and a long-time executive at Ogilvy & Mather.
He’s one of the marketers I learn from.
Biggest lesson:
Logic can be the enemy of creativity. Small “illogical” tweaks in how you frame something can have a huge impact, even if what you’re selling is the same. Nobody wants death insurance, but life insurance is a multi-billion dollar industry.
The oldest Facebook Interview I could find (Video)
Whenever a business becomes a Unicorn, if I want to find any insights from the founder I want to hear how they talked before this occured.
Lessons from founder with 10,000 employees -> not valuable
Lessons from founder with 15 employees before they make it big -> very valuable
What sticks out here is how much demand there is when you find the right product. The market pulls you when you have true Product-Market-Fit.
Marketing becomes easy.
How Steve Jobs’ Thought of Marketing (Video)
Whe Jobs returned to Apple in the 90s, he wanted the brand associated with people who change the world (pioneers like Picasso, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King). This is common. It’s why companies like Nike hire top sports players.
What’s interesting here is seeing the clarity and simplicity of Jobs’ thinking.
Also a reminder for those that have been sold the lie “great companies don’t need marketing”.
Dealt (documentary)
I don’t want to say much to not spoil this but its such a fun docu to watch… but it is why I never play cards for money with strangers.
