Michael Shoe

Michael

  • The Harvard Business School Corporation: A Billion-Dollar Education Powerhouse

    In 2023, for the first time its the school’s history, the Harvard Business School made over 1 Billion dollars of revenue. Just like the Harvard Business School MBA degree, the crown jewel of business education, the school’s economic model is also an embodiment of what a great business looks like. 

    Anybody who thinks that the Harvard Business School is only in the education industry must look deeper in the School’s offerings. Unique among Harvard University’s 12 graduate and professional schools, the HBS has a self-sustaining business model, meaning that it doesn’t ask the University for any money. The School operates in the intersection of education, publication, and professional services. Let me explain.

    HBS funds its operations with cash from three primary sources: 

    1. MBA tuition and fees;
    2. Earned income from Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), Executive Education, and HBS Online; and 
    3. Philanthropic revenues, including current use gifts and distribution from the endowment.

    The HBS only makes about 14% of its total revenue from MBA tuition and fees. On a separate note, the School returns 66 million USD, or 43.4% of that 152 million, back to students in the form of fellowships. Another 27% of the total revenue comes from endowment and gifts. The rest 59% comes from three areas, Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), Executive Education, and HBS Online.

    Harvard Business Publishing (HBP)

    Harvard Business Publishing is where HBS differentiates itself from other business schools. In 2023, HBP made 310 million USD for the HBS, accounting for around 29% of the School’s total revenue. 

    Founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, independent corporation affiliated to HBS, HBP has over 600 employees across more than ten locations all over the world, from NYC, Boston, to Singapore. The HBP has three business units: HBP Corporate learning, HBP Education, and Harvard Business Review.

    Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

    The HBP Corporate Learning is in the B2B2C corporate training market. In other words, this BU needs to find corporate clients and close sales. The BU provides in-person, digital, or blended learning experiences to clients, which include large multi-national companies such as Coca-Cola and American Express. Harvard ManageMentor®, a major digital learning offered by HBP Corporate Learning, has 8,810,000 active users in 2023. 

    Because I never have the luxury to work for a company that purchases HBP Corporate Learning products, I can only guess that companies purchase licenses, aka accounts from HBP Corporate Learning, as employee/ executive training. Employees can log in to the platform using the licenses purchased and learn from there. Depending on the packages, employees may or may not be able to actually go to Harvard and study in person.

    Harvard Business Publishing Education

    The Education Unit of HBP monetizes the vast catelog of articles, cases, and other types of intellectual products, not only from the Harvard Business School, but also from other leading business schools around the world. The BU mainly targets educators, i.e. professors from universities looking to enhancing the instruction experiences by using HBS cases. It also provides partnership opportunities on institutional levels if the university desires to collaborate with HBP Education on a higher level. In 2023, there were 17,773,000 cases sold. The cases alone would mount to at least 150 million dollars for the Harvard Business School.

    Harvard Business Review

    HBR offers articles full of insights and should be read by all business professionals. Unfortunately, these insights are not free; anybody who wants to access HBR will have to pay at least $10 per month, or you are limited to only two articles per month for free. In 2023, on average HBR has 9,902,000 users per month.

    Executive Education

    Executive education was the second largest revenue stream for HBS after HBP, bringing in 224 million dollars, or around 21% of the total revenue. The HBS Executive Education provides both B2B and B2C offerings. For example, executives who want to further invest in their business education can choose one of HBS’s topic-focused, regional, or comprehensive leadership programs. Organizations can also engage Executive Education to train their team of executives, probably at a rather high price points.

    Harvard Business School Online

    In 2023, The HBS Online had an enrollment of 41,803, and made 68 million USD, or 6% of the School’s total revenue. HBS Online offers courses in eight areas.

    1. Digital Transformation

    There is only one course offering under Digital transformation: Winning with Digital Platforms.

    2. Marketing

    There is only one course offering under Marketing for HBS Online, which is Digital Marketing Strategy.

    3. Business Essentials

    There are three course offerings under Business Essentials:

    1. Business Analytics: $1750
    2. Economics for Managers: $1750
    3. Financial Accounting: $1750

    Each course can be taken individually for the price listed. Additionally, you can choose to purchase all three as a bundle, called Credential of Readiness (CORe), for a total of $2500. CORe is probably the most well-known HBS Online offering, as you can see from many executives’ LinkedIn profiles. In 2023 there were a total of 4,776 CORe Participants.

    4. Leadership & Management

    There are seven courses under Leadership & Management:

    1. Leadership Principles: $1750
    2. Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability: $1750
    3. Organizational Leadership: $1750
    4. Management Essentials: $1750
    5. Strategy Execution: $1750
    6. Power and Influence for Positive Impact: $1750
    7. Negotiation Mastery: $1750

    Under this stream, you can also choose to get a Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB), but for a price higher than all courses individually combined, at $15,000. The reason might be that the Credential track also includes a capstone project, which is not available in any individual course.

    5. Entrepreneurship & Innovation

    There are six courses found under the Entrepreneurship & Innovation section:

    1. Entrepreneurship Essentials: $1750
    2. Disruptive Strategy: $1750
    3. Design Thinking and Innovation: $1750
    4. Launching Tech Ventures: $1750
    5. Negotiation Mastery: $1750
    6. Winning with Digital Platforms: $1750

    No credential is offered under the Entrepreneurship & Innovation stream.

    6. Strategy

    1. Disruptive Strategy: $1750
    2. Business Strategy: $1750
    3. Strategy Execution: $1750
    4. Sustainable Business Strategy: $1750
    5. Global Business: $1750
    6. Economics for Managers: $1750

    Interestingly, the CLIMB credential is also listed as the go-to course combo under the Strategy stream. You can also find some courses listed under different streams. For example, Economics for Managers is listed under both Strategy and Business Essentials.

    7. Finance & Accounting

    1. Leading with Finance: $1750
    2. Financial Accounting: $1750
    3. Sustainable Investing: $1750
    4. Alternative Investments: $1750

    8. Business in Society

    1. Business and Climate Change: $1750
    2. Sustainable Business Strategy: $1750
    3. Sustainable Investing: $1750
    4. Power and Influence for Positive Impact: $1750
    5. Global Business: $1750
    6. Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability: $1750

    Though it has the Harvard Business School name on it, the HBS Online really functions the same way as any online course product: at its core, it develops courses that can be taken remotely by anybody. The HBS Online also has a blog called Business Insights, and publishes articles on a wide range of topics, from accounting, analytics, to technology and work-life balance. But because it has the Harvard url behind it, these articles are able to take advantage of the high domain authority and rank much higher than any regular business blog, leading to a large amount of traffic to its top funnel. You can also subscribe to its newsletter. The quality of these articles, however, is not impressive (but you can check it out for yourself).

    From the HBS website, you can see that “HBS Online revenue decreased 3 percent to $68 million from $70 million in fiscal 2022, as the group continued to navigate the challenges of increased competition and higher learner acquisition costs”. This should alarm anybody interested in selling courses online – including me – that even HBS Online struggles within this competitive market.

    One of a Kind Business

    The Harvard Business School has one of a kind business model that can dwarf many of the public companies. 

    While it may look like MBA students are the main customers of HBS, I’d argue that MBA students are actually “products” of the School. HBS invests heavily on providing great education to the MBA students, including financial investments by providing scholarships and fellowships. These “products” go on to become decision makers in various industries, and they give back to HBS by ways of using their influence on Corporate America: not only will they be more likely to give gifts, subscribe to HBR, etc., but they are also more likely to allocate company budgets to Corporate Learning, one-time Executive Training, or employment of future HBS students, especially because of their ever-increasing decision-making capacities. 

    From a risk standpoint, the business model of HBS is considerably stable. In other words, it’s extremely unlikely that all revenue streams will go under at the same time. It has B2B and B2C products, e.g. Corporate Learning and HBR; it has build once, sell multiple times, e.g. HBS Online, as well as high-ticket services, e.g. Executive Education; it makes money from both investment and operations. All revenue streams stem from one core area of strength: the Harvard Business School scholar and research. 

  • Every Story Takes Only 5 Seconds to Tell: Examples of Matthew Dicks’s 5-second Moments in Stories

    Every Story Takes Only 5 Seconds to Tell: Examples of Matthew Dicks’s 5-second Moments in Stories

    Storytelling is one of the most important skills in life. However, rarely do schools teach storytelling, nor do people realize its importance.

    In his book Storyworthy, Matthew Dicks gives out some great instructions (You can read my structured book notes here) to decipher this crucial skill. Here let’s just focus on this one questions: 

    What qualifies as a STORY, really? 

    Your story must reflect change over time. 

    This is probably THE most important idea that will help you understand what a story really is:

    “A story cannot simply be a series of remarkable events. 

    You must start out as one version of yourself and end as something new. 

    The change can be infinitesimal. 

    It needs not reflect an improvement in yourself or your character, but change must happen. 

    Even the worst movies in the world reflect some change in a character over time.

    So must your story. 

    Stories that fail to reflect change over time are known as anecdotes.”

    At its core, every story takes only 5 seconds to tell.

    Stories are 5-second moments in your life when something fundamentally changes forever. 

    • You fall in love. 
    • You fall out of love. 
    • You discover something new about yourself or another person. 
    • Your opinion on a subject dramatically changes. 
    • You find forgiveness. 
    • You reach acceptance. 
    • You sink into despair. 
    • You grudgingly resign. 
    • You’re drowned in regret. 
    • You make a life-altering decision. 
    • Choose a new path. 
    • Accomplish something great. 
    • Fail spectacularly.

    Or, put in another way, the 5-second moment must reflect the change in YOU.

    Going back to the first point, the first thing you should do in crafting a story is to find the 5-second moment you want to tell, aka. the moment that you somehow change fundamentally. 

    • I was once this, but now I am this.
    • I once thought this, but now I think this. 
    • I once felt this, but now I feel this.
    • I was once hopeful, but now I am not.
    • I was once lost, but now I am found.
    • I was once happy, but now I am sad.
    • I was once uncertain, but now I know.
    • I was once angry, but now I am grateful. 
    • I was once afraid, but now I am fearless. 
    • I once believed, but now I don’t.

    Examples of Matthew’s 5-second Moments in Stories

    Before you check out the 5-second moments for each story, I would encourage you to listen to or read the stories first, and try to come up with Matthew’s 5-second moments by yourself. The links to the stories can be found underneath each title.

    1. Karen vs. the Patriots

    (You can read the transcript or listen to the story here.)

    Matthew thought his true love was with Karen, the most beautiful girl he had ever met, but then realized that his true love was with the New England Patriots, who had been there for him through better and through worse.

    1. This is Going to Suck

    (You can read the transcript or listen to the story here.)

    Matthew thought he was all alone in this world because his parents didn’t show up at the hospital after his terrible car accident, but he was wrong; his friends, who showed up to cheer him up, were the only family that he needed.

    1. Charity Thief

    (You can read the transcript or listen to the story here.)

    Matthew thought he was lonely with no one to help in life when his car broke down, but the man who gave him some gas money that night made him realize he knew nothing about loneliness. 

    By now you should have mastered the most fundamental idea of storytelling. Go out and find your 5-second moments. 

  • Book Notes: How to Succeed in Mr. Beast Production

    Chapter ONE: Intro

    1. Be very clear withTHE GOAL (of a Youtube Channel):
      1. To make the best Youtube videos (not the best produced videos, highest quality videos, Hollywood videos, etc.)
    2. Results (and only results) matter:
      1. The amount of hours you work is irreslevant
    3. Only A players get to stay
    4. What makes a Youtube video viral:
      1. Click Through Rate (CTR):
        1. CTR is basically how many people see our thumbnail in their feeds divided by how many that click it. If 100,000,000 people see our thumbnail and 10,000,000 click on it then that means 10% clicked and we have a 10% CTR.
          1. Title and Thumbnail should be EXTREME. The more extreme, the better:
            1. “I Spent 50 Hours In My Front Yard”: BAD
            2. “I Spent 50 Hours In Ketchup”: BETTER
            3. “I survived 50 hours in Ketchup”: EVEN BETTER
            4. “I don’t like bananas” vs. “Bananas are the worst food on earth”
      2. Average View Duration (AVD):
        1. AVD is how long on average people watch a given video (Youtube will tell you this in analytics).
          1. The shape of the audience retention graph can tell which parts of video are most and least interesting to viewers.
          2. The 1st minute is the most important minute of a video:
            1. Must match the title and thumbnail expectations (content vs. clickbait)
            2. Front load some interesting stuff
            3. Pre plan what to say and say interesting things
          3. Minute 1 to 3:
            1. Transit from hype to execution: stop telling people what they will be watching and start showing them the thing.
              1. Example: say we have 10 minute video about a guy surviving weeks in the woods. Instead of making the first 3 minutes of the video about his first day then progressing from there like a logical filmmaker would. We’d tried to cover multiple days in the first 3 minutes of the video so the viewer is now super invested in the story.
          4. Around the 3-minute mark:
            1. Do a re-engagement: content that is highly interesting that fits the story and makes people genuinely impressed. It’s important to re-engage the viewer around this time because they could get bored of the story and click off.
          5. Minute 3 to 6:
            1. The goal is to make viewers fall in love with the story.
            2. This is where you plan out all the most exciting and interesting content that is also very simple. This includes lots of quick scene changes and highly stimulating simple content that reflects the story.
          6. Around the 6-minute mark:
            1. Do another re-engagement: this one can be also highly interesting but needs a little bit more explanation (coz the viewers are already very invested in the story by now) and will push the story in the second half of the video.
          7. Second half of video (minute 6 to 12):
            1. Not as interesting as the first half is okay, since viewers by now are watching the video without even realizing they are watching a video.
          8. The end of video:
            1. Don’t ever signal the end of the video unless it’s to build hype for the prize or payoff.
            2. Long explanation bits should be put here at the end of videos.
            3. Unexpected things that happen which can be turned into content (should be put here at the end).
      3. Average View Percentage (AVP):
        1. (Jimmy didn’t say what it is coz this is decided by himself, so no explanation in this staff handbook)
      4. The “WOW” factor:
        1. Basically, anything that no other Youtuber can do (this is a subjective factor).
        2. Examples:
          1. Bring a house in on a crane

    Chapter TWO: Creating Content

    1. Watch the damn video:after each video is done, watch every Mr. Beast video on all the channels.
    2. Check. In. Daily. Leave. No. Room. For. Error.:
      1. Let’s say you’re in production and a video you’re assigned to is put up 45 days out. A lot of things need to happen before you can start working on it. The big things would probably be you need a thumbnail sketch and creative on your team to write the video. DO NOT just go to them and say “I need creative, let me know when it’s done” and “I need a thumbnail, let me know when it’s done”. This is what most people do and it’s one of the reasons why we fail so much.
      2. I want you to look them in the eyes and tell them they are the bottleneck and take it a step further and explain why they are the bottleneck so you both are on the same page. “Tyler, you are my bottleneck. I have 45 days to make this video happen and I can not begin to work on it until I know what the contents of the video is. I need you to confirm you understand this is important and we need to set a date on when the creative will be done.”
      3. Now this person who also has tons of shit going on is aware of how important this discussion is and you guys can prioritize it accordingly. Now let’s say Tyler and you agree it will be done in 5 days. YOU DON’T GET TO SET A REMINDER FOR 5 DAYS AND NOT TALK TO HIM FOR 5 DAYS! Every single day you must check in on Tyler and make sure he is still on track to hit the target date.I want less excuses in this company. Take ownership and don’t give your project a chance to fail. Dumping your bottleneck on someone and then just walking away until it’s done is lazy and it gives room for error and I want you to have a mindset that God himself couldn’t stop you from making this video on time.
    3. Video tape everything:
      1. It is more important that the entire team have a good mental grip on something, rather than that 1 person has a good mental grip.
        1. Example: Let’s say you go to scout a set for a video in a month while the rest of your team is working on this week’s video. Most people just go to scout the set, maybe grab a photo, and walk around and try to grab a good mental model of it. Then a week later when you’re back, this video is now Tyler’s main focus and he starts asking questions about the set, and you can’t quite recall. The questions get more and more detailed and all you have to go off of is what’s in your mind. The rest of your production team also needs to start planning bits but they don’t know what it looks like and it’s a shit show. This is why we say video everything.
    4. Say the negatives (bad news):
      1. Don’t just tell people the good news. Say the bad news.
    5. It’s your fault. (And your responsibility to) track the contractor.
      1. I can’t stand when people dump and forget their project on a contractor and then the day before the shoot blame them when it’s not ready.
      2. That’s on YOU, not the contractor. Let’s say we are building the world’s largest water balloon and you need someone to make a giant wooden stand for it to sit on. Most people here would just call someone like JB and have him do it and tell him to be done by filming day. Instead, you should really have it done a certain time frame in advance (you need to use your own intelligence based on the project to determine that) in case something is off we can make changes. And you need to then decide whether or not it’s a critical component. If it is, you should also begin working on a backup and while working on a backup you should check in with JB every single day. Ask him to send videos everyday to spot problems early, hell maybe talk to him twice a day. I don’t care just don’t leave room for error. No excuses, stop leaving room for error. Check in daily, receive videos, and know weeks in advance if you’re fucked. Not days.
    6. How to ask for decisions (I’m not always right)
      1. Whatever you don’t tell me, I don’t know.
      2. A bad way to ask for a decision to be made: “in a coming up video we are giving away a car, what do you think of this lexus it’s only $10,000”
      3. A good way to ask for a decision to be made: “We have a coming up would you rather video. One of the bits at the 6 to 9 minute mark we will be giving away a car. We are still on budget and the budget for this car is $10,000. I checked with PM. It could go up another $5k if you really wanted. I searched all of NC for cool ass cars around that price point and here are 5 i found that I got preapproved by creative all on budget. I also got 5 other backup options that are less “cool” looking and more avg if you’re going for that. Here is a picture of all 10 cars, the miles on the cars, and all the information you’d want. Which of these cars do you think is best or should I get other options?“
    7. If what you are working on is a critical component, treat it like a baby.
      1. Critical components are: without them, the video doesn’t happen
        1. Example: If I want to put 100 people on an island and give it away to one of them, then securing an island is a critical component. It doesn’t matter how well planned the challenges on the island are, how good the weather is, etc. Without that island there is no video. Hence it is a critical component.
      2. Never flip a coin on a critical component:
        1. Protect it at all costs, check in on it 10x a day, obsess over it, make a backup, if it requires shipping pay someone to pick it up and drive it, don’t trust standard shipping, and speak up the second anything goes wrong.
    8. The right way to communicate cross-departments:
      1. Up, then over: i.e. you tell your dept. head, who tells the dept. head of another dept., who tells the person in charge of the thing
    9. Creativity saves money
      1. Use creativity to solve problems, not use money to solve problems.
        1. Example: Which sounds cooler to you as a prize for a gaming video. $20,000 or a year’s supply of doritos? To me doritos is so much funnier and I think our audience would find it fucken hilarious. So lets say we define a year’s supply of doritos by 5 packs of doritos a day for 365 days. That’s 1,825 packs of doritos and a quick google search shows you can buy a pack of doritos for less than a dollar but we can round up and just say a dollar per a pack of doritos. Our prize for the video just went from $20,000 down to $1,825 because we didn’t just throw money at the problem and we used creativity.
    10. Always build in some buffer in your solutions (always have a backup day)
      1. you still can do certain things to increase the probability of success and one of the easiest but most overlooked is having a back up day.
        1. Example: When you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars securing a set, renting a tank, etc. make sure you have the ability to extend them in case something goes wrong.
    11. Don’t take anything at face value, always dig
      1. Do not overly trust people outside the company. Investigate and verify what they say or it is your fault if they don’t pull through.
        1. Example: If you need 10,000 pillows by next week and you’ve called 10 pillow companies and none have more than a few hundred in stock but then the 11th company magically has 10,000 pillows, investigate. Are they drop shipping? Are the pillows shitty? Why the fuck does no one want your pillows? Push and get answers. What tends to happen is people think their job is done by finding the 10k pillows and just order them only for us to find problems with them when the arrive but it’s too close to the filming window to fix it.
    12. (It is preferred to use) Higher form of communication
      1. Talk face to face > phone call > Text
      2. The more complex what needs to be said is, the higher the form of the communication you should use. Call first then text if they don’t answer. Since we are on the topic of communication, written communication also does not constitute communication unless they confirm they read it.
    13. Own your mistakes
    14. Nothing comes before your priorities
      1. When you are assigned tasks you should have a prio list. Then nothing on this freakin planet is allowed to come between you and getting those prios done. If the other team asks for your help and you spend two days helping them and fall behind on getting your lamborghini secured, THAT’S YOUR FAULT. If the studio is burning down and you stop working to put out the fire and don’t get the lamborghini, THAT’S YOUR FAULT.
    15. Use consultants
      1. In every single freakin task assigned to you, always always always ask yourself first if you can find a consultant to help you.
        1. Need to make the world’s largest slice of cake? Start off by calling the person who made the previous world’s largest slice of cake lol.
    16. Math Science Vision Approvals Budget
      1. Everything you need can be solved by one of these 5 things above. Use Math, Science, Vision, Approvals, or Budget.
    17. No does not mean no
      1. Alway push through the Nos and exhaust every possible methods for solution
        1. Example: If we need a store to buy everything inside of and you call the local Dollar tree and the person that answers says “No, you can’t film here”. That literally doesn’t mean shit. Talk to other employees and see if any are fans or if any have kids that are fans, try talking to their boss, their bosses boss, have me dm them on twitter and try their social team, etc. If after all avenues are exhausted you are left with a no, that doesn’t mean don’t try the other dollar trees because the manager of those could be huge fans and willing to bend the rules.
    18. Work on multiple videos EVERYDAY
      1. If you ever only work on one video during a day, you failed as a MrBeast employee that day.
    19. (Learn to) be able to hold a camera
      1. When we do a big shoot not local it’d be nice to not have to bring 10000000 production people and 100000 camera people. If for example there are only a few scenes that need a couple extra camera men I’d love for us not to have to fly, house, transport, and baby more camera men when we could just have a few people from production or creative help for those overflow scenes because typically the more cameramen we have filming the less important each shot becomes.
    20. 1 out of 10 good. 10 out of 10 bad.
      1. This is what it means: Youtube has a feature that compares a new upload’s performance to the previous 9 videos and tells you how the views rank in the first hour, two hours, three hours, 4 hours, etc.
    21. Other things:
      1. Don’t leave contestants waiting for more than 3 hours
      2. Not every video should be a spectacle and we realize these videos are hard but that’s the point.
      3. If someone is necessary, then that’s fine but if not, kick them off set or go have them watch from behind a monitor. Create an environment where the contestants also feel natural.
      4. I’d rather you be honest with eachother then nice to eachother.
      5. Do not talk down to talent or do anything to make them feel like shit. I need them to be happy and in good moods and those boys are special to me. Ideally most talks with talent (Chris, Karl, Chandler, Nolan) go thru me, Ali, or Tyler to avoid confusion amongst them.
      6. Me like simple. The simpler the better (APPLY WITH A GRAIN OF SALT)
      7. We pivot a lot, be ready to have everything flipped on its head at a moment’s notice lol
      8. I want money spent to be shown on camera ideally. If you’re spending over $10,000 on something and it won’t be shown on camera, seriously think about it.
      9. Work with intensity
      10. Push outwards, not inwards.
      11. Pull all nighters weeks before the shoot so you don’t have to days before the shoot.
      12. If something goes wrong on shoot always check to see if it can be made into content. A tree fall over on your car and breaks the 100 vases we needed to give away? THAT’S FUCKEN HILARIOUS AND WE SHOULD MENTION IT IN THE VIDEO LOL
      13. Feasibility is working to see if the critical components of a video are actually possible.
        1. Example would be if I wanted to play hide and seek in the world’s largest building. If you did feasibility on this, that basically means you’re trying to see if it’s possible to get that building. If you do then we have a video and it should go into production. If you can’t then that’s why it was in feasibility so no one else wasted time.
      14. Never do anything that could make us look bad from a pr perspective.
      15. We often do renderings of sets to see what they look like beforehand, which is amazing and helps a lot cause i’m very visual and gets the whole team on the same page. When doing these renders though, I want to make sure you know the difference between a “Pre Vis” and a “Concept”. Please do not refer to a render as a “Pre Vis” unless that is actually what we plan on building. If it’s just a render for inspiration and is not building locked, call it a concept. This will greatly help with confusion in my opinion. Many people wave around a concept but call it a Pre Vis and people see it expecting that to be what’s built only to find out later that was a concept and the actual set is much different.

    Chapter THREE: Creative

    1. Creative is important in all aspects of the company, not just in dept. of creative, because that’s the core of Mr. Beast Production Company,
      1. If you find something inspiring and creative but you are in production and not creative, bring it to the creative team.
    2. Goal of content:
      1. To get Jimmy excited. That may sound weird to some of you, especially if you’re new but to me it’s what’s most important. If I’m not excited to get in front of that camera and film the video, it’s just simply not going to happen.
        1. If Jimmy as the talent is not excited, he will not perform in the video. If he is happy, the viewers are happy.
          1. The camera angles need to always get better, the pacing, the story, the jokes, the color, the lighting, the music, the props, the people, our framing, our ideas, literally everything must always be improving and innovating. Because that is what excites me. That’s literally what I live for, to see these videos get better and better and ultimately make the viewers happy.
    3. What makes good content:
      1. You need to read the book on this one coz he was kind of everywhere…
    4. How to measure the success of content:
      1. AVD and AVP
    5. Format:
      1. Last to leave: this does well because people want to find out, who actually is the last to leave…
      2. Stair stepping: “I bought the world’s largest firework” – showing lighting of $1 firework, $10, then $50, $375, $1000, $10,000, then the world record.
      3. Chased by a bounty hunter/military/FBI, etc.: Viewers are likely to stay by the end of the video to see what the result is.
      4. Donating to twitch streamers randomly
      5. Always be innovating on formats; viewers may think they want a certain format forever, but they don’t. All they want is new formats.
    6. Who is our audience:
      1. You need to read the book on this one
    7. You should watch our videos
    8. Brand deals are content:
      1. If you watch a lot of youtube you’ll probably notice that when someone does a brand deal it’s boring and sounds like they’re reading a script. We take a different approach to brand deals, we like to integrate them into the content so it doesn’t nuke our retention and boosts conversion.
        1. Remember that I told you we could see the exact moment when viewers click off our videos? Here is a retention chart for when we used to do brand deals the old way. Now here is a retention chart with a new style brand deal in it.
    9. Your information diet FUCKING MATTERS (Understand Culture):
      1. You. Can’t. Get. Inspired. By. Things. You. Don’t. Know. Exist.
        1. If you are a talent, watch tons of goofy and stupid shit.
        2. If you are a writer, inhale your type of inspiration.
    10. It’s okay for the boys to be childish:
      1. If talents want to draw a dick, let them draw a dick.
    11. We don’t fake things.
    12. Make sure to prep contestants and try to create an environment where they feel comfortable talking.
    13. If you wrote a banger piece of content but it is a 50/50 chance of working, write another piece of content. Content is unlimited, don’t be lazy.
    14. Run your content by as many people as possible for inspiration on how you could make it even better.
    15. I want famous people in our videos.
    16. Don’t ever put me in a situation where I have to lie, because I won’t and it will screw the video.
    17. No dull moments in videos
    18. You can’t fake intensity in videos
    19. The video endings must always be abrupt to protect retention.
    20. This isn’t really a creative thing but in general when on set be attentive and engaged. Filming days are stressful enough, be useful please.

    Chapter FOUR: Your Career

    1. Read the book; this is about how a staff will progress in the company

  • Transcript: “The Promise”, a Story By Matthew Dicks

    This is a transcript of Matthew Dicks’s story, The Promise, at a NYC Moth GrandSLAM.

    I asked Laura to be my girlfriend on the back steps of our high school. Laura was my best friend, so when I asked her, we made a promise to each other. We promised that we would always stay friends and we would always take care of each other, no matter what happened in our relationship.

    I started to lean in to kiss her at that moment, but I realized it was going to be my first kiss ever, and it was going to be hers as well. So, I wanted it to be a perfect kiss.

    Three days later, we were leaving for California. Our band was marching in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, and Laura and I were taking separate flights. We decided to make mixtapes for each other for the flight. I sat in my bedroom with my finger hovering over the record button, waiting for the perfect Richard Marx power ballad to come on, praying that the DJ wouldn’t speak over the introduction so the song would be perfect. I loaded those cassettes with all of the songs that said the things to Laura that I couldn’t say myself.

    But when I got on the plane and pressed play on my Walkman, there was no music on Laura’s cassettes. Instead, it was her voice. It was eight hours of Laura talking to me, telling me stories about her childhood, telling me about her hopes and dreams, reading Shel Silverstein poetry to me, and singing acapella Beatles songs to me. Somewhere over the Rockies, at like 33,000 feet, I fell in love with Laura March.

    And I decided she had to have the perfect first kiss. And it was perfect, because the next day we were at Disneyland. We were on the Ferris wheel, at the very top of the circle, surrounded by thousands of people in this beautiful spot, but as alone as two people could be. It was the perfect place to kiss her. And it was at that moment that I realized a perfect kiss is not really dependent upon location as much as technique. And I had never kissed anyone before, so I didn’t have technique. And so, I choked and didn’t kiss her.

    But that was okay, because like four hours later, I was on a little stone bridge in front of Cinderella’s Castle as fireworks exploded over our heads. It was perfect, and I choked and did not kiss her. So, I decided that I would kiss her the next day, New Year’s Eve, on the dance floor at midnight. When the clock struck 12:00, I would kiss Laura and we would have the perfect kiss.

    That morning, we snuck out of our hotel rooms and went down for breakfast early before anyone woke up. We sat and ate muffins, and Laura told me how she wanted to be just like her father when she grew up. She wanted to own her own business and raise two girls, just like he had done. And I told Laura that I wanted to be a writer someday. It was a dream I had, but I had never said it out loud in my life. She was the first one to hear it. And when we had finished our muffins, we went back to our room. But rather than taking the elevator, we decided to take the stairs in case the band directors were up. It was 14 flights up a Pasadena Holiday Inn stairwell that was sort of gray and smelled like urine and tacos, and it was already hot.

    We were up ten flights when Laura told me to stop. I turned around, thinking that she was tired, that she needed to take a rest. But as I turned, she grabbed my face and pulled it to hers and kissed me. When she broke, she looked at me and said, “Can we get on with things now?”

    And we did. For two years, we were like the disgusting high school sweethearts, perfect in every way. And if the things that don’t break up couples at the end of high school didn’t break us up, we might be together today. But we kept our promise, the one we made on those steps, and we stayed friends. We took care of each other.

    Laura became a business owner and had her two little girls, Ava and Tess. And I became the writer that I wanted to be. Three years ago, Laura called me and said she needed my help. So, I came back to our hometown. We went right back to those steps at our high school, and Laura told me that she had cancer. She told me that she was dying of cancer, and she asked me to be the person who would tell Ava and Tess someday the stories of her teenage years, the time that we spent together.

    I promised her I would. I told her that the writer I had become would write down her stories, that we would get together, reminisce, and I would capture every memory she wanted and put it down so I could share it when the girls were old enough someday.

    And then, for the next two years, I did not keep my promise. I saw Laura once, but I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing my high school sweetheart wither and die away. I’m looking at Facebook and I see a post from her sister Elena that says, “Laura’s back in the hospital again, and she’s not doing well, but they’re hoping she’s going to get out in time for Easter to celebrate.”

    And that’s the moment I decide, “Dammit, I need to do the right thing and keep my promise.” I’m going to go back to my hometown and spend the time I need to capture her stories.

    Laura dies two days later. They bury her in a cemetery where I once taught her to drive, on a hill where we once had a blanket and sat, talking about our futures. And I’m terrified to think that Laura wondered if I was going to keep my promise when she was dying. And I’m terrified to think that she died wondering if Ava and Tess would know the things she wanted them to know.

    So, I’m going to keep the promise that I made on that day, 25 years ago. And every time a thought of Laura comes into my mind, it gets written down. I just pray to God that I can remember all the ones that she wanted me to remember. And when I meet Tess and Ava someday, I’ll tell them their stories. The first one I’m going to tell is about a hot and stinking stairwell in Pasadena, California, and my first kiss—our perfect first kiss.

    Disclaimer: this transcript is a product of Youtube-auto-generated transcript and simple ChatGPT cleaning, and I do not own any intellectual property in any shape or form mentioned. The content on this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. While every effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, I make no guarantees about the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any content. Any actions taken based on the information provided here are done solely at your own risk. I am not liable for any losses, damages, or consequences arising from your use of this blog or its content. Please consult with a qualified professional before making any significant decisions.

  • Transcript: “A Mop Sink and Maybe God”, a Story By Matthew Dicks

    Transcript: “A Mop Sink and Maybe God”, a Story By Matthew Dicks

    This is a transcript of Matthew Dicks’s story, A Mop Sink and Maybe God, at a Boston Moth GrandSLAM.

    I’m standing in a mop sink in a tiny closet in the police station in Bourne, Massachusetts. The door is closed, and there’s no light in the closet, so it’s pitch-black. It’s 1993, I’m 22 years old, and I’m about to confess to a crime I didn’t commit.

    I came to this police station two weeks ago after a seven-thousand-dollar deposit disappeared at the McDonald’s where I work. After three days of frantic searching, my boss and I determined that it was not going to be found, and I was responsible for it. I accepted responsibility and said I’d pay back what was lost. She said no. She said it’s company policy that you don’t pay it back, and it’s not the first deposit that’s ever gone missing, so don’t worry. I’ll lose about a year of promotions, but I’m a rising star in the McDonald’s managerial career, so she says I’ll be fine. But we have to go to the police station to report the loss for insurance purposes.

    So that day, we go, and we meet a police officer. He’s a tall guy, he’s old, and he’s got steel-gray hair. I tell him what happened. I say I brought three deposits to the bank, and only two ended up in the night drop. I don’t know where the other one went. He listens and then says, “We need to go back so I can ask you some more questions.” My boss jumps in and says, “No, no, we don’t think he stole the money. We’re just here to report it for insurance.” He says, “I understand, but we still need to go out back.”

    So I go to the back room with him, and I’m in this tiny room with a metal table and chairs. He pushes a piece of paper across the table. It’s my Miranda waiver that I need to sign, which means I’m going to be questioned without an attorney. I’m going to accept that, and I do, because I didn’t do anything. Innocent people don’t need lawyers, is what I’m thinking. So, I sign my Miranda rights away, and he starts to question me. Almost immediately, he gets right to drugs.

    He asks, “What drugs do you use, and are you selling?” I tell him I’m not using drugs. In fact, I’ve never used an illegal drug in my entire life. He does not believe that. And I want him to believe it because it’s true. I’ve been on my own since I was 18 years old, and it’s been really hard for me. I don’t have parents, and I don’t have family. I’m living without a safety net. I feel alone in this world, and I made a decision when I was young that I wasn’t going to use drugs because if I had a problem, no one was going to be able to save me. But he doesn’t believe me, and I can see it in his eyes.

    But after an hour, he says, “You can go.” As I’m leaving the police station, my boss leans in and says, “What the hell was that?” I say, “I don’t know, but I’m just glad it’s over.” But it wasn’t.

    Two weeks later, the police officer calls me again and says he needs me for more questions. So I go back to the police station, and I’m back in that little room with the metal table. Now, there’s another police officer there too. He’s a younger guy, and he’s smiling when I walk in. He gives me a cup of Sprite, and I like him right away. He says things like, “Take your time, it’s fine, think about it.” I get that. I understand. And I’m looking at him, and I start talking directly to him. I think, “He’s such a good cop. He’s not like this bad cop.”

    I’m literally thinking good cop, bad cop, and it’s going right over my head, like hundreds of hours of criminal drama, and I’m missing it completely. They’re right back at drugs. “What drugs are you using? That’s the only way you spent seven thousand dollars in the last two weeks.”

    I’m telling them again and again, and three hours of questioning go by. Then they say, “We’re going to take a minute,” and they leave the room. When they come back in, they say, “We have no more questions for you. We’re going to arrest you. You got to be arrested for grand larceny.” And they tell me they have a deal. The deal is, I confess to the crime, and I get no jail time. But if I don’t confess, they’re going to push for five years in prison. They tell me I am going to be convicted.

    So I decide I’m going to confess. I’m going to confess to a crime I didn’t commit. But there’s a sticking point. They need me to tell them what I did with the money. And I know what they want me to tell them. They want me to say I used it on drugs, and I would if I could. But I don’t actually know where to buy drugs. I don’t even know how much drugs cost.

    I don’t know whether to say I bought a gram of cocaine or ten pounds of cocaine. I don’t even know what drugs look like—like which ones come in blocks and which ones come in baggies. Whatever lie I make up about drugs is not going to sound right, and they’re going to know I’m lying. So I’m panicking because I can’t think of a lie. I can’t lie to make these people believe that I’m telling the truth when I’m really lying.

    I ask the cops if I can have a minute to think. I think they’re going to leave the room, but they don’t. They bring me down a hallway and put me in a little closet with a mop sink in the floor. They have me stand in that mop sink, and they close the door. I’m in the dark, and I feel more alone than I’ve ever felt in my life. I think there are two people in the world who know I’m in this police station right now, and they’re standing on the other side of the door. They want me in prison.

    And I’m just standing there trying to think of a way that I spent seven thousand dollars and have nothing to show for it. And I’ve got nothing. Standing there, I start to think, and I say, “God, should I confess to a crime I didn’t commit?” I’m not a person who believes in God. I’m one who wants to, but can’t. But when I say those words out loud, and I hear them out loud, I realize how insane it is to say I did this thing. For the first time in two weeks, my body fills up with something—like, this is not going to happen to me.

    And I push the door open, and I look at that steel-gray-haired man and I say, “No, I didn’t do it, and I’m not going to say I did.”

    So they arrest me, and they send me to jail. It’s a long two years before I’m sitting in a courtroom and I’m found not guilty. But that is not my victory day. My victory happens in that mop sink, in that dark closet, when I call out to a god that I don’t really think exists, and he maybe gives me the answer I needed to hear. And somehow, I think in that dark space that maybe I’m not alone.

    Disclaimer: this transcript is a product of Youtube-auto-generated transcript and simple ChatGPT cleaning, and I do not own any intellectual property in any shape or form mentioned. The content on this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. While every effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, I make no guarantees about the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any content. Any actions taken based on the information provided here are done solely at your own risk. I am not liable for any losses, damages, or consequences arising from your use of this blog or its content. Please consult with a qualified professional before making any significant decisions.