Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian, Innovator, Micromanager

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

Jerry Seinfeld started performing stand-up comedy in 1976. Since then and to this day, every day he sits with a yellow legal pad and writes jokes. Given that he’s been honing his craft for 47 years, he was asked, “How do you know a joke is going to work on stage?” Seinfeld said, "You don’t." “You just trust yourself?” the interviewer asked. “No you... See more

Every once in a while I think about the insanity of HBR asking Seinfeld if McKinsey could have made him more efficient

Jerry Seinfeld talking with Howard Stern on finding the pain you're comfortable with:

"Seinfeld: I'm never not working on material. Every second of my existence, I'm thinking, could I do something with that?

Howard Stern: That, to me, sounds torturous.

Seinfeld: Your blessing in life is when you find the torture you're comfortable with."

“There’s nothing I revile quite as much as a dilettante,” Seinfeld told GQ , “ I don’t like doing something to a mediocre level.” Escaping mediocrity requires focus. “You have to dedicate yourself to these great things,” he added. “And I don’t believe in being good at a lot of things—or even more than one.”

what is most impressive about Seinfeld's career isn't the awards, the earnings, or the special moments — it's the remarkable consistency of it all.