The amateur does not know what to do.

The master knows what not to do.

-James Clear

The master has hiked Picasso’s Hill


Picasso's Hill

As you improve at something, you journey along a curve. You’ve probably seen the memes. I’m sure it’s got some fancy name like "The Complexity Curve of Mastery."

But it looks like a hill. So I’m calling it Picasso’s Hill

Why?

Because dude can draw and paint his ass off. But he got to his signature style by returning to simplicity. Check out Picasso’s Bulls if you want to see this in action.

Pablo Picasso, “The Bull”, lithographs, 1945

So about that hill…

a graph with two axes: horizontal goes from beginner to master and vertical from simple to complex. A curved line shows how the beginner starts at simple before going up to complex and back down once they reach master (like a hill). An arrow at the bottom shows that time passes to get to master.

When you first start, you’re on the simple end of the curve. 

As you progress you climb the curve to complexity.

Then you hit a point in your progress where you head back down the hill to simplicity.

But this doesn’t mean you’re back where you started. You hiked over a hill.

As James Clear puts it:

The amateur does not know what to do.
The master knows what not to do.

So keep it simple, stupid

JK, you’re not stupid 💜

Stay curious.


2024 Resolution: Defer To Data

Here’s another New Year’s resolution for curious marketers:

DEFER TO DATA

Why guess when you can test?

The benefit of working in a digital world is rapid data collection. Digital is fast and flexible, use that to your advantage. 

We don’t have to rely on opinions or gut feelings.

I have sat in so many meetings where taglines or ad creative or button color is discussed. Meetings filled with “I thinks” and “I likes”. 

Don’t think and feel. Launch & learn.

  • The algorithms want more pieces of robot food to learn on.
  • People like different things.
  • Our brands aren’t just one color and one phrase and one picture.
The Testing Trinity, a 3 circle venn diagram: algorithmic robot food, audience tastes, brand assets. All 3 benefit from diversity. The overlap of all 3 is where more is better.

What I’m saying is:

💡
treat everything as an experiment.

Yes, I’m being a bit extreme. Our experience and our expertise is what makes us valuable. But we don’t have to settle on one thing.

Narrow down to a few options that represent your brand well and just put them out there. Let your audience decide.

We don’t need to rely on our opinions and gut feelings, we can find out what our customers actually like, which is way better. 

Our opinions don’t matter. Our audience’s opinions matter.

Toss on the lab coat and start cranking out robot food.

& Stay curious.


2024 Resolution: Defer To Data

Why guess when you can test?

We don’t need to rely on our opinions and gut feelings, we can find out what our customers actually like, which is way better.

Toss on that lab coat and start cranking out robot food.


LinkedIn has always been one of the more expensive “social” ad platforms, and it doesn’t look like that is changing anytime soon.

LinkedIn ad prices have soared due to a surge in demand reportedly driven by the advertiser boycott of X.

Reports are 30% increases, but a 20% ROI.

The Professional Network can definitely work for advertisers, just comes with some sticker shock for those used to other digital options.

Is this all just Elon helping out old PayPal Mafia buddy Reid?