Daniel McGinn • Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian, Innovator, Micromanager

The right way is the hard way

you're efficient, you're doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it-

every word, every line, every take

every casting. That's my way of lifevery edit,

You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model?

Who’s McKinsey?

It’s a consulting firm.

Are they funny?

No.

Then I don’t need them. If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the... See more

I think there are things in life that you want to telescope and compress and accelerate and streamline and make more efficient. And there are things where the value is precisely in the inefficiency, in the time spent, in the pain endured, in the effort you have to invest. And I don’t think we’re going to differentiate between those things. Because ... See more