Chapter 96 - How To Succeed In Mr. Beast Production
Today’s Chapter is based on the leaked memo called “How To Succeed In Mr. Beast Production“ by Jimmy Donaldson.
Jimmy Donaldson, also known as “Mr. Beast” is a prominent American Youtuber and entrepreneur. He gained fame for his extravagant challenge videos and philanthropic efforts, amassing over 320 million subscribers on YouTube, making him one of the platform’s most successful creators.
Here’s what I have learned:
Result Matters
“If you don’t know what your core business is, you’re probably not in business.”
— Jeff Bezos
In my opinion, one reason for Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson’s success is due to his total focus on results. As he once explained, while hard work is appreciated it is not enough on its own. To him, what really matters is the final outcome, whether or not the team can consistently deliver successful Youtube videos that capture and retain audience attention.
More specifically, Donaldson makes it clear in his memo that the goal of the company is to create successful YouTube content which may differ from different type of media companies such as film producers in Hollywood. He notably said, “Your goal here is to make the best YOUTUBE videos possible. That’s the number one goal of this production company. It’s not to make the best produced videos. Not to make the funniest videos. Not to make the best looking videos. Not the highest quality videos.. It’s to make the best YOUTUBE videos possible.”
Based on this core goal, employees are not judged on how many hours they work, how much effort they put in, but purely on the outcomes they produce. Donaldson goes as far as to say that the company is a results-based company, meaning that what really matters is whether something gets done and whether it leads to the desired result.
“Obviously we want grinders that put in the hours and love you guys to death that do. But at the end of the day you will be judged on results, not hours. We are a results based company. Get shit done and move the goalpost!”
— Jimmy Donaldson
In his memo, Donaldson explains to his employees that they need to focus on three key metrics that drive success on YouTube: CTR (Click Through Rate), AVD (Average View Duration), and AVP (Average View Percentage). These metrics are not just numbers but the guiding principles for every decision made in production. The better they are performing under these metrics, the better is the company’s success.
By aligning everyone towards measurable goals, Donaldson ensures that all of his employees know exactly what they are working for and how their individual contributions can impact on the success of the video and of the company. This results-based culture fosters accountability and keeps the entire operation focused on the ultimate goal—producing the best YouTube videos possible.
This specific focus on making the best Youtube video possible rather than making the best produced video, or the funniest video or the best looking video reminds me of the importance for a company to understand its core business. As we have previously learned from Michael Bloomberg’s autobiography, many companies have made the terrible error of mistaking their product for the device that delivers it. For example, the management team at Eastman Kodak believed they were in the camera and film business instead of the photography business. This led to the company’s demise with the revolution of digital photography.
Similarly, it was primordial for Bloomberg to not be confused about their core business and they quickly realized that they were in the data and analytics business and not the hardware business. In fact, while the company had to manufacture computers and keyboards at the beginning in order to deliver their product, they quickly realized that the core idea of their business was to produce and to distribute “the world’s most accurate, reliable, comprehensive up-to-the-second information and analysis.”
As such, they believed it was more beneficial for the company to stop building hardwares and to focus their effort in providing the best possible data, information, and insights to their customers. As Bloomberg once said that “the story and its message—not the medium that relays it—is what has always mattered to us.”
“But it all began with a simple premise: putting more information at people’s fingertips, more quickly and more accurately than they could otherwise get it. That’s still the heart of our business.”
— Michael Bloomberg
Obsession With Excellence
“True excellence includes taking care of the smallest details, even when they’re not visible to your customers.”
— Bill Marriott
In his memo, Jimmy Donaldson mentions that he had an expectation of relentless growth and obsession with excellence. Mr. Beast Productions is not just about getting things done; it’s about getting things done exceptionally well, especially the small details. This is the reason why Donaldson believes it is primordial to hire employees who can strive to be the best in the world at their specific roles, whether that’s in production, editing, or creative direction.
As such, Donaldson categorizes employees into three distinct types: A-Players, B-Players, and C-Players. This classification serves as a framework for understanding team dynamics and ensuring that the company only employs the most dedicated and obsessed individuals. He explains that “A-Players are obsessive, learn from mistakes, coachable, intelligent, don’t make excuses, believe in YouTube, see the value of this company, and are the best in the goddamn world at their job.” B-Players are those who are still learning and that can be coached and trained into A-Players. However, C-Players, who are simply average, are viewed as a threat to the company’s high standards and must be eliminated. He once said, “C-Players are poisonous and should be transitioned to a different company IMMEDIATELY.”
“You’re either an A-Player, B-Player, or C-Player. There is only room in this company for A-Players.”
— Jimmy Donaldson
This philosophy creates an environment where only the best survive, but it’s not just about natural talent. What makes an A-Player is not necessarily inherent skill but a growth mindset—the willingness to learn, improve, and adapt. At Mr. Beast Productions, everyone is expected to be obsessed with getting better at their craft. This includes staying up-to-date on the latest trends on YouTube, understanding what works for the audience, and constantly innovating.
As he once explained to be successful at Mr. Beast Productions, one must have the correct “information diet”. As a matter of fact, it is important for one to understand audience trends and cultural shifts to be good at making successful Youtube videos, simply because “you can’t get inspired by things you don’t know exist.” He reiterates that “Whether it be production, creative, camera, or editing I want you to be obsessed with YouTube. Get rid of Netflix and Hulu and watch tons of YouTube, it will without a doubt in my mind make you more successful here.” Similarly, Donaldson expects new employees to watch all of his previous videos in order to understand what it takes to make a good video at Mr. Beast Productions.
“To get 60% up to speed I'd watch our last 50ish videos, if you’re a monster and really want to understand the history of the company and the innovations we’ve been through, I'd recommend you watch every video back until you hit the 10 million subscriber special.”
— Jimmy Donaldson
This concept of only hiring and keeping A-Players remind me of what we have learned previously from Danny Meyer, the founder of Shake Shack. Meyer had a critical test when evaluating potential hiring candidates. He requests that all of his managers ask themselves one final question before hiring someone: “Do they believe the candidate has the capacity to become one of the top three performers on our team in his or her job category? If people cannot ever develop into one of our top three cooks, servers, managers, or maître d’s, why would we hire them? How will they help us improve and become champions?” This is incredibly important as it helps to weed out mediocrity as it is extremely dangerous for a company to hire a “whelming” candidate as it can cause an organisation a long-lasting harm.
“Overwhelmers earn you raves. Underwhelmers either leave on their own or are terminated. Whelmers, sadly, are like a stubborn stain you can’t get out of the carpet. They infuse an organization and its staff with mediocrity; they’re comfortable, and so they never leave; and, frustratingly, they never do anything that rises to the level of getting them promoted or sinks to the level of getting them fired. And because you either can’t or don’t fire them, you and they conspire to send a dangerous message to your staff and guests that “average” is acceptable.”
— Danny Meyer
This also reminds me of this famous quote of Steve Jobs on the importance of building a Team full of A-Players:
“I observed something fairly early on at Apple, which I didn’t know how to explain then, but I’ve thought a lot about it since. Most things in life have a dynamic range in which [the ratio of] “average” to “best” is at most 2:1. For example, if you go to New York City and get an average taxi cab driver, versus the best taxi cab driver, you’ll probably get to your destination with the best taxi driver 30% faster. And an automobile; what’s the difference between the average car and the best? Maybe 20%? The best CD player versus the average CD player? Maybe 20%? So 2:1 is a big dynamic range for most things in life. Now, in software, and it used to be the case in hardware, the difference between the average software developer and the best is 50:1; maybe even 100:1. Very few things in life are like this, but what I was lucky enough to spend my life doing, which is software, is like this. So I’ve built a lot of my success on finding these truly gifted people, and not settling for “B” and “C” players, but really going for the “A” players. And I found something… I found that when you get enough “A” players together, when you go through the incredible work to find these “A” players, they really like working with each other. Because most have never had the chance to do that before. And they don’t work with “B” and “C” players, so it’s self-policing. They only want to hire “A” players. So you build these pockets of “A” players and it just propagates.”
— Steve Jobs
Effective Communication
“Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess.”
— Richard Branson
Based on his memo, it is clear that Donaldson is adamant that effective communication is one of the cornerstones of success at Mr. Beast Productions. In fact, employees are expected to provide effective communication and to take full ownership in order to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. As he once said, “I want less excuses in this company. Take ownership and don’t give your project a chance to fail. Dumping your bottleneck on someone and then just walking away until it’s done is lazy and it gives room for error.”
This level of effective communication is absolutely crucial for a large company to succeed in a fast-paced and high-stake production environment. As a matter of fact, Donaldson expects all of his employees to be accountable in being proactive in checking in on their tasks and ensuring that everything is on track to meet deadlines. He believes that communication should be constant and detailed with no room for misunderstandings. As an example in his memo, he once said that when giving a task and a deadline to a fellow employee or an external contractor, “YOU DON’T GET TO SET A REMINDER FOR 5 DAYS AND NOT TALK TO HIM FOR 5 DAYS! Every single day you must check in on Tyler and make sure he is still on track to hit the target date.”
One of the most important aspects of communication at Mr. Beast Productions is that it should be direct and confirmed. In fact, Written communication, such as emails or text messages, is not considered valid unless the person on the receiving end confirms that they have read and understood it. Donaldson once said that, “written communication also does not constitute communication unless they confirm they read it.” As such, the best communication is always to talk in person. This is especially true when you are communicating critical information.
“The worst thing you could ever do when you need something for your critical component is email someone at the company. The best is to talk to them in real life.”
— Jimmy Donaldson
On the topic of communication, Donaldson also explains in his memo that his employees must be very clear when communicating with him. Considering that he is currently running four Youtube channels, three businesses and a charity, it is impossible for him to be as knowledgeable about the problem in-hand compared to his staff. As such, whatever information that is not communicated with him, he won’t know and making a decision without all the information at hand is dangerous.
As such, Donaldson mentions that “When getting an answer from me it’s ideal you do the research and come to me with context and options. Instead of saying “In a coming up video we are giving away a car, what do you think of this lexus it’s only $10,000” which is how 99% of questions are asked towards me. Do this instead “We have a coming up would you rather video. One of the bits at the 6 to 9 minute mark we will be giving away a car. We are still on budget and the budget for this car is $10,000. I checked with PM. It could go up another $5k if you really wanted. I searched all of NC for cool ass cars around that price point and here are 5 i found that I got preapproved by creative all on budget. I also got 5 other backup options that are less “cool” looking and more avg if you’re going for that. Here is a picture of all 10 cars, the miles on the cars, and all the information you'd want. Which of these cars do you think is best or should I get other options?””
Finally, Donaldson believes that effective communication can only be possible when everyone is honest to each other, even if it means being critical. He believes that being honest is far more valuable than being nice, especially when it comes to improving the quality of work. As he once said, “I’d rather you be honest with each other than nice to each other.”
“Don’t just tell people on your team or me why something is good. It’s infinitely more valuable to tell us why it’s not good.”
— Jimmy Donaldson
This reminds me of what we have previously learned from Carl F. Braun who once mentioned that it is important for us to embrace open discussion and questioning in the workplace. In fact, Braun mentions that we should not feel offended if we are questioned on our actions. Instead, we should see questions and discussion as an opportunity to help individuals and organisations progress.
"After all, if we will only think about it, we will see that a man questions us for one of two reasons. First, he doesn’t understand us perhaps. Much better have him tell us so than to leave us imagining that he does understand. Then, too, men question as a means of helping us—of saving us from error, or of getting us closer to the truth. In either case, we need their questioning."
— Carl Braun
Braun mentions that it is a big mistake to live life without being open to be criticised and questioned. As he explains, "Many men, if their work or methods are discussed, feel at once that they are being attacked. They fly to their own defense with bad, petty, or ill-considered arguments. They try to make the other man’s ideas or questions seem silly. They not only do no good, they make enemies. And they retard progress."
Braun also believes that refusing to talk when being questioned is also not ideal. He says, "Some men when their work is questioned or discussed, refuse to talk. They suffer the supposed injustice in hurt silence. They do themselves no good. But they do hinder the search for truth. They defeat the very purpose of organization— to make full use of everyone’s talents and ideas."
In fact, we should remember that it is only by being questioned that we can change our mind about things. And as Winston Churchill once said, “Those who never change their minds, never change anything.”
“The ability to destroy your ideas rapidly instead of slowly when the occasion is right is one of the most valuable things. You have to work hard on it. Ask yourself what are the arguments on the other side. It’s bad to have an opinion you’re proud of if you can’t state the arguments for the other side better than your opponents. This is a great mental discipline.”
— Charlie Munger
Beyond the Book
Listen "#366 Mr. Beast Leaked Memo" by Founders Podcast
Read "The Importance of Working With “A” Players" by Farnam Street
Read "Carl Braun’s Writing Lessons for Clear Thinking and Productive Communication" by Farnam Street
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