Stag Hunt Theory An argument for cooperation over competition Years ago, a philosopher by the name of Jean-Jacques Rousseau came up with the “Stag Hunt” theory. Imagine two hunters. They’re both hunting hares. Because a single hare doesn’t have enough meat on it to feed both of them, they compete with one another. Now, imagine if these two hunters decide to stop competing with one another, join forces and start hunting stags instead of hares. As long as they agree to cooperate with one...
about 23 hours ago • 1 min read
How to escape competition Not through brute force but thoughtful differentiation You don't want to be the best. You want to be different from the rest. You want to be so different, you escape comparison. You want to be incomparable Nobody understood this truth better than a young Mick Jagger. Decades ago, Jagger was hounded by a reporter who kept asking him if The Rolling Stones were better than The Beatles. Jagger cheekily dodged the question while sucking away at a cigarette. I doubt the...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Just do it Give them something to rally behind This was Nike's original manifesto. It was written by the legendary adman and creative director, Dan Wieden. See you tomorrow. Yours, P.S. Please remind your friends and family to subscribe.
3 days ago • 1 min read
About last night On showing up imperfectly, again and again I was cutting into a gorgeous steak last night when it dawned on me that I had not yet written to you. And so after a 14-hour shift at the agency, I set down my fork and knife, picked up my laptop, and started typing. When I opened up my email this morning, I realized I had made a few typos. Some readers brought them to my attention politely. Others, less so. Regardless, I will say this: Those aren't the first typos I have made and...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Why do people buy? To move closer to pleasure or further from pain I was on a call this morning with a consulting firm you've likely heard of but whose name I can't disclose because of an NDA. They're hiring Honey Copy to help them recruit. While we aren't recruiters, we believe people choose companies for the same reason they buy products. To move closer to pleasure or further from pain. When you run a highly ambitious enterprise within a highly competitive industry, you want individuals who...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Lessons in leadership Some things you must learn on the job When I was a young writer learning my craft back home in Indiana, I took up work tearing out carpet and flooring. I would go into old homes and apartment buildings ahead of the carpenters and create a blank canvas for them to work on. These carpenters were very patient with me. They knew I did not want to be a carpenter. But, they saw I cared very much about doing a good job. And so they taught me. One master carpenter whose name I...
6 days ago • 2 min read
GPT-4o will change advertising Just not in the way you think Unless you've grown an exoskeleton and crawled under a rock, you've heard about ChatGPT's latest model: GPT-4o. Some people are crapping their pants. Others are treating it like the second coming of Jesus. I'm shrugging my shoulders, wondering when everyone is going to get back to work. GPT-4o will change advertising. However, it won't change advertising in the way you think. It will simply make it faster to go from idea to...
7 days ago • 1 min read
The art of the non-reaction Suspending action for better, clearer decision making. I once heard this old fable about a monkey and a bee. It goes something like this... A monkey is enjoying a nap in a tree when a bee decides to sting him. Angry about being so painfully awoken from his nap, the monkey swats at the bee. He kills the bee. But, in doing so, he raises a commotion that causes other bees to swarm. Soon, the monkey is getting stung left and right. He rips off a branch from the tree,...
8 days ago • 1 min read
An offer you can't refuse How to negotiate like a real gangster Al Pacino was one hell of a negotiator. He always got the better end of the deal. It's astonishing how easy it is to dictate the terms of a contract when the other party is terrified they might end up in a pair of cement shoes at the bottom of Lake Mead. Fear is thrilling to watch on the big screen. It sells tickets. It puts asses in seats. However, you want to avoid fear when it comes to real-life negotiations. To be successful...
9 days ago • 1 min read