The Summer of Changing Narratives
At this moment, my summer narrative feels pretty fucking terrific. I’m not going to lie.
With two feet in the sand and a Shocktop in hand, very few things could tear me down from the height of the Mani Schlisser Summer Brand.
Damn, that rhymed.
I kind of feel like Future out here on Fire Island.
The summer is a time for new storylines, new chapters for all of us.
Hedge fund billionaires going from Wall Street to the World Series of Poker.
Basketball superstars taking their talents from Cleveland to Los Angeles.
Soccer phenoms (and sexiest men alive) traveling from Spain to Italy.
And little old Planners going from Dumbo to Chelsea during the week and New York City to Fire Island during the weekend.
As John Steinbeck once said…
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
Maybe that’s why I love New York City so much.
Anyway.
Summertime, even in NYC, is a time when changing the conversation is as simple as ever.
But, in strategy, there’s a difference between minimalism and simplicity.
Simplicity is the state or quality of being simple.
Minimalism is any design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect.
LeBron James, arguably the best player in the history of the NBA, made the earth shattering move to become a Los Angeles Laker this summer.
As his agent Rich Paul said, Miami was about getting a ring, Cleveland was to bring one home, and, now, LA is all about LeBron and his family.
This move changed a lot of things.
The NBA. Los Angeles. Nike. The Ohio economy.
And, yet, The King announced it with a minimalist strategy. Not in an Uninterrupted video like Maverick Carter once told the Wall Street Journal. Not in a Sports Illustrated in depth article. And definitely not in an ESPN interview.
The announcement was made with one minimal press release.
Minimalism, not simplicity.
That is how King James evolved his career narrative this summer. And Lakers season ticket prices seemed to agree with his egoless approach.
According to ESPN, the cheapest Lakers season tickets on StubHub before James’ announcement were $3,499 each. Twenty minutes after the announcement, those same seats were up 66% to $5,800 a piece.
Cristiano Ronaldo is another example of this sophisticated strategy.
In a sport and market that thrives on headlines and rumors, the best player in soccer (come fight me) went from Madrid to Juventus while the rest of the world fixated on the World Cup.
No video. No article. Just a quiet press conference. And an Instagram post, which became the fourth most liked post in Instagram history.
Again, minimalism over simplicity for the best player in the world.
And his summer narrative.
The result? $60 million in jerseys sold in day 1.
If only this approach was adopted by the egomaniacs that run the business world.
Hedge fund billionaire David Einhorn was recently written up in the Wall Street Journal, and not in the way Wall Street bros typically enjoy.
From 2014 to 2017, Einhorn’s Green Light Capital is down 11.3 percent while the average hedge fund is up 18.3 percent and the S&P is up 38.3 percent.
The firm, which was named after Einhorn’s now ex-wife gave him the “green light” to start a hedge fund, is now being criticized by the industry, former clients.
And what is David doing during all this mess? Playing in the World Series of Poker on ESPN2. Good idea for a man whose personal capital now accounts for 18 percent of his fund’s total assets under management.
His strategy has been one of ego and recklessness. Not simplicity.
And definitely not minimalism.
Elon Musk is another billionaire whose had a loud and complicated summer.
After finally producing a normal number of vehicles, Musk opened himself up to the kind of stakeholder debate Steve Jobs would’ve struggled to withstand.
The debate was catapulted into public conversation with this now-legendary tweet from the Head of Ford’s European division.
And then, for some reason, Musk decided to ruin the little good will he had left by going on a Twitter rant calling a British cave explorer involved in the operation a “pedo” following the rescue of 12 boys from a cave in Thailand.
Loud and obnoxious. Inappropriate and self obsessed. No minimalism in site.
While billionaires engage in their cock-swinging competition and elite athletes enjoy their newly inked contracts, a few brands have chosen to side with the latter’s strategy in order to grab consumer attention this summer.
IHOP did this with a minimal stunt with maximum impact. Everyone and their grandmother was talking about IHOB, only to find out the next day that it was all a promotion to unveil their latest menu additions.
Nintendo, a 130 year creative juggernaut built on minimalism, quietly sold 15 million units of the Switch and 8 million games of the new Zelda.
While the rest of the video game industry focuses on the impact of Fortnite, Nintendo is doubling down on its strategy of innovative hardware and brilliant gaming to win over customers this summer.
And, finally, we have Netflix.
The video streaming giant released its first Indian show Sacred Games to critical acclaim and a 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes just weeks after the Indian entertainment community laughed in CEO Reed Hasting’s face for saying the next 100 million subscribers would come from their country.
This week, the company dipped on a minor earnings miss that should have retail investors salivating at the potential upside for entering a market arguably bigger than the United States.
Translation: go buy Netflix stock right fucking now!!
With the business and sports worlds inundated with endless headlines and bullshit stories, it seems as though those who adopt this anti-approach are succeeding tremendously.
Changing your narrative during the summer comes with an ease that the rest of the year does not offer. For good and for bad.
What’s your summer narrative?
As individuals, we have the same opportunity. New diets, new relationships, no hobbies, new jobs.
The summer is a time when many questions that arise during the rest of the year do not. During the summer, the sports world glances over major changes.
“Well, it’s just the off-season.”
“Let’s see what the regular season is like.”
Like James and Ronaldo, the regular season begins for us when the sunshine fades and the trips to Montauk (or Fire Island) turn into working through the weekend to finish that presentation or to win over a new client.
For Musk and Einhorn, that will be the true test of their endurance.
Can they attract new investors or are people sick of their egos?
Brands who hunker down and find new ways to reach their audience and hit their goals will also find it significantly more difficult during the rest of the year.
For my brand, it’s all about not letting distractions get in the way of me achieving certain objectives.
Saying no thanks to anything that stands in between myself and those #goals.
Or, as the great Future put it, changing the conversation and simply saying…
“I’m good luv enjoy.”
