Is the ruler measuring the table or is the table measuring the ruler?

1 Marketing Breakdown

What’s good young and eager mind?

BOOM. Right on time today! How about dem apples?!

I wanna do a few case studies soon. It’s been a while since we did one of those but for now, I wanna share a more general, high-level concept with you.

I saw a tweet from physicist Will Kinney and it sparked some thoughts.

There’s a tendency people have to overcomplicate things.

You learn fancy machinery and then go look for places to apply it.

Sometimes, the world is truly complex and your fancy toolkit is required.

But that should be pulled out of you, despite your best effort, by necessity.

You might be surprised to learn that few scientists understand statistical inferences. It’s oftentimes not taught and it’s kinda your job to figure it out. As a result, there’s a lot of copy/pasting what other people are doing, mindlessly dumping numbers into software and hoping the right answer rolls out, and arbitrary suggestions being seen as the word of God (The significance level –alpha– of 5% in social science to give just 1 example.)

Start with the simplest model first. Toy models. Models that are directionally correct.

Then, as needed, you carefully increase the complexity.

Gall’s Law:

A complex system that works is invariable found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.

A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work.

You have to start over with a working simple system.

Keep in mind that making the model more accurate, exponentially decreases the ease of use for us mere mortals.

Photographers have this saying: “The best camera is the one you have on you.”

For us solopreneurs, the best knowledge is the kind you can consistently implement and gets you results.

So as you’re learning about marketing, try to determine if an argument is a gotcha, a way to boost someone’s ego, or if it’s truly a key point.

You got one incredible advantage in marketing…

You don’t have to be right. You just have to get results.

Dave Trott, my advertising mentor, student of the legendary Bill Bernbach¹, and one of the best ad guys on the planet, once told me:

I had a mentor that once said, ‘You know why I’m a professional and you’re not? Because at the end of the day, you come out with something brilliant or nothing. I come out with something brilliant or something usable.’

I’ll end today’s essay with another quote from Mr. Trott:

Stupid people think complicated is clever. Smart people keep it simple.

If you haven’t enrolled in the Solopreneur Gym, now’s the time to do it. Learn how to make a living as a solopreneur and let me help you every step of the way.

Notes

For more on Bernbach, see my two essays:

“How” to say and ''Our Donuts Make You Skinny'' — Reframe Your Value Proposition And Turn Negatives Into Positives.