Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Wednesday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring one short story about a person, a company, a high-performance tool, a trend I’m watching closely, and curated media to help you build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself.
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Today’s edition:
> Stories: P.T. Barnum & Mattel
> High-performance: John D. Rockefeller on why he didn't speak during meetings
> Insights: Entrepreneurial optimism
> Tactical: Perspective on scale in the universe
> 1 Question: Unintended outcomes
Cheers,
Alex
P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. I respond to every email.
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Stories of Excellence
Person: P.T. Barnum
P.T. Barnum, born in 1810 in Connecticut, became America's most famous showman. He started small, publishing a newspaper and exhibiting human oddities. But Barnum had bigger plans. In 1841, he bought Scudder's American Museum in New York City. He filled it with curiosities and attractions. It was a hit. Barnum's real genius was promotion. He once said, "Without promotion, something terrible happens... nothing!" His greatest triumph? Bringing Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind to America in 1850. The tour was a sensation. Barnum's circus, which he started late in life, became "The Greatest Show on Earth." He died in 1891, leaving a legacy as the ultimate entertainer and promoter.
Key Lessons from P.T. Barnum:
On persistence: "Energy and persistence conquer all things."
On risk-taking: "Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself."
On self-belief: "Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now."
Company: Mattel
Mattel was founded in 1945 by Harold "Matt" Matson and Elliot Handler in a garage workshop in Southern California. Initially selling picture frames, they soon pivoted to toy manufacturing. Elliot's wife Ruth joined the company in 1947, and her creation of the Barbie doll in 1959 catapulted Mattel to global success. The company went public in 1960, raising $7.5 million. Mattel expanded rapidly, acquiring Fisher-Price in 1993 and American Girl in 1998. Despite facing challenges like the 2007 lead paint scandal and bankruptcy rumors in 2017, Mattel has remained a toy industry leader.
Key Lessons from Mattel:
On iconic products: Create something unforgettable. Barbie wasn't just a doll. She was a cultural phenomenon. As Ruth Handler said, "My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be." Your product should inspire.
On controversy: Embrace criticism constructively. Mattel faced backlash over Barbie's unrealistic body proportions. Instead of ignoring it, they introduced diverse body types and ethnicities. Learn from your critics.
Something New
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Try asking: "How did Steve Jobs think about product focus differently than his peers?"
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High-performance tool
⎯
John D. Rockefeller On Why He Didn't Speak During Meetings
Insights
"More than any other place on Earth, new companies can start, grow, and thrive here in the U.S. Our country embraces resourcefulness and self-reliance, and it embraces builders who start from scratch:
Let me close by saying that I believe Amazon should be scrutinized. We should scrutinize all large institutions, whether they’re companies, government agencies, or non-profits. Our responsibility is to make sure we pass such scrutiny with flying colors.
It’s not a coincidence that Amazon was born in this country. More than any other place on Earth, new companies can start, grow, and thrive here in the U.S. Our country embraces resourcefulness and self-reliance, and it embraces builders who start from scratch. We nurture entrepreneurs and start-ups with stable rule of law, the finest university system in the world, the freedom of democracy, and a deeply accepted culture of risk-taking. Of course, this great nation of ours is far from perfect. Even as we remember Congressman John Lewis and honor his legacy, we’re in the middle of a much-needed race reckoning. We also face the challenges of climate change and income inequality, and we’re stumbling through the crisis of a global pandemic. Still, the rest of the world would love even the tiniest sip of the elixir we have here in the U.S. Immigrants like my dad see what a treasure this country is—they have perspective and can often see it even more clearly than those of us who were lucky enough to be born here. It’s still Day One for this country, and even in the face of today’s humbling challenges, I have never been more optimistic about our future."
Tactical reads
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> When gaining perspective on scale in the universe
Powers of Ten™ (1977) (Read it here)
> When distinguishing between labels and true understanding
Names Don't Constitute Knowledge (Read it here)
1 question
What are the second and third order consequences of this decision?
That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.
Have a wonderful rest of week, all.
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