I'm keeping the English title because the French translation - as is often the case with self-help books - seems to have been written by the traveling quack who sells mercury potions in Little House on the Prairie. Don't pretend: you know exactly who I mean. Or by the villain from "Peter and Eliot the Dragon" who wants to cut up Eliot to make cough syrup.
Bref: Who not How is a book I needed to read.
Because, you see, since I've been making movies, I've gotten into the habit of overdoing too many things. Which has its advantages: it's given me a real knowledge of many aspects of making a film, both technical, human, and administrative. Can't fool me.
But it also has a slew of disadvantages that end up, when you do the math, being far more disabling in the long run:
- I waste time reinventing the wheel in every area,
- I become mediocre at a lot of tasks that specialists do infinitely better than I do,
- Meanwhile, I don't focus on the talents where I could really make a difference.
Hence this idea developed by Dan Sullivan:
Faced with a problem or challenge, stop asking "how do I do it?" but immediately start with "who can help me? Who can I delegate this task to?"
Which is an art, too.
First, clearly define the mission: what are we trying to accomplish? What direction to follow? How do you know when the task is complete?
Then, you have to find the right person and convey the right vision: explain why it's important, show the impact it's going to have, the possibilities that will open up in the future.
Finally - and this is often the hardest - you have to trust them. Don't micro-manage. Let the person you've chosen do what they know how to do in the way they know how. Because if it's the right person, they do it better than you anyway.
Of course, this raises questions about exploitation, subordination, accountability. For it to make sense, the relationship has to be reciprocal: the person you find is your "who" and you have to be theirs. You were looking for their type of profile, they were looking for your type of mission.
For example: I have been writing since childhood. Novels, plays, screenplays. With practice, I've achieved a certain mastery. Now, I regularly meet professionals - cinematographers, actors, set designers, etc. - who have no taste for writing and who are delighted to put their talent at the service of projects written and produced by others. So the benefit to everyone is that, rather than learning how to (mis)use a camera, I focus on what I know how to do and go find the right people for the rest.
It seems obvious. Yet, the first instinct is often to want to do everything yourself. Out of ego, out of a desire for control, out of habit. Because it's not always easy to reach out to others.
For some time now, especially within my production structure, I've been trying to install this new reflex. I don't do anymore: I delegate. And often, it works. The result is much better, the process much more pleasant and less solitary, and the network effect opens new doors. When it doesn't work, it's often because I haven't defined the task properly. Or simply that the mission itself wasn't worth it.
That's how I found an army of young creators from all over the world on Discord to make the 3D sets for my web series Panic in Space. It didn't work out with everyone, but I found two gems, in Brazil and India, that I'll continue to collaborate with.
An important detail: Dan Sullivan, the person behind the premise of "Who not How" didn't write the book himself. He delegated the writing to Benjamin Hardy, author of several personal development books. It became a bestseller.
