Prediction: Pre-Curated Content will Define the 2020’s

Netflix has just launched their first linear programming channel in France. According to Variety this is what the company had to say, “In France, watching traditional TV remains hugely popular with people who just want a ‘lean back’ experience where they don’t have to choose shows”.

Further, “We’re trying a new feature for our members in France – called ‘Direct.’ Maybe you’re not in the mood to decide, or you’re new and finding your way around, or you just want to be surprised by something new and different”

The serpent has come all the way around the world to eat its own tail. Ragnarok begins, and Thor gets a new movie (hopefully directed by Taika Waititi until the end of ends). It really is all about circles, but I’m getting carried away from myself.

The point is, nobody wants to decide on anything at the end of the day. This is amplified when you’re trying to relax (think about that for a second) and watch some TV with (a) loved one(s). How many times has there been difficulty in choosing from an endless selection of movies and shows that just don’t seem right in that moment.

At least with linear television we could all complain about the shit episodes we saw together. The point is we had something to share. Sometimes it was a new experience (although usually not), but the important thing is that we did it together. This is where Disney+ has some serious magic (looking at you, weekly episode Mandalorian).

Once you pick a movie or TV show you’re happy for the most part. This is how people (myself included) can re-watch things many multiple times and continue to try to watch it again with the same social circles. We want to share experiences of what we watch. Netflix knows this and they’re probably going after an older demographic that craves a serialized channel.

What I’m really excited to see is how they branch off of this for younger and niche demographics. I think about how when I watch a movie or TV show that I really like, I try to scan the internet for other works by the contributors (writers, directors, actors, etc.). I usually compile a massive list that I could never get through and my biggest hurdle is comes back to simply choosing what to watch.

Netflix will come to know these behaviours, because I’m certain they’re not particularly unique. It’s the same problem heavy book readers work out (usually at a young age) there is not enough time to read all of the content you will want to read. You have to be selective at a certain point. The moral is do what you enjoy and do not judge yourself harshly, but it usually just paralyzes decision making.

All of this to say that I think curated content is the future. I think Taste & Talent do mean something, and the people with it will become incredibly successful in the coming decade. I believe curated content will be a pillar of the way humanity consumes media.

I think Spotify has a long way to come with their auto-playlists, but I have faith that Spotify 2 years from now (let alone 10 years from now) will look incredibly different in their ability to curate content. With the amount of data flowing through their system and their investment in AI and Machine Learning, it’s not far fetched to imagine popular curation in the near future. According to Harvard Business School, “As of December 2019, Spotify has 217M users that log over 100 billion data points per day”

This is great, and I’m not trying to sound like a luddite, but at a point, there’s no accounting for taste, especially with machines. Netflix has the closest model, but their biggest limiting factor is their ability to attract the best talent to work at their level. There are only so many high performing people in the world and not all of them can want to work at Netflix (though Reed Hastings is certainly trying to entice them all – and it’s a really good book so who can blame him or Erin Meyer).

Other companies are going to scoop up good talent, like HBO did with Judd Apatow, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to deliver it in well curated ways. I am talking about you Crave, your interface sucks, and it makes me consume less of your content.

So we’re going to need a lot of really good content, and we’re going to need it spoon-fed to us on a beautiful platter, but was that ever really up for debate. It’s just that there are some companies that are looking like they will be able to do it in really impressive ways.

The three biggest ones* that I can see in streaming platforms currently are Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV. Nobody is in the same ballpark as Netflix in terms of content creation, and it’s going to be at least 2 years before anyone is able to catch them at this point (my money would be on Prime Video, but who knows what Tim Cook wills Apple to produce).

The thing about Prime Video and Apple are they have the ability to distribute in unique and powerful ways. Amazon has a presence in over 80% of homes in the United States. Apple is a status symbol cult that is working to brand itself as the “Privacy” option. Both have money to spend and unparalleled influence, so I’m willing to bet a programmatic viewing experience from either would be incredibly popular in select groups (if not mainstream).

Final point for Apple, their influence through Apple music is a great overlap, but if either Netflix or Amazon were to partner with, or acquire, Spotify, I’m fairly confident to say it would be game over.

The next big thing that isn’t being talked about a lot right now (unless you also listened to Tom Rogers on Scott Galloway’s Podcast, like the dozens of us that tune in every once in a while) is the lackluster state of news consumption in the world.

I think the basic principles covered above also apply to the news world, especially in terms of linear programmatic content and having a beautiful viewing platform. To take a quote from Tom Rogers, “There is no ‘Spotify’ of the news world”.

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading my prediction. If you have thoughts on anything I’ve talked about, or questions on why I think pre-curated content will become important let me know in the comments.

-Jake

*Notable contender was Disney+ (and I plan to expand on this in the future)…HBOmax/Crave you have a long way to go before you earn that respect…

Book Review: Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari)

TL;DR This whole book is a TLDR, unfortunately. If you have interest in this book, take it chapter by chapter and don’t worry about skipping around chronologically. Don’t feel the obligation to read every page – it won’t bring you any ultimate satisfaction. Take this from someone who did listen to the whole thing.

Surprise Highlight: Has humanity been domesticated by plants? Consider the prevalence of a small amount of crops around the world (e.g. wheat, rice, soya) to their historical ancestors – there are very clear winners and losers in that sense. Take it a step further and look at the increase of domesticated traits passed down in humans since major agricultural revolutions. Harari finally posits that humans are actually the ones who have domesticated humans, but this idea really stuck with me.

Review Score: 3/5

What an intellectual’s book. Exactly what you might expect on the nightstand of a first year university student trying to be eager, or on the nightstand of a 30-something, not realizing the irony in trying to look intelligent to a one-night-stand. Either way, there’s a lot of circulation of this book, but maybe not so much reading of it.

To be fair, I listened to it, and it still took me a while to work through. What I found interesting about the length of this book, though, is that it still feels relatively ambiguous with a lot of what it touches on. There are specifics offered when it comes to conceptual lessons, or biological limitations, but there’s a lot of history that gets glanced at quickly.

There’s certainly no intention to skip important events, but there are moments when Harari seems to be breezing by with the gusto of making a point.

Perhaps my biggest quarrel is with Harari’s ability to write engaging historical analysis. He seems to line up interesting historical subjects, points in time, and topics of greater discussion. If only he possessed the ability to make it a little more engaging, I bet so many more people would have actually finished the book.

I’ll admit it, by the end it felt like a bit of a burden, but I was determined to get through it so I could compare it with some of the other books I recently finished. They all complemented each other extremely well, and I’m working on a joint write-up on them currently. The three books are: Sapiens (Harari), Debt (Graeber), and The Power of Myth (Campbell and Moyer).

Based on those three books, it may not be surprising that I found Harari’s section on religions to be particularly interesting. His ability to dissect and interpret the duality of Monotheistic and Polytheistic, the Singular Power and the Duality of Power, being two sides of the same coin. That they borrow and rely on each other for narrative and historical relevance. Harari demonstrates religion as a societal glue across cultures and time periods especially when presented in triumvirate with the concepts of empire and money.

That’s where I’ll be heading next, to the intersection of the concepts of Money (Debt) and Empire (Sapiens) and Religion (The Power of Myth). I recommend these books as a cluster because I feel they enrich each other. I don’t always like reading multiple books simultaneously, but these ones allowed my mind to take a break from each author and switch gears without diverting from major concepts. With this in mind, I have presented an adjusted rating, with the caveat of needing to read these other 2 books in close proximity.

Adjusted Sapiens Rating (after reading Debt and The Power of Myth): 4/5

Review: Khan Academy: Sal Khan – How I Built This with Guy Raz

Google Podcast Link

Like a lot of people I know, Khan Academy was fundamental in their high school career. What I don’t hear as often anymore are the stories of pure bliss after grinding out several fruitless hours of calculus classes, only to realize that there is an entirely free and incredibly detailed learning resource out there for the “hard subjects”.

This was my high school experience. Sal Khan helped me graduate with incredibly high grades, allowing me to continue on my path to a university of my choosing. In general, I think we as a people owe a great debt to teachers, but that it’s a debt best paid forward, in kind with what they have given us. This post isn’t supposed to be a thank you piece to Sal Khan, but what I’m trying to get at is it could have been.

I’m not the biggest fan of Guy Raz, which is pretty ridiculous given the topics I’m interested in and the fields I work in. However, I really liked this podcast episode. I am going to keep trying with Guy.

Guy allows Sal to brings us through his own upbringing, giving a colour and depth that builds the profile of the man who would build Khan Academy.

It’s a fascinating journey that I don’t want to get into the specifics of because I don’t want to give any major spoilers, but it’s suffice to say that eventually Sal Khan becomes incredibly successful.

Most importantly, though, is recognizing that Sal Khan has always been successful in what he does, especially when held in the mirror of a social contract. He has provided so much of his knowledge to others, free of charge, out of a principled belief in learning and access to education. He has always received deeply heartfelt messages from fans, and this is what has fueled his passion.

Monetary compensation comes to Sal at a true “A-ha!” moment, but it takes pushing the boulder up the hill a few thousand times. I felt genuine relief as Sal approached the more recent parts of his story.

We see the formation of the morals of the main character, exposition throughout childhood and into adulthood, questioning and realignment after becoming conventionally successful, and the testing of new and old principles while starting out on a journey.

It’s a classic hero’s journey in literal definition, which is why it makes for such a compelling podcast episode.

Clearly it’s a practiced story that Sal Khan tells, but there are elements of it that Guy makes more personal by pushing a little further. It helps that it reflects on the current Pandemic, including the implications this has on the usership and relevance of Khan Academy in 2020 (and into the future).

Podcast Rating: 5/5

Notes: If you want to feel good, listen to this podcast episode, it’s just an incredible story and it’s uplifting through and through. I’m definitely biased because I feel personally connected to the narrative, but I think anyone could find a bit of their best self in this.

Google Podcast Link

Book Review: Tribe (Sebastian Junger)

Let’s start this off by saying that this is a subjective review – it’s just an opinion. If you have a different opinion, I would be genuinely interested to hear about it in the comments.

And going into it, I wanted to like this book, I wanted to like it so much. I had heard it recommended from several different prolific figures I follow (Sam Parr, Tim Ferriss and a few others). I had heard it was being used to formulate decisions about the types of places to live and the types of communities we try to create. I heard that it was being used as a tool to reflect on where these people wanted to live and how they wanted to live. It was a pretty big set-up, and maybe that’s part of why I felt the way I did after listening to the whole audiobook on a single bike ride.

Instead, I found that I was being thrown a slew of case studies where lessons were being pulled from unique scenarios, without much practical application outside of said specific cases. I found there to be vague assessments of “social issues” with even more vague “solutions” posited. It felt like somebody using a rough understanding of astronomy to apply an astrological solution to society as a whole. That is, I didn’t find it deeply insightful, but there are passages that would fit nicely on bumper stickers.

Junger uses war stories to give colour to the closeness we experience through incredulous circumstances where uncertainty of our own lives is in the air.

He says he has no issue continuing to use the terms or stories/anecdotes present in his book, recognizing that there has been backlash from what he says and the way he says it. While Junger is free to say what he wants, I absolutely challenge his assertion that PTSD from military action has longer-lasting ramifications than sexual assault related PTSD. I feel as though PTSD as it relates to sexual assault has been historically ignored, and that there has not been nearly enough research into the long-term impacts because it has been historically ignored. Further, I find Junger’s use of this example as a way to be dismissive of sexual assault, without adding much gusto to his argument of the severity of military-related PTSD. You don’t need to make one weaker to make another stronger.

Beyond all of this, though, I found the book to lack relevant lessons that could be applied in my life. I found it difficult to pull any deeper meaning out of Junger’s book than variations of “pressure makes diamonds”.

He applies this to a greater context, without much specifics, stating that challenges push us to limits we thought were not possible and that go against what we might think be able to collectively handle. This isn’t anything new, and I didn’t need to hear all of the stories he tells to re-affirm my belief that giving a larger challenge is one of the best ways to push us to accomplish more.

The most interesting part of the book comes when he starts to explain how the leadership qualities that get us through a traditional work-day are flipped on their head when an emergency occurs. Generally, the skill-set we see as leadership-laden is the same one that struggles heavily under drastically different circumstances.

This is not a particularly shocking revelation, but it is the closest I could find to a practical lesson in Tribe.

At the end of the day I was looking for something other than “hardship brings us closer together and provides us with fulfillment at the same time”. If this was going to be the only lesson, then I wanted some sort of practical application, other than “exist at a horrible junction in history”. I never found Junger truly offering even a partial solution as to some sort of hardship (artificial or otherwise) that could be brought into the world to create some good. Instead, he posits that we probably don’t want to all live in WWII era London Bomb shelters, something I actually agree with him on.

Final Review Score: 2/5

Notable Quotes:

“The beauty and tragedy of the modern world is that it eliminates many situations that require people to demonstrate a commitment to the collective good” (Perfect bumper sticker material, see…)
“As affluence and urbanization rise in a society, rates of suicide and depression tend to go up rather than down”
“Humans don’t mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary” (Another great bumper sticker!)
Sebastian Junger (Tribe)

Allow Yourself to Fail

I haven’t written on this blog in a while, and it’s because I wasn’t willing to confront my own failure. I had failed to create written blog content every single day for 100 days in a row, so I stopped entirely for months. It’s so obviously silly when you write it out like that.

I still have draft blog posts that could I could post, but I didn’t want to accept my failure. If I walked away from it I didn’t have to think about it. But I still thought about it, because I had ideas I wanted to post all the time.

What changed?

I started thinking about the content that I had created.

I thought about the work that was building on top of itself, and what that I wasn’t in a sprint to get there. I don’t expect to have millions of views on anything for a long time, maybe never, and both of those actions are totally okay.

I started thinking about all the fun things I could do with my blog, like offering free consulting services to businesses to grow my personal network.

I accepted my failures and it has made all the difference.

One Step (#18)

That’s the absolute bare minimum, but there are plenty of people out there who won’t take a single step towards what they want out of: life, their career, relationships, themselves, as they let days pass them by.

Take at least one step towards what you want every day – it’s that simple.

The trick is to enjoy the step.

The Lemonade Stand (Ep.1 – Origins, Scale & Value)

(Note: If the embedded player above isn’t working CLICK HERE to listen)

This is the first episode of The Lemonade Stand – thank you for joining! Please leave feedback in the comments if you have it. This is a learning experience and I am here to do just that.

In this episode, Chris Stoness, founder and CEO of Lemonade Window Cleaning (and Elite Window Cleaning), goes through the origins of starting out as a window cleaner himself, growing a multi-million dollar business in Canada, and applying that model to the United States.

We also discuss how the business intentionally re-branded, the changes that occur during the process of scale and how to shift your focus accordingly.

We wrap up by talking to the values of Lemonade Window Cleaning and the most important piece of the puzzle – people!

Thank you for reading this far, there are links to several socials as well as the Lemonade website below.

The 4 Types of Customers at Home Shows (and the 2 that Make You Money)

Precursor: I do not travel home shows for a living and I do not have a background in sales. Instead I went into the environment with my eyes open, pen in hand and ended up being part of a team that closed over 1100 clients at a 10-day Toronto venue. I then did some travel around Ontario to spur up business in areas where we were launching corporate locations.

I am a cross-breed of someone who has done the physical work (allows me to communicate service details with customers very clearly), someone who works with the service centre (allows me to live the customer experience) and someone who is behind all marketing and social efforts (allows me to see how people react to us – probably my favourite part of my job). When I go to a Home Show I go for 8-10 hours straight, usually with (1-2) 15 minute breaks on top of water/bathroom breaks (always stay hydrated). In my breaks I usually walk around to other booths and try to find a cured meat/jerky vendor – these are my favourite (sauce booths are a close second though).

I make it my point to try to talk to literally (yes I mean that) every person that passes my booth – everyone there is THERE TO BE SOLD TO. I am constantly astounded by the amount of sales reps at these shows that wait for people to come to them. I am also constantly astounded by the amazing customers that I’ve acquired who I did not think would buy, BUT DID BUY BECAUSE I ASKED (and had something great to sell).

There are a 2 things you need to do at a homeshow – recognize it’s a gladiator arena, and put on your salesperson skinsuit (shed all the “no’s” you get and covet your spoils of war).

Enough preamble, now onto who you’re going to see there.

Those that Buy (highly profitable, not time consuming)

These are your bread and butter. Make sure to get the details correct, but don’t bog them down with too much if you’ve already closed the deal. Yes they should know about your programs, but can you let them know at a better time if they’re in a rush (you be the judge, and consider you want to keep this client for life). On the flip side, if you have someone who is willing to listen to every up-sell you have in the book, go wild and ask them for all their family & friend contacts. Be courteous, but if you have something big to offer them in return, why not give it a shot? Recognizing opportunities like this can make you incredibly profitable – always pay attention to people who pay attention to you (basic reciprocity).

Special note: I find it incredibly important to re-emphasize talking to EVERYONE, even if you think it makes no sense. I have had my pitch land with so many people I never expected it to work on. Get your pitch down quick and clear, then get ready to say it hundreds of times. Understand that what you say to them defines what they see you as; you have to build their entire understanding of who you are.

Those that Ignore (not profitable, but not time consuming)

These people are awesome. You might feel like they’re being rude, but that’s just you (you’re trying to sell them something after all aren’t you?). It seems perplexing in areas like home shows, but honestly I hate being sold to as well (even when I could use the help). Let these people go by and if they cut you off mid-pitch so be it. Make sure to be polite, but don’t waste more breath if you don’t need to. They will find you if they need it (and sometimes they might) but if not they’ve just let you focus more energy on people that are going to make you profitable.

Those that Listen (long-run profitable, but time consuming)

This group and the last one are the tough to distinguish from each other, but you’re going to find out at some point. You have to be the judge of if someone is really listening to you, or if they’re waiting for their turn to speak. Building real relationships in a fast-paced environment is tough, but the connections I’ve made were much more meaningful and powerful because I sunk the time into them. Worst case, you’re sucked into a story, best case you’ve made a customer for life. Just don’t get sucked into a second and third story…especially if they’ve already told you no, aren’t listening to anything you say, and just want it to be their turn to talk.

Back to the people that ARE long-run profitable. These people will look from afar, maybe take a pamphlet and your information, but they likely won’t give you theirs. They may have friends or family that could want it, so make sure that you let them know about EVERYTHING for as long as they’ll listen (so long as you’re not overflowing with customers trying to pay, building a crowd is a good thing – it attracts more people and that’s the whole game). Tip: Honesty goes a long way in sales IF you can follow through, otherwise it doesn’t mean shit.

Get attention and keep it by educating. Don’t sell AT people who aren’t interested, but make potential clients immediately aware of what your benefits are (then make it clear where you can be reached later). The more people that know what you stand for the better, and a lot of the time it might not be the right time in that specific moment. These opportunities increase in probability of closing a sale dramatically if you can get follow-up information – rather than them following up with you – but it’s a tough game and getting used to people walking away knowing more should feel like a win to you.

Those that Waste (not profitable and incredibly time consuming – if you let them be)

This is the person that tells you “no” and then wants to stick around and tell you about their company or their brother’s company, BUT NOT IN A CONSTRUCTIVE WAY. These people are looking to get a rise out of you or talk about how much better off people they know are. Don’t engage because they just want to talk and your voice/attention is a valuable resource in an arena like that. It can be hard to try and work around them or dismiss them in a respectful way, but it’s critical that you find a way out of these situations before you find yourself invested by association of time shared together.

Talk to the people walking behind you, get your co-worker talk to them for a bit or make up an excuse to get rid of you. Or go to the bathroom. Or explain the situation at hand – you are busy and it’s important that you try and talk to as many clients as possible, not just them. Honesty goes a long way in an environment like this.

I’m going to try and mix in more long-form content during the 100 day stretch.

More “Home Show” posts coming in the future…

Do you have any other “types of customers” you run into at home shows? Let me know in the comments below.

Minimum Viable Audience (#14)

It’s not a new concept, but it’s an incredibly important one in a world where brand loyalty is low and a slew of options are at your fingertips. Not only do consumers not care about you (until you give them a reason to) but employees feel the same way. Linking the successes of employees to the expectations of the clients is what will cause you to be truly profitable in the long-run. Now how do you get there?

Think hard about how many people you need to “Jaw-drop” to sustain the lowest level of operations. Consider that impressed/wowed clients will make larger purchases, more frequent purchases and spread the word talking about how great your business/service/product is. The amount of clients you need isn’t the problem – it’s the relationship you build with clients that needs to change.

Figuring out how to create actual value with your client base is incredibly exciting too – one of the best parts of my job. Thinking about ways to delight people that I want to build decade-long relationships with.

If you don’t enjoy this part of the process then you should seriously re-evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing (and you definitely don’t need to read this blog). If you’re in business only to make money, then I don’t want you taking my advice.Don’t try to scale garbage just to sell it. Don’t try to acquire hundreds/thousands/millions of clients if you don’t care about them. I have no respect for businesses that try to do this.

Start by creating value. Start with the clients in front of you. Delight them, then see what happens.

Here’s another tip for when you’re just starting out – don’t value your time so highly until you’re actually making something. If you’re not willing to do this, maybe your aren’t confident enough in your idea – to being a successful entrepreneur you need this confidence and you need the willingness to execute for yourself. Once you’ve proved something is there, then you start valuing your time appropriately to scale.

Future posts coming on how to link this value back to your employee performance/morale…

Presentation is Everything

Spoilers: For actual long-run success you will need product, team & delivery, but you can get away by starting with just presentation.

Presentation is what stops people in their tracks. It’s what gets them to circle around and come back to the aisle to read the label once more, just to make sure they saw that right. It’s what gets them excited before they really know what’s going on (this is so powerful – setting tone).

And you have to present to the right people – understand your audience and speak directly to them. If you can make a real connection with clients it will be so much more powerful in the long-run.

Spend the extra $30 for the fluorescent pink fake grass – it’ll make the booth pop!