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Reflections from a Terrible CEO

2023-06-20 · letter vlog · John · 5:15 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Projects (also: Personal life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion, heavy topic

Standing in as CEO of Complexly and DFTBA while Hank, 'fired by cancer', undergoes treatment, John jokes about his business incompetence but says he loves the job because of the people, what they make and the companies' whys (connecting creators to fans, lowering barriers to education, expanding access to health care), concluding that being the tail to Hank's comet is the world's best job.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Over 100 employees; Hank 'fired by cancer' yet still working through treatment

00:00:58 — John as reluctant CEO: meetings, spreadsheets, leadership, business acronyms

  • ★★ With Hank 'fired', John became CEO, a prospect John says nobody was excited about. (playful) — 00:00:58 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John says he is bad at meetings: he notes that ten people in a 30-minute meeting spend 300 minutes of human life and attention, the most valuable resources on the planet. (playful) — 00:01:05
  • ★ John says he can't really read a spreadsheet and is not renowned for leadership; most of his career has been spent alone in the basement typing. (playful) — 00:01:27
  • ★ John says he didn't know business's three-letter acronyms, such as CAC (customer acquisition cost), LTV, ROI and ROE. (playful) — 00:01:40

00:02:00 — John loves the temporary job, the people and what Complexly and DFTBA make

  • ★★★ John says he loves being the part-time, temporary, reluctant, marginally competent CEO of the two companies and genuinely doesn't resent the brief promotion. — 00:02:00 · Complexly, DFTBA Records
  • ★★ John says he will be very happy to hand the reins back to Hank. — 00:02:20 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John says other CEOs could eventually lead the companies better than he ever could, but he loves the job. — 00:02:29
  • ★★ John loves the people they work with and what they make (Eons, Journey to the Microcosmos, Crash Course, SciShow), which he watches daily and now understands a little. — 00:02:29 · Eons, Journey to the Microcosmos, Crash Course, SciShow, YouTube
  • ★★ John praises DFTBA merch: Nathan Zed's Good Enough Hoodies, Ariel Bissett's I'm Thinking About Books shirt, Tyler Thrasher's Cicada Plushie and Kurzgesagt's Timeline of Complex Life. — 00:02:45 · DFTBA Records, Complexly

00:02:58 — DFTBA merch, the warehouse visit, Awesome Coffee Club and Awesome Socks Club open

  • ★★ On a recent visit, the DFTBA team taught John how the warehouse works and how to pack Awesome Coffee for subscribers. — 00:03:00 · DFTBA Records, Awesome Coffee Club
  • ★★ John announces the Awesome Coffee Club is accepting new members now, calling it the best coffee in the world. (playful) — 00:03:05 · Awesome Coffee Club
  • ★★ John announces the Awesome Socks Club is open now for a week, which happens only about twice a year. — 00:03:15 · Awesome Socks Club

00:03:25 — The companies' whys make the work worthwhile; gratitude and the tail to Hank's comet

  • ★ Admitting he can't sell socks like Hank, John says the socks are so comfortable you don't feel the toe seam. (playful) — 00:03:25 · Hank Green, Awesome Socks Club
  • ★★★ John says the biggest reason he enjoys the job despite its meetings is the companies' whys: every company has a problem to solve, and theirs are, in his opinion, the best. — 00:03:33
  • ★★★ John says the companies try to connect creators to fans, lower barriers to education and expand access to health care. — 00:03:54 · education
  • ★★★ John says those great whys fire him up and make shared meeting time feel well used rather than wasted. — 00:04:00
  • ★★★ John says they are working, in small and insufficient ways, on the injustices of high US college costs and high global maternal mortality. — 00:04:08 · United States, maternal death
  • ★★ Neither brother wants John to have the job, but John is grateful to Hank and his colleagues for building extraordinary companies with wonderful whys. — 00:04:23 · Hank Green

  • ★★★ John's biggest conclusion so far: being the tail to Hank's comet is the world's best job. — 00:04:35 · Hank Green

    “being the tail to your comet is the world's best job”

  • ★★ John says Hank pre-made a Vlogbrothers video because he knew he would be too sick to make one this week (week of 19 June 2023). — 00:04:45 · Hank Green, Vlogbrothers

00:04:53 — Hank's pre-made video and his insistence on making videos; sign-off

  • ★★ However often John and Nerdfighteria tell Hank he needn't make a weekly video, Hank says to stop telling him he can't do what he loves; John thanks him. — 00:04:53 · Hank Green, Nerdfighteria

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In a channel comment John says the four-minute rule is off at least until Hank gets better, since 4-minute videos take too long with the current workload. — creator comment · Four-minute rule, Vlogbrothers

Humor (significant)

  • John explains Hank stopped leading the companies' 100-plus employees. — 00:00:00

    “But then, Hank, you got fired by cancer.”

  • John lists what Hank insists he will keep doing during chemotherapy. — 00:00:29

    “I'm gonna tweet 72 times per hour”

  • John shares his insight that ten people in a 30-minute meeting waste 300 minutes of human soul life. — 00:01:27

    “And that, it turns out, is like not the vibe for most meetings.”

  • John lists why he is poorly suited to be CEO. — 00:01:27

    “Also, I can't really read a spreadsheet, which significantly limits my business capacity.”

  • Admitting he can't sell socks like Hank, John tries a slogan anyway. — 00:03:25

    “Style impeccable, fit incredible, mission charitable.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Complexly · DFTBA Records

Also: Projects: Awesome Coffee Club · Awesome Socks Club · Crash Course · Eons · Journey to the Microcosmos · SciShow

Works: Cicada Plushie · Crash Course coin · Good Enough Hoodie · I'm Thinking About Books shirt · Timeline of Complex Life

Organizations: YouTube

Concepts: cancer · comet · education · higher education · maternal death

Places: United States

Only in the description or credits: Ariel Bissett · Kurzgesagt · Nathan Zed · Tyler Thrasher

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