Focus on Impact

If we want to have the biggest impact, the best way to do this is to make sure we always focus on solving the most important problems. It sounds simple, but we think most companies do this poorly and waste a lot of time. We expect everyone at Facebook to be good at finding the biggest problems to work on.

What is holding you back from success most? Focus on that first. Is it top level quality recording? Or great song writing? Having a great band? Building a web presence? If you never answer this question, you might pour money and time into solving the wrong problem, and you will fail.

Move Fast

Moving fast enables us to build more things and learn faster. However, as most companies grow, they slow down too much because they’re more afraid of making mistakes than they are of losing opportunities by moving too slowly. We have a saying: “Move fast and break things.” The idea is that if you never break anything, you’re probably not moving fast enough.

Protect your art, but don’t be too precious with it either. Say yes to opportunities if they make sense. The worst that can happen is that you learn and are able to better fine tune for the next time.

Be Bold

Building great things means taking risks. This can be scary and prevents most companies from doing the bold things they should. However, in a world that’s changing so quickly, you’re guaranteed to fail if you don’t take any risks. We have another saying: “The riskiest thing is to take no risks.” We encourage everyone to make bold decisions, even if that means being wrong some of the time.

The greatest artists of all time all took big changes. Dylan went electric. The Beatles wrote all their own songs and put together a medley of half songs. Sam Cooke broke racial barriers. Coltrane changed jazz. Know that risks taken don’t always pay off right away, but without taking any risks you certainly won’t be paid off either. Dare to be different and don’t model yourself after someone else.

Be Open

We believe that a more open world is a better world because people with more information can make better decisions and have a greater impact. That goes for running our company as well. We work hard to make sure everyone at Facebook has access to as much information as possible about every part of the company so they can make the best decisions and have the greatest impact.

Unless you’re Prince or Kate Bush, it pays off to drop the rock star mystique and open up to your audience. Share with them the life of a songwriter. Let them see behind the curtain, involve them in the making-of, document the recording process on instagram and tumblr, share a demo, talk about your influences. Only then fans will be able to truly connect to you. Unless you’re Prince or Kate Bush, then don’t worry about it and stay mysterious.

Build Social Value

Once again, Facebook exists to make the world more open and connected, and not just to build a company. We expect everyone at Facebook to focus every day on how to build real value for the world in everything they do.

Music is an incredibly powerful connector. As an artist you can reach directly into people’s souls and bring groups of strangers together at an event or online. The Grateful Dead built social value when they built their community. DMB does it to this day, as do Mac Miller, Lady GaGa,  and many others. Write music for yourself, but know that it can be meaningful to others. Try to build a community around your art and they will support you.

These values are very much big picture in their approach. My translation is just one way to interpret the core values in an artist’s context. Let the values inspire you and please share in the comments your own ways to apply them to your career.

In H.L. Mencken’s words:

I go on working for the same reason that a hen goes on laying eggs.  [...] The precise form of an individual’s activity is determined, of course, by the equipment with which he came into the world. In other words, it is determined by his heredity. I do not lay eggs, as a hen does, because I was born without any equipment for it. For the same reason I do not get myself elected to Congress, or play the violoncello, or teach metaphysics in a college, or work in a steel mill. What I do is simply what lies easiest to my hand. It happens that I was born with an intense and insatiable interest in ideas, and thus like to play with them. It happens also that I was born with rather more than the average facility for putting them into words.

There is very little conscious volition in all this. What I do was ordained by the inscrutable fates, not chosen by me. [...] I became a writer [...], and shall remain one until the end of the chapter, just as a cow goes on giving milk all her life, even though what appears to be her self-interest urges her to give gin.

I am far luckier than most men, for I have been able since boyhood to make a good living doing precisely what I have wanted to do—what I would have done for nothing, and very gladly, if there had been no reward for it. Its possible effects on other people have interested me very little. I have not written and published to please other people, but to satisfy myself, just as a cow gives milk, not to profit the dairyman, but to satisfy herself. I like to think that most of my ideas have been sound ones, but I really don’t care. The world may take them or leave them. I have had my fun hatching them.

Emphasis is mine. Read the full letter here.

Related Reading:

• Why We Do What We Do (Or Why Music) (read)
• Stay In Your Basement (Or How To Deal With Success) (read)
• The Reward Is In The Work (Or What You Can Learn From George Clooney) (read)
• Lessons Learned (The Science Of Motivation) (read)

Below is an excellent quote from an interview that Esquire did with Ricky Gervais in this month’s issue. I propose we combine his point of view with that of Alec’s character, and turn it into a new ABC. Always Be Creating. Whether it’s a song, an amazing short story, a bunch of code, a photo, a meal, or a design for a new bicycle. Strive to affect the world positively by creating something great. A sex tape doesn’t count.

The answer to this question is the fundamental reason that I chose to work in music instead of the more obvious and direct result of the path I was on in terms of my education and location. It’s the reason that I gladly accepted that my monthly income would be much lower than if I would’ve walked the path most traveled, but it’s also the reason that I wake up excited to work every day. It’s both what got me here and what keeps me going.

Rachel: “So why music for you?”
Wesley: “Because at its best, music can reveal truth and beauty like very few other things can, and it can improve lives on a relatively large scale.”

However much that may sound like an overly idealistic sound bite to some, this is genuinely what is at the core of what we’re trying to achieve at Family Records. Our mission is to positively impact the lives of as many people as possible through music, and we see it working just like that on a modest level right now as we try to grow to a high level in the future.

Now, make no mistake. Even if we’re idealist in our view on how music can impact people for the better, we are by no means a non-profit. We’re a for-profit with a social mission. We’re very much a company that operates with the idea that the more revenue we bring in, the better positioned we will be to improve more and more lives as we go, our artist’s as well as our audience and our own. We use everything at our disposal to make this happen, grow and impact the people we encounter and work with positively. We operate very much along the lines of the lean start-up movement, which is somewhat of an exception in the music business, but one we’re very happy to be spearheading for others to see and learn from while we learn ourselves. I’ll be sharing more about the ways we try to accomplish things at Family, and share some business processes and techniques in the future. If there’s anything specific you’d like to hear about please do let me know in the comments. Speaking of comments,  I’d love to hear your own answer to Rachel’s question: “So why music for you?”, whether you’re an artist, fan or (aspiring) music biz person of sorts.

• It’s Not Always The Major Label’s Fault (Or Artist’s Motivation) (read)
• The Difference Between A Means And An End (Or Don’t Take Shortcuts) ( (read)

Whether you’re a creative or a business person, you’re already working in a field that requires a lot of sacrifice, long hours, little pay, and possibly a massive delay of gratification. You might as well have fun and work only with amazing people. There’s plenty of those! For every asshole, there are two great people out there working hard. That includes the people at the top, even if sometimes it doesn’t seem that way.

Investor Brad Feld shared a life rule in his recent “Reflections On Turning 46″, which coincidentally has been a ground rule at Family Records from the start.

No Assholes: I’ve worked really hard to get to a place where I get to spend almost all of my time with people who I want to spend time with. I’ve been able to do this while figuring out how to engage with lots of new, interesting people all the time. I’m going to work even harder at this at 46 – more great people, no assholes.

You have a choice about who you work with. Even if you’re just starting out, and even if you convinced yourself that you don’t. If you encounter an asshole, or if someone evolves into one, then you can choose what to do. Make a smart choice with the long term in mind. Your results are going to be better if you’re working with great people. You’ll be happier, which also leads to better results. It’s not a very hard choice when you think about it.

Aside from one single book, none of these books were written with the music industry in mind, and that was a conscious decision when I assembled this list. As the old Music Industry model crumbles, I think it’s unwise to try and find inspiration and wisdom from those that are part of the problem. Instead i find myself much more inspired by VC’s, tech companies, social media companies, social entrepreneurs, start-ups, and traditional one-product companies than I am by anyone else in the music industry.

Why listen to Doug Morris, when Seth Godin has much better ideas? The old guard is self-congratulating and reactive, our solutions are proactive and customer-oriented. The old model defends the status quo, our future lies in change. This in a nutshell is the theme of all of my writing on this site, and therefor logically reflected in this summer reading list. When a book has been previously covered in an earlier article on this site, it will include a “Related Reading” link to the article in question. Fourteen books in no particular order. (Sort of.)

• Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer - Am I really recommending artists, managers and other music biz folks read a book about hospitality and starting successful restaurants? I sure am! Full of lessons in customer service, pro-active community building, and more this book is required reading for anyone that has customers. (Amazon) (Related Reading: Hospitality In The Music Business)
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin – In my humble opinion the most important book on this list. It should be required reading for every senior in High School. I’m not going to say much more about it and will just hope my recommendation piques your interest enough to purchase it. You won’t be disappointed. (Amazon)
• Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - Even Bob Lefsetz has been touting this one! As a 37Signals customer and fan I pre-ordered this the day it was announced. A fast and focused read, with numerous “keep it simple” style lessons and anecdotes. Truly energizing. (Amazon) (Related reading: What If Jason Fried Worked In The Music Business?)
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Dan and Chip Heath – The Heath’s write a column in Fast Company Magazine which I thoroughly enjoy. This is a set of anecdotes and thoughts on why certain ideas “stick”, or have traction with an audience, and why others just fade away. Replace “ideas” with “artist marketing campaigns” and get ready to have your eyes opened. (Amazon)
• Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application by Jason Fried, Heinemeier David Hansson, and Matthew Linderman - Don’t let the title of this book scare you off. This doesn’t have to be about web applications at all, and it certainly isn’t a technical handbook. This is the precursor to the aforementioned Rework, and useful materials for artists thinking about their web presence and even stage show. (Amazon)
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen – A well-known classic in the productivity genre. As the new model of the music industry requires more work done by artists and managers in a shorter amount of time, this can be a good guideline to keep your head above water and not drown in your endless list of tasks. (Amazon)
• The E Myth Revisited – Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber - As mentioned in the byline of this site, artists you should consider yourself entrepreneurs these days. Don’t be a cog in the wheel, be on the board of your own company, with your art at the center. (Amazon)
• Walden; Or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau - Perhaps my favorite book, and definitely the most avant-garde inclusion on this list. Essentially the ultimate guide on minimalism, this book can help teach business men and artists how to run a lean company and not be wasteful in thought or material. Even the NY Times recently wrote about the rise of lean start ups. Lets just say Tommy Motolla and Clive Davis probably never read this one, or else they wouldn’t have helmed such bloated companies. (Amazon)
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin - ‘Fans’ are very 2001, these days artists need to build communities of followers, tribes if you will. This is not a how-to book. It’s better than that, and doesn’t assume you can actually write a how-to book on this complex and organic topic. (Amazon)
• Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – The perfect complementary book to the aforementioned Tribes. Where Seth takes a bird’s eye view, Chris and Julien really dive into the topic. (Amazon)
• The Tipping Point : How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell – One of Gladwell’s well-publicized classics, which provides us with anecdotes and lessons on what exactly stimulates trends and where they might originate. Highly useful for artists chasing that illusive viral video goal, or those slowly trying to build their careers. (Amazon)
• Power Hold’em Strategy by Daniel Negreanu - You need to learn how to play poker. It will help you in more ways than you can imagine. It’s also really fun. And you have to play for money. Otherwise it’s pointless. (Amazon)
• Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk – I mean, look at that title. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Remember, work is not a job. (Amazon)
• Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture by Jac Holzman and Gavan Daws - Ahhh finally the only music oriented book on this list. Jac Holzman is a music industry hero of mine, from the era of the real ‘music men’. He made mistakes, but he did a lot of things right. An example to follow, and many amazing stories to learn from. (Amazon)

Book recommendations from your end would be appreciated as well of course. Share in the comments!

1. Signal vs. Noise – I have a biz-crush on 37Signals, and this is their blog full of interesting post on a bunch of different topics.
2. Seth Godin’s Blog – The Michael Jordan of marketing. Almost every post he writes has the potential to change or enhance the way we think about doing business with customers. He also writes books, including his new one Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?.
3. HarvardBusiness.org – Pretty decent business school. High frequency posting, with a good chunk of it being great.
4. Tim Ferriss’s Blog – Author of The 4-Hour Workweek, a book that has changed how I thought about work. His blog infrequently updates, but it’s typically interesting.
5. Derek Siver’s Blog – Former CEO of CDBaby, and a real thinker. Insightful posts about mostly music related thoughts.
6. TED Blog – TED is a conference I cannot afford to go to, but I can watch their lecture online until I can. In one word amazing. In a second, inspiring. It’s my goal to attend in the next five years.
7. Fred Wilson’s Blog A VC – Fred is a venture capital guy based in NYC and responsible for a fascinating company that has made some very good investment decisions. Especially interesting for biz nerds.
8. TuneCorner – TuneCore is somewhat of a disruptor in the music business and this is their blog. They’re awesome.
9. Jake Lodwick’s Tumblr – The odd one out in this list perhaps since it has a more personal angle. Jake co-founded Vimeo and has a few other interesting ventures going. It’s sometimes odd, but always inspiring due to the interesting way Jake’s brain works.
10. Scott Adams’ Blog – Scott Adams created Dilbert and writes about all kinds of stuff on his blog. Politics, free will, evolution, etc. Sometimes funny, sometimes thought provoking.

There ya go. I’d highly recommend checking these out and adding them to your RSS reader. (Note: I purposely didn’t include blogs written by my personal friends that are also great, because the list would get too long and seem compromised, but also check out Spencer Fry and Mike Karnjanaprakorn.)