Hey there 👋
Oversimplified is a digest of the best links I stumble upon each week, and any new posts from me. If this is your first issue, welcome aboard!
📚 How to Succeed in MrBeast Production
I enjoyed Simon Willison’s write-up on this leaked onboarding PDF from YouTube tycoon MrBeast. Whether or not you enjoy MrBeast’s style of content, there’s a lot of compelling advice with broader applications here.
📚 If You Want People to Remember, Tell a Story
“Leaders often get frustrated and disappointed when their team fails to understand or embody a core value. While docs and slides with values are a great starting point, I’ve found one way to increase the odds that people will “get” your core values is to attach them to stories.”
📚 The Unsell Email
This is an interesting recruiting idea to try out: “Most interviews have a step called "The Sell". As the name suggests, the purpose is to sell the candidate on the opportunity — to convince them to join. Sometimes multiple sell rounds depending on the difficulty or seniority of the role. I do sells. But I also have a less common tactic and it's extremely effective.”
🔗 AI Eats the World
Benedict Evans shared his annual presentation on the important macro and strategic trends in tech. This year, as you might have guessed, the focus is largely on the state of AI and where we head next.
Food for Thought
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Wrapping up
As always, if you're enjoying Oversimplified, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. If anything stood out, whether good or bad, I would love to hear about it. You can reply to this email or tweet at me and let’s chat.
Until next time,
Conor