[MUSIC PLAYING]
The process of editing has
a lot to do with the way
that you decide what to leave in and
what to leave on the figurative cutting
room floor.
As an entrepreneur you
have limited resources,
especially when you're starting out.
So understanding the essence of
the problem that you're solving
is absolutely critical.
Do you have a process
where you distill something
this big into its very core element?
Absolutely.
I think that's the most incredible
thing that you can do, you know?
Even within one piece
or within your career.
You first learn about all
the things you can do,
then you learn about
what you can leave out
to still say exactly what
you're saying. [INAUDIBLE]
philosopher writes on
Francis Bacon's work.
I love this.
He talks about a painting having
everything in it to start with,
and then what you're
doing when you're painting
is you're actually
eliminating or covering
things you don't want people to see.
So that the only thing
left is the thing.
Painting, or any art, really, we
think it's a this, and a this,
and a this, and a this.
It's just so many things
where-- it's an additive thing.
But I think it's-- add, often,
we associate with covering,
and I think that art's job is not to
cover, but art's job is to reveal.
And I think an entrepreneur's
job is the same thing.
A real entrepreneur is revealing
something that we didn't know.
Every company, every product,
every thing that's created
is ultimately a story.
It's a dialogue between the
creator and the consumer,
and as people we know that the simpler
the story, and the more central
we are to that intention
and that message
that we're trying to communicate,
the better it is understood.
Kanye West and Rihanna
and Paul McCartney
recently had a song called
"FourFiveSeconds." and they just
do like four lines and then they go to
the chorus, and then they do, I think,
maybe eight lines, and they
get back to the chorus.
But that first time that
they get to the chorus, which
is so soon after they
introduce the verse,
puts the listener in the
frame of mind of being--
of concision, of being concise.
Being a concise communicator.
And communicators that take
too long to get to the point
will bore the audience, will often
not introduce any new concepts
that are helping the story.
There is power in simplicity.
It has this magical effect of
cutting through all the noise,
cutting through all the distractions,
and really hitting its target right
where it's intended to.
There is a very famous story of
Steve Jobs, where years after he
left Apple somebody brought
him an expanded Apple keyboard.
And he took a look at it and there was
all these function keys-- F1, F2, F3.
So he looks at the person
who gave him the keyboard
and says, when's the last time
you used the F1 or F2 key?
And the guy said, I
don't really remember.
And he says, that's exactly my point.
So he yanks his car keys
and starts taking keys out,
and he says, I'm changing
the world one key at a time.
And this is illustrative of
the fundamental philosophy
that companies like Apple have, which is
that there is discipline in simplicity.
Great artists like Picasso are well
known in terms of going through
a particular process where
they reduce an animal,
and there's a very classic
example of Picasso's-- The Bull--
to its very essence, down
to 5 or 6 or 7 or 10 lines.
And businesses, and products,
and entrepreneurs ultimately
have to go through this
particular process, where
they're reducing an idea to its
fundamental essence and acting on that.
It goes back to nature.
If you look at any entity, any person,
any animal, any plant, anything.
Stuff comes to them.
Water has minerals in it.
Salt, and this, and that.
That plant or animal absorbs what it
needs, and passes what it doesn't need.
I believe we have an incredibly
high-fidelity engine that
knows whether we need something or not.
Your job is to filter
out what doesn't belong.
I'll always take away clutter.
An assiette is really three
little dishes on one dish,
and people can get lost in the numbers.
Right?
They can say, wow, yeah, OK, yeah,
you know, there was three things here,
those three things were
good, collectively.
I'm the opposite.
If I could give someone
one thing on a dish,
even if it's one piece of
Buffalo mozzarella cheese, right?
That one thing better be exceptional.
So for me, it's all about--
it's about less clutter.
It's about less noise.
Don't give me the frills
on the outside, right?
The chopped parsley and sprinkle
it all around the plate,
or the sauces that people kind
of splash around everywhere,
and say, yes, you know, I'm artistic.
It's exactly the same in business.
So it's about minimal for a very certain
reason, but it's got to have impact.
At their best, the simplest products
tend to give us the most satisfaction.
You have to be 100% sure
that what you left in
is what will fundamentally be the
most impactful thing for your customer
and who you're trying to reach.
