Wonder bread and a jar of Skippy...
measuring your bottom line
What if the secret to personal and professional success is a 1990s sitcom? I have long enjoyed the idea of sticking with something, “until I get the joke”. Reading large stacks of books I never pressure myself to reach the final pages and often leave a few chapters unread. Many parallels to Seinfeld are hard to ignore. As heuristics go, it’s a good one.
Honestly, how many Malcolm Gladwell case studies do you need to read to get the joke? Think about it, tipping points, outliers, our subconscious thoughts, and underdogs—not sure how much evidence I need when the premise is this solid. Gladwell is masterful but I often become exhausted hauling around the equine corpse.
I have been a fan of Jerry’s brain since I became aware of his show. The way the earlier shows opened with a comedy routine, his awkward delivery of non-comedic lines, and the long-tail of success that followed.
If I was going to teach a work-life balance class in data analytics I would begin with whatever Seinfeld is having. Simplicity is under-rated. Because to distill an idea to elemental components requires a deep understanding of a fundamental truth.
I am reading Is This Anything. A log of his joke notebook now in print, where he muses over his ideas and little bits.
Strangely enough, there are parallels to how many of us work—or should work. My workflow always begins with a question. Curating large datasets is not too different from asking “Is this anything?” The library in my office is quite extensive. I often launch a bookclub for one (me) every few weeks. I pick a book for a deeper dive along with whatever else I might be reading. None other than Edward Tufte himself gifted me his newest book. The genius is in the details. There are no jokes here. Simply valuable information. I would say yes, this is everything.
“I would just have to be funny enough to buy a loaf of Wonder bread and a jar of Skippy peanut butter a week.”—Jerry Seinfeld
All of my clients make exponentially more money than I do. This wasn’t always the case but I made a conscious decision to be in it for the ride—not the bottom line. Don’t shed a tear. I am highly compensated for the work I do. I just don’t stack my day, week, or months with work. I learned early on that my talent is a laser-sharp focus on solutions, outcomes, or deliverables in whatever form they manifest.
Choose a business model where you have time in your day to run in the forest, swim in a lake or go see a play. Be busy enough to keep the pantry stocked but don’t get greedy. The excesses in the pharmaceutical industry are often reflected in the wealth of the key players. For profit health systems leave the marginalized populations making life or death trade-offs, instead of working to optimize health and prevention.
“The real problem of stand-up, of course, is that you must constantly justify why you are the only one talking while a room full of people sit quietly.”—Jerry Seinfeld
Teaching anything technical regardless of platform requires originality and competence. My favorite books on how to give a presentation are often nudges toward creativity. ArtCurious—Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History will teach you more about being insightful and clever than any “expert” claiming to have the secret sauce for “impactful presentations.”
Andy Kirk is an amazing author and data visualization expert. I use his original books as recommendations whenever I am teaching. Along with Edward Tufte I resonate to the original thinkers that delve into the foundation of something. The single seed of truth worth whatever investment you need to make to learn from their careful and critical work.
You might be less familiar with his limited edition book that naturally I had to add to my collection, The Seinfeld Chronicles: An unnecessary data exploration by Andy Kirk.
Be original. Write the words. And don’t sell yourself for dollars. Be your own non-fungible token—be unique, scarce, and something to behold.