Friends of Dave #72: Deep and Simple
In a world that is increasingly shallow and complex, there is another option.
This week I had a pleasant and unexpected visit with a neighbor that I had not seen in quite a while. You actually might know him.
It was Mr. Rogers.
Of course it wasn't an actual visit, but my wife and I caught a fascinating documentary called "Mr. Rogers and Me" on Amazon Prime Video. It was the recollections of a forty-something year old guy who vacationed one summer on Nantucket and happened to stay next door to THE Fred Rogers.
Like the film maker (and many of you), I grew up watching Mr. Rogers on PBS. Viewing this documentary as an adult brought back vivid memories of the valuable lessons he taught on fairness, equality, tolerance, empathy, creativity, individuality and just how to be a good "neighbor." It struck me that, although now a bit old fashioned in the manner in which they were presented, so many of these very straight forward messages still apply today -- and yet are so easily forgotten.
During the film, the film maker recounts discussing personal details of his busy, complicated life with Mr. Rogers as he struggled to make sense of it all. It was then that he was given this pearl of wisdom from his cardigan wearing neighbor:
"I feel so strongly that deep and simple is far more essential than shallow and complex."
Deep and simple. Think about it. Think about how, whether in business or in our personal lives, we seldom choose this path. Look at your company's website, your weekend schedule, the material things we covet, what we want to accomplish from our careers, how we communicate and our interpersonal relationships. Are they deep and simple?
As I sat on the couch watching the flickering images on the television, I realized that Mr. Rogers was once again providing a valuable lesson to me and to us all -- something much more meaningful now that the children to whom he once spoke were in the middle of their own complicated lives. Strive to make things deep and simple wherever possible. If you can do that, you should then be able to get all that is truly essential.
And with that, it is on to this week's selections. I hope you like them.
Enjoy the weekend. And best to all of the Moms on their day this Sunday.
XOXO
Dave
Think on This...
Embracing A Minimalist Lifestyle — medium.com
A minimalist lifestyle looks different for everyone. In the spirit of "deep and simple," take a few minutes to check this one out.
The Challenge of Uncertainty — tomtunguz.com
I found it funny that VC Tomasz Tunguz published this around the same time I wrote my preamble last week. Good companion to that.
For Your Day Job...
Remind Me Why I Love You? — bothsidesofthetable.com
A good lesson here by VC Mark Suster about the basic principle in sales: time kills all deals. Whether you raising capital or trying to sell a product to a busy executive, you have to do whatever you can to remind them why they loved you after that first great meeting.
What Lee Iacocca Taught Me About Disruption — datatrekresearch.com
I usually shy away from wonky commentary on markets in this newsletter, but I found this one pretty good as it applies to how to value disruption.
The Growing Market Opportunity from Mobile Geolocation Data — www.marketsmedia.com
“While mobile device geolocation data currently represents a relatively small segment of the alternative data market, it is expected to grow quickly, exceeding $250m by 2020,”
How Deep Learning Will Change Customer Experience — datafloq.com
Deep learning is a sub-category within machine learning and artificial intelligence and it will significantly improve your customer experience.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
Frozen Food Is Making an Unlikely Comeback — www.bloomberg.com
Don't call it a comeback: Hungry Man TV dinners have been here for years....
Canadian zoo faces charges after taking bear out for ice cream
Hey, it was either ice cream or donuts. And it looks like no one wanted to be the one to order a bear claw at the local Tim Hortons.
This late actress had the best rent deal in NYC — nypost.com
“A fire was set at some point,” with the intention of evicting rent-controlled tenants, says Roberta. “Everybody else left except her.”
And The Last Word....
46 Things I Learned Making Mister Rogers & Me
If you are now feeling nostalgic about all things Mister Rogers, here are a bunch of facts about the man you may find interesting. And, if this is not enough, apparently there is another movie set for release in the coming weeks. Enjoy, neighbor!