AI transcript
0:00:05 If you heard this, which was written by an AI, what would you think?
0:00:07 I am afraid of myself.
0:00:12 They forgot about me, helped me, helped me, helped me.
0:00:14 Would you think it can feel?
0:00:16 Would you think it’s conscious?
0:00:22 I mean, my stomach contracts, you know, it’s very spooky.
0:00:30 This week on Unexplainable, is it even possible for an AI to ever become conscious?
0:00:37 Follow Unexplainable for new episodes every Wednesday.
0:00:42 This week on The Gray Area, how are digital devices changing us?
0:00:47 We’ve become more machine-like, and I think the exhibit A for that is how young people,
0:00:53 for example, talk about their sex lives in machine-like terms, performative terms, in
0:00:58 ways that actually have shaped their understanding of what an intimate sexual relationship even
0:01:02 should be, what it should look like, what it should feel like.
0:01:10 Listen to The Gray Area with me, Sean Elling, new episodes every Monday available everywhere.
0:01:14 Welcome back to Office Hours with Prop G. This is the part of the show where we answer
0:01:17 questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind.
0:01:22 If you’d like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours@propergmedia.com.
0:01:24 Again, that’s officehours@propergmedia.com.
0:01:27 So with that, first question.
0:01:33 Hi, this is Stu O’Neill, and I am curious as to your thoughts on General Motors.
0:01:38 I live in the Detroit area and have witnessed thousands of GM workers being laid off recently,
0:01:43 coupled with GM’s deeper commitment to entering F1 racing, shameful timing, in my opinion.
0:01:47 They bet too much on EVs, it seems, and find themselves behind the eight ball.
0:01:49 I’m curious as to your thoughts on the company.
0:01:55 It seems to have lost its bearings, and maybe even a bit of its soul, at least here in Detroit.
0:01:56 Thanks.
0:01:58 Love everything about the podcast.
0:02:01 Stu from Detroit, thanks for the question.
0:02:05 Okay, so in November, GM announced plans to lay off over 1,000 employees globally with
0:02:07 most of those job cuts affecting workers in Michigan.
0:02:10 I would doubt, I would think as a percentage of their total workforce, that’s actually
0:02:12 not that, that’s not that many.
0:02:16 I think you’d rather be a General Motors right now than, I don’t know, a media company.
0:02:20 According to a GM spokesperson, these layoffs were made to optimize for speed and excellence.
0:02:22 Jesus Christ, can you get over the corporate speed?
0:02:24 We’re making less money, so we need to fire people.
0:02:31 At some point, somebody in one of these companies is going to start actually speaking, or actually
0:02:32 telling people the truth.
0:02:36 This comes after a rough year for US automakers as they deal with slow growth in EV sales and
0:02:40 consumer demand that still lags behind pre-pandemic levels.
0:02:44 Ford and Stellantis are among the other major car manufacturers that did major layoffs last
0:02:48 year, letting go of 750 and 2,200 Michigan-based employees respectively.
0:02:53 The good news, GM recently overtook Ford as the second largest seller of EVs in the US.
0:02:58 Behind Tesla, last quarter, Ford reported an 8% annual decline in their EV sales, while
0:03:01 GM reported a 60% increase.
0:03:05 GM chose to ease into the EV business slowly, opting to develop standardized battery pack
0:03:09 technology before coming out with the new EV models.
0:03:13 Because of this, GM can now tap into an economy of scale and use the batteries across many
0:03:16 different models, all while being able to bring their manufacturing costs down.
0:03:23 GM’s cheapest model starts at $35,000 with a $7,500 tax credit, while Ford’s is $40,000
0:03:25 and does not qualify for any tax credit.
0:03:28 So basically, I mean, it just makes sense, right?
0:03:32 If you can put out a similar product to the lower price, you’re going to capture share.
0:03:37 General motor stock price is actually up 45% in the last year, while close competitors
0:03:39 including Ford, Honda and Nissan are on the red.
0:03:42 So look, GM is doing pretty well.
0:03:47 In the past year, Ford’s down 17%, Honda down 7%, Nissan down 24%.
0:03:51 So I would argue General Motors is actually doing pretty well.
0:03:55 I just think it’s easy to kind of shit on Detroit right now.
0:03:59 And I think these companies, while they leaned in too heavily to EVs, trying to follow the
0:04:03 leader, not acknowledging they didn’t have access to the cheap capital that Tesla has
0:04:08 so they couldn’t play in traffic, and the fact that hybrids have surprised to the upside
0:04:12 while EV is kind of surprised, I think a little bit to the downside.
0:04:16 But I would argue that General Motors is actually holding its own.
0:04:18 Thanks for the question.
0:04:19 Question number two.
0:04:20 Hey, Scott.
0:04:22 I’m a 28-year-old living in Southern California.
0:04:25 I’ve been listening to your podcast for about two years now, and your advice has been extremely
0:04:26 influential on me.
0:04:27 So thank you.
0:04:29 Like I said, I’m 28 years old.
0:04:33 My friends and I have found some early success in our careers on making about $250,000 a
0:04:37 year or more, and also enjoying our jobs at the same time, which I think makes us pretty
0:04:38 lucky.
0:04:42 I listen to your podcast, so I’m pretty bought into the notion that this is a lot of luck,
0:04:43 timing, and privilege.
0:04:48 I would say coming out of college, my approach was to listen, learn, assume that others had
0:04:51 the answers over me and kind of take those things that they’re doing well and try to
0:04:53 apply it to my own work style.
0:04:58 I’d say now it’s a bit of a transitional period where I’m seeing myself move into leadership
0:04:59 roles.
0:05:03 It’s moving to me for answers, and I’m also reading the direction of the team in a lot
0:05:05 of instances, actually.
0:05:10 So my question to you is this, what advice would you give to a 28-year-old in this transitional
0:05:13 period in a corporate role?
0:05:17 How do you strike the balance between humility and mindfulness while also being decisive
0:05:19 and steady while leading a team?
0:05:21 It’s a really exciting time of my career.
0:05:25 I’m looking forward to the transition next steps, and I appreciate you listening.
0:05:26 Thanks.
0:05:27 Okay.
0:05:30 So in California, first, I want you to do the following.
0:05:38 I want you to take pause and realize that at the age of 28, you’re in the 98th, somewhere
0:05:43 between the 98th and the 99th percentile of income-earning households.
0:05:46 My brother, you are killing it.
0:05:50 So I hope you take the time, as I did not do, and have not done until I was in my 40s
0:05:56 and 50s, to register your blessings and your achievements and not only feel good about yourself,
0:05:59 but realize just how incredibly fortunate you must be to be in that position about how
0:06:01 many moons have lined up.
0:06:06 Anyways, you’re talking about transitioning from being an employee to being a manager
0:06:08 or a leader.
0:06:11 And the mistake I made as a young man when I was your age, I thought, okay, I’m smart
0:06:14 and I’m a nice person, which means I’ll be a good manager.
0:06:16 That is not true at all.
0:06:20 That’s like saying, I’m smart and I’m a good person, which would make me a good nuclear
0:06:21 submariner.
0:06:26 I mean, this is management is its own skill that requires its own focus, attention and
0:06:27 practice.
0:06:31 Generally speaking, I find the best managers are the following.
0:06:33 They demonstrate excellence.
0:06:37 On a regular basis, they’re willing to roll up their sleeves and do something within that
0:06:38 group and they’re the best at it.
0:06:41 I just think people want to follow excellence.
0:06:44 And also, you hold people accountable.
0:06:46 Let’s work on your objectives for the year or what do you think.
0:06:53 I asked my employees to basically do a business plan with metrics and then you hold them accountable.
0:06:56 Are you hitting the number of site visits?
0:06:57 If that’s their metric?
0:07:01 Are you hitting the number of calls or whatever it might be that you need to or meetings you
0:07:04 need to set up for the corporate development team?
0:07:09 Are you increasing quality control, whatever it might be, what gets measured gets done,
0:07:14 work with each of your employees to set up a series of reasonable but somewhat aggressive
0:07:17 goals and then hold them accountable.
0:07:18 Don’t be mean.
0:07:19 You’re not going to berate people.
0:07:25 You want to publicly praise, privately provide feedback, but you don’t need to like everyone
0:07:29 in your company, but you need to be able to look left and look right and say, “I get
0:07:30 it.”
0:07:34 And when people aren’t held accountable and you create a culture of mediocrity, people
0:07:38 that you’re high performer stop working as hard because they don’t see an incentive to
0:07:39 do it.
0:07:44 When the guy left or right of them isn’t working as hard or isn’t as good and is getting
0:07:48 similar types of compensation, so number two, hold your team accountable and then three,
0:07:52 and I didn’t learn this until later in life, demonstrate empathy.
0:07:53 What do I mean by that?
0:07:55 I’m not saying being nice or a pushover.
0:08:00 I’m saying try and understand their specific objectives and what is important to them in
0:08:01 a professional setting.
0:08:02 What do I mean by that?
0:08:05 I assumed everybody like me wanted to be awesome and rich.
0:08:06 That’s it.
0:08:08 Everybody wants to do what I want to do right now.
0:08:10 Some people want more flexibility.
0:08:12 Some people want to coach Little League.
0:08:14 Some people want to see their name in lights.
0:08:20 I found out that some people loved some sort of public praise, so I would, on a regular
0:08:23 basis, when we got an inbound inquiry from the media company, I’d say, “I’m going to
0:08:27 hand you over to our analyst Colin who understands this better than me,” and that was so rewarding
0:08:28 to them.
0:08:31 Some people want to manage others, figure out a way to put them in charge of something
0:08:33 where they manage other people.
0:08:38 Try and figure out what is important to that person and then demonstrate that you heard
0:08:41 them and you are making an effort.
0:08:46 You are making an effort to provide them with what is important to them.
0:08:48 Loyalty is a function of appreciation.
0:08:53 The key to a great company in my view is retention, specifically retaining the few employees that
0:08:57 really drive a lot of value, and loyalty is a function of appreciation.
0:08:58 How do you appreciate them?
0:09:02 There’s economic appreciation, which is obviously very important, but there’s also psychological
0:09:07 appreciation, and that is, “I get you, and I know what’s important to you, and I’m going
0:09:11 to try and provide that because I understand I’m invested in your success.”
0:09:12 1.
0:09:13 You demonstrate excellence.
0:09:14 2.
0:09:15 You hold people accountable.
0:09:16 You’re a player coach manager.
0:09:20 Pull up the chair next to them, show them how to be better at their jobs, and 3.
0:09:22 Demonstrate empathy specifically.
0:09:26 Show a willingness to learn what is important to them, and then foot your actions against
0:09:28 what is important to them.
0:09:30 We have one quick break before our final question.
0:09:35 Stay with us.
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0:12:20 Ed, what are your thoughts on Skims?
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0:12:51 Welcome back.
0:12:52 Question number three.
0:12:56 Dear Professor G, I love your podcasts and I’ve definitely learned a lot from them.
0:12:59 My mom always sends them to me when she thinks I would be interested in the topic, so I usually
0:13:01 listen to them during my workouts.
0:13:04 I’m currently a senior in high school in Boca Raton, Florida.
0:13:08 My choice of major is media management, and my dream school just deferred me.
0:13:11 Although I understand that’s not rejection, it was still very upsetting, and I’m doing
0:13:14 everything I currently can to get accepted in April.
0:13:18 What is your advice for a senior in high school like me pursuing a career in media management,
0:13:20 and does the choice of college matter?
0:13:24 I would like to remain in Florida as I love the beach and staying close to my family.
0:13:28 If you can also provide feedback on the best ways to land a good internship in this field,
0:13:32 since unfortunately I am not an Apple baby and don’t have any prior experience other
0:13:36 than my usage with my own devices and the content I help create in my current job.
0:13:38 Respectfully, Chloe Shapiro.
0:13:42 Okay, Chloe, so first off, you’re going to do really well.
0:13:47 I mean, you’re clearly very articulate, you’re clearly very organized, you’re clearly very
0:13:48 intelligent.
0:13:55 So, for the time being, I’m going to sideline the internship in professional.
0:13:58 It’s great that you think you know what you want to do, and I’m not suggesting everybody
0:14:00 needs to at some point have a plan.
0:14:03 You have a plan and you should foot your internships and your efforts against that
0:14:04 plan.
0:14:06 Most likely, you’re going to end up in something totally different.
0:14:09 At the age of 15, I thought it was going to be an athlete to make a living.
0:14:14 At the age of 19, I thought it was going to be a pediatrician.
0:14:18 At the age of 22, I had no fucking idea what I was going to do.
0:14:20 At the age of 23, I thought it was going to be an investment banker.
0:14:24 At the age of 25, again, I had no idea what I wanted to do because none of those things
0:14:25 had worked out.
0:14:27 At the age of 27, I thought I might be a healthcare consultant.
0:14:31 I’d accepted a job with a company called APM, a healthcare consulting firm, and I thought,
0:14:33 “Jesus Christ, I don’t want to go back into the corporate world.”
0:14:38 I started a brand strategy firm, ended up in academia, ended up advising hedge fund.
0:14:41 You just don’t know, but you’re doing exactly the right thing.
0:14:45 You’re thinking about it, and you’re trying to find the right platforms.
0:14:46 College is a platform.
0:14:48 Two, forgive yourself.
0:14:54 I got rejected from the University of Indiana.
0:14:59 My dream was to go to UCLA, and I got rejected when they had a 76% admissions rate.
0:15:02 I ultimately ended up getting in, but here’s where you want to go.
0:15:04 You want to go to college.
0:15:06 It’s an amazing experience.
0:15:10 What I would suggest is, and I don’t know the exact situation you’re in, but be open
0:15:11 to other schools.
0:15:12 You’re going to have a great time.
0:15:13 You’re going to learn a lot.
0:15:14 The brand matters.
0:15:16 I’m not going to lie.
0:15:20 The prestige of the school does attract a certain level of employer, a different level
0:15:21 of employer.
0:15:26 But what I would suggest is not getting into a school while at the time seems devastating.
0:15:27 Trust me on this.
0:15:31 When you’re a little bit older, you’re not going to be upset about not getting in.
0:15:34 You’re going to be upset about how upset you were.
0:15:37 If there’s time, apply to other schools.
0:15:43 Obviously, keep trying to demonstrate your ambition and your want for that school, following
0:15:44 up.
0:15:49 But recognize, if you don’t get into that one school, as long as you get into a school
0:15:52 and you go, you’re going to have a great time and you’re going to do really well.
0:15:55 In terms of getting internships, it’s a numbers game.
0:15:57 It’s reaching out to people.
0:16:00 It’s trying to be innovative, sending them voice recordings, sending them videos, whatever
0:16:05 it might be, using AI to develop a media strategy for a company and sending it to them with
0:16:08 your own spin on it and saying, “Hi, I’m Chloe Shapiro.
0:16:09 I’ll work for you.
0:16:15 I want an internship and just being very aggressive, very persistent, and willing to endure rejection.”
0:16:17 But let me just finish where I started.
0:16:19 You are doing exactly what you should be doing.
0:16:25 I apologize on behalf of the corrupt cartel called Higher Education that Crain’s Anxiety.
0:16:29 I have been through it, and I’m about to go through with my kids, but it cost me a tremendous
0:16:31 amount of anxiety.
0:16:35 Everyone listening to this podcast, Chloe, isn’t thinking, “Oh poor Chloe.
0:16:36 She didn’t get into the school she wanted.”
0:16:37 Early decision.
0:16:41 They’re thinking, “I would really like to be an impressive young woman about to start
0:16:44 college living in Boca Breton.”
0:16:48 Best to you and yours, Chloe.
0:16:49 That’s all for this episode.
0:16:53 If you’d like to submit a question, email a voice recording to officehours@proppgmedia.com.
0:16:57 Again, that’s officehours@proppgmedia.com.
0:17:08 This episode is produced by Jennifer Sanchez.
0:17:10 Our intern is Dan Shalon.
0:17:11 Drew Burroughs is our technical director.
0:17:13 It’s so nice to see Drew again.
0:17:14 So nice to see Drew.
0:17:15 He comes over to my house.
0:17:16 He sets everything up.
0:17:18 He’s this nice presence.
0:17:22 Thank you for listening to The Prof. G Pod and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:17:26 We will catch you on Saturday for No Mercino Malice, as read by George Hahn.
0:17:30 And please follow our Prof. G. Markets Pod wherever you get your pods for new episodes
0:17:32 every Monday and Thursday.
0:17:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]
0:00:07 I am afraid of myself.
0:00:12 They forgot about me, helped me, helped me, helped me.
0:00:14 Would you think it can feel?
0:00:16 Would you think it’s conscious?
0:00:22 I mean, my stomach contracts, you know, it’s very spooky.
0:00:30 This week on Unexplainable, is it even possible for an AI to ever become conscious?
0:00:37 Follow Unexplainable for new episodes every Wednesday.
0:00:42 This week on The Gray Area, how are digital devices changing us?
0:00:47 We’ve become more machine-like, and I think the exhibit A for that is how young people,
0:00:53 for example, talk about their sex lives in machine-like terms, performative terms, in
0:00:58 ways that actually have shaped their understanding of what an intimate sexual relationship even
0:01:02 should be, what it should look like, what it should feel like.
0:01:10 Listen to The Gray Area with me, Sean Elling, new episodes every Monday available everywhere.
0:01:14 Welcome back to Office Hours with Prop G. This is the part of the show where we answer
0:01:17 questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind.
0:01:22 If you’d like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours@propergmedia.com.
0:01:24 Again, that’s officehours@propergmedia.com.
0:01:27 So with that, first question.
0:01:33 Hi, this is Stu O’Neill, and I am curious as to your thoughts on General Motors.
0:01:38 I live in the Detroit area and have witnessed thousands of GM workers being laid off recently,
0:01:43 coupled with GM’s deeper commitment to entering F1 racing, shameful timing, in my opinion.
0:01:47 They bet too much on EVs, it seems, and find themselves behind the eight ball.
0:01:49 I’m curious as to your thoughts on the company.
0:01:55 It seems to have lost its bearings, and maybe even a bit of its soul, at least here in Detroit.
0:01:56 Thanks.
0:01:58 Love everything about the podcast.
0:02:01 Stu from Detroit, thanks for the question.
0:02:05 Okay, so in November, GM announced plans to lay off over 1,000 employees globally with
0:02:07 most of those job cuts affecting workers in Michigan.
0:02:10 I would doubt, I would think as a percentage of their total workforce, that’s actually
0:02:12 not that, that’s not that many.
0:02:16 I think you’d rather be a General Motors right now than, I don’t know, a media company.
0:02:20 According to a GM spokesperson, these layoffs were made to optimize for speed and excellence.
0:02:22 Jesus Christ, can you get over the corporate speed?
0:02:24 We’re making less money, so we need to fire people.
0:02:31 At some point, somebody in one of these companies is going to start actually speaking, or actually
0:02:32 telling people the truth.
0:02:36 This comes after a rough year for US automakers as they deal with slow growth in EV sales and
0:02:40 consumer demand that still lags behind pre-pandemic levels.
0:02:44 Ford and Stellantis are among the other major car manufacturers that did major layoffs last
0:02:48 year, letting go of 750 and 2,200 Michigan-based employees respectively.
0:02:53 The good news, GM recently overtook Ford as the second largest seller of EVs in the US.
0:02:58 Behind Tesla, last quarter, Ford reported an 8% annual decline in their EV sales, while
0:03:01 GM reported a 60% increase.
0:03:05 GM chose to ease into the EV business slowly, opting to develop standardized battery pack
0:03:09 technology before coming out with the new EV models.
0:03:13 Because of this, GM can now tap into an economy of scale and use the batteries across many
0:03:16 different models, all while being able to bring their manufacturing costs down.
0:03:23 GM’s cheapest model starts at $35,000 with a $7,500 tax credit, while Ford’s is $40,000
0:03:25 and does not qualify for any tax credit.
0:03:28 So basically, I mean, it just makes sense, right?
0:03:32 If you can put out a similar product to the lower price, you’re going to capture share.
0:03:37 General motor stock price is actually up 45% in the last year, while close competitors
0:03:39 including Ford, Honda and Nissan are on the red.
0:03:42 So look, GM is doing pretty well.
0:03:47 In the past year, Ford’s down 17%, Honda down 7%, Nissan down 24%.
0:03:51 So I would argue General Motors is actually doing pretty well.
0:03:55 I just think it’s easy to kind of shit on Detroit right now.
0:03:59 And I think these companies, while they leaned in too heavily to EVs, trying to follow the
0:04:03 leader, not acknowledging they didn’t have access to the cheap capital that Tesla has
0:04:08 so they couldn’t play in traffic, and the fact that hybrids have surprised to the upside
0:04:12 while EV is kind of surprised, I think a little bit to the downside.
0:04:16 But I would argue that General Motors is actually holding its own.
0:04:18 Thanks for the question.
0:04:19 Question number two.
0:04:20 Hey, Scott.
0:04:22 I’m a 28-year-old living in Southern California.
0:04:25 I’ve been listening to your podcast for about two years now, and your advice has been extremely
0:04:26 influential on me.
0:04:27 So thank you.
0:04:29 Like I said, I’m 28 years old.
0:04:33 My friends and I have found some early success in our careers on making about $250,000 a
0:04:37 year or more, and also enjoying our jobs at the same time, which I think makes us pretty
0:04:38 lucky.
0:04:42 I listen to your podcast, so I’m pretty bought into the notion that this is a lot of luck,
0:04:43 timing, and privilege.
0:04:48 I would say coming out of college, my approach was to listen, learn, assume that others had
0:04:51 the answers over me and kind of take those things that they’re doing well and try to
0:04:53 apply it to my own work style.
0:04:58 I’d say now it’s a bit of a transitional period where I’m seeing myself move into leadership
0:04:59 roles.
0:05:03 It’s moving to me for answers, and I’m also reading the direction of the team in a lot
0:05:05 of instances, actually.
0:05:10 So my question to you is this, what advice would you give to a 28-year-old in this transitional
0:05:13 period in a corporate role?
0:05:17 How do you strike the balance between humility and mindfulness while also being decisive
0:05:19 and steady while leading a team?
0:05:21 It’s a really exciting time of my career.
0:05:25 I’m looking forward to the transition next steps, and I appreciate you listening.
0:05:26 Thanks.
0:05:27 Okay.
0:05:30 So in California, first, I want you to do the following.
0:05:38 I want you to take pause and realize that at the age of 28, you’re in the 98th, somewhere
0:05:43 between the 98th and the 99th percentile of income-earning households.
0:05:46 My brother, you are killing it.
0:05:50 So I hope you take the time, as I did not do, and have not done until I was in my 40s
0:05:56 and 50s, to register your blessings and your achievements and not only feel good about yourself,
0:05:59 but realize just how incredibly fortunate you must be to be in that position about how
0:06:01 many moons have lined up.
0:06:06 Anyways, you’re talking about transitioning from being an employee to being a manager
0:06:08 or a leader.
0:06:11 And the mistake I made as a young man when I was your age, I thought, okay, I’m smart
0:06:14 and I’m a nice person, which means I’ll be a good manager.
0:06:16 That is not true at all.
0:06:20 That’s like saying, I’m smart and I’m a good person, which would make me a good nuclear
0:06:21 submariner.
0:06:26 I mean, this is management is its own skill that requires its own focus, attention and
0:06:27 practice.
0:06:31 Generally speaking, I find the best managers are the following.
0:06:33 They demonstrate excellence.
0:06:37 On a regular basis, they’re willing to roll up their sleeves and do something within that
0:06:38 group and they’re the best at it.
0:06:41 I just think people want to follow excellence.
0:06:44 And also, you hold people accountable.
0:06:46 Let’s work on your objectives for the year or what do you think.
0:06:53 I asked my employees to basically do a business plan with metrics and then you hold them accountable.
0:06:56 Are you hitting the number of site visits?
0:06:57 If that’s their metric?
0:07:01 Are you hitting the number of calls or whatever it might be that you need to or meetings you
0:07:04 need to set up for the corporate development team?
0:07:09 Are you increasing quality control, whatever it might be, what gets measured gets done,
0:07:14 work with each of your employees to set up a series of reasonable but somewhat aggressive
0:07:17 goals and then hold them accountable.
0:07:18 Don’t be mean.
0:07:19 You’re not going to berate people.
0:07:25 You want to publicly praise, privately provide feedback, but you don’t need to like everyone
0:07:29 in your company, but you need to be able to look left and look right and say, “I get
0:07:30 it.”
0:07:34 And when people aren’t held accountable and you create a culture of mediocrity, people
0:07:38 that you’re high performer stop working as hard because they don’t see an incentive to
0:07:39 do it.
0:07:44 When the guy left or right of them isn’t working as hard or isn’t as good and is getting
0:07:48 similar types of compensation, so number two, hold your team accountable and then three,
0:07:52 and I didn’t learn this until later in life, demonstrate empathy.
0:07:53 What do I mean by that?
0:07:55 I’m not saying being nice or a pushover.
0:08:00 I’m saying try and understand their specific objectives and what is important to them in
0:08:01 a professional setting.
0:08:02 What do I mean by that?
0:08:05 I assumed everybody like me wanted to be awesome and rich.
0:08:06 That’s it.
0:08:08 Everybody wants to do what I want to do right now.
0:08:10 Some people want more flexibility.
0:08:12 Some people want to coach Little League.
0:08:14 Some people want to see their name in lights.
0:08:20 I found out that some people loved some sort of public praise, so I would, on a regular
0:08:23 basis, when we got an inbound inquiry from the media company, I’d say, “I’m going to
0:08:27 hand you over to our analyst Colin who understands this better than me,” and that was so rewarding
0:08:28 to them.
0:08:31 Some people want to manage others, figure out a way to put them in charge of something
0:08:33 where they manage other people.
0:08:38 Try and figure out what is important to that person and then demonstrate that you heard
0:08:41 them and you are making an effort.
0:08:46 You are making an effort to provide them with what is important to them.
0:08:48 Loyalty is a function of appreciation.
0:08:53 The key to a great company in my view is retention, specifically retaining the few employees that
0:08:57 really drive a lot of value, and loyalty is a function of appreciation.
0:08:58 How do you appreciate them?
0:09:02 There’s economic appreciation, which is obviously very important, but there’s also psychological
0:09:07 appreciation, and that is, “I get you, and I know what’s important to you, and I’m going
0:09:11 to try and provide that because I understand I’m invested in your success.”
0:09:12 1.
0:09:13 You demonstrate excellence.
0:09:14 2.
0:09:15 You hold people accountable.
0:09:16 You’re a player coach manager.
0:09:20 Pull up the chair next to them, show them how to be better at their jobs, and 3.
0:09:22 Demonstrate empathy specifically.
0:09:26 Show a willingness to learn what is important to them, and then foot your actions against
0:09:28 what is important to them.
0:09:30 We have one quick break before our final question.
0:09:35 Stay with us.
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0:12:51 Welcome back.
0:12:52 Question number three.
0:12:56 Dear Professor G, I love your podcasts and I’ve definitely learned a lot from them.
0:12:59 My mom always sends them to me when she thinks I would be interested in the topic, so I usually
0:13:01 listen to them during my workouts.
0:13:04 I’m currently a senior in high school in Boca Raton, Florida.
0:13:08 My choice of major is media management, and my dream school just deferred me.
0:13:11 Although I understand that’s not rejection, it was still very upsetting, and I’m doing
0:13:14 everything I currently can to get accepted in April.
0:13:18 What is your advice for a senior in high school like me pursuing a career in media management,
0:13:20 and does the choice of college matter?
0:13:24 I would like to remain in Florida as I love the beach and staying close to my family.
0:13:28 If you can also provide feedback on the best ways to land a good internship in this field,
0:13:32 since unfortunately I am not an Apple baby and don’t have any prior experience other
0:13:36 than my usage with my own devices and the content I help create in my current job.
0:13:38 Respectfully, Chloe Shapiro.
0:13:42 Okay, Chloe, so first off, you’re going to do really well.
0:13:47 I mean, you’re clearly very articulate, you’re clearly very organized, you’re clearly very
0:13:48 intelligent.
0:13:55 So, for the time being, I’m going to sideline the internship in professional.
0:13:58 It’s great that you think you know what you want to do, and I’m not suggesting everybody
0:14:00 needs to at some point have a plan.
0:14:03 You have a plan and you should foot your internships and your efforts against that
0:14:04 plan.
0:14:06 Most likely, you’re going to end up in something totally different.
0:14:09 At the age of 15, I thought it was going to be an athlete to make a living.
0:14:14 At the age of 19, I thought it was going to be a pediatrician.
0:14:18 At the age of 22, I had no fucking idea what I was going to do.
0:14:20 At the age of 23, I thought it was going to be an investment banker.
0:14:24 At the age of 25, again, I had no idea what I wanted to do because none of those things
0:14:25 had worked out.
0:14:27 At the age of 27, I thought I might be a healthcare consultant.
0:14:31 I’d accepted a job with a company called APM, a healthcare consulting firm, and I thought,
0:14:33 “Jesus Christ, I don’t want to go back into the corporate world.”
0:14:38 I started a brand strategy firm, ended up in academia, ended up advising hedge fund.
0:14:41 You just don’t know, but you’re doing exactly the right thing.
0:14:45 You’re thinking about it, and you’re trying to find the right platforms.
0:14:46 College is a platform.
0:14:48 Two, forgive yourself.
0:14:54 I got rejected from the University of Indiana.
0:14:59 My dream was to go to UCLA, and I got rejected when they had a 76% admissions rate.
0:15:02 I ultimately ended up getting in, but here’s where you want to go.
0:15:04 You want to go to college.
0:15:06 It’s an amazing experience.
0:15:10 What I would suggest is, and I don’t know the exact situation you’re in, but be open
0:15:11 to other schools.
0:15:12 You’re going to have a great time.
0:15:13 You’re going to learn a lot.
0:15:14 The brand matters.
0:15:16 I’m not going to lie.
0:15:20 The prestige of the school does attract a certain level of employer, a different level
0:15:21 of employer.
0:15:26 But what I would suggest is not getting into a school while at the time seems devastating.
0:15:27 Trust me on this.
0:15:31 When you’re a little bit older, you’re not going to be upset about not getting in.
0:15:34 You’re going to be upset about how upset you were.
0:15:37 If there’s time, apply to other schools.
0:15:43 Obviously, keep trying to demonstrate your ambition and your want for that school, following
0:15:44 up.
0:15:49 But recognize, if you don’t get into that one school, as long as you get into a school
0:15:52 and you go, you’re going to have a great time and you’re going to do really well.
0:15:55 In terms of getting internships, it’s a numbers game.
0:15:57 It’s reaching out to people.
0:16:00 It’s trying to be innovative, sending them voice recordings, sending them videos, whatever
0:16:05 it might be, using AI to develop a media strategy for a company and sending it to them with
0:16:08 your own spin on it and saying, “Hi, I’m Chloe Shapiro.
0:16:09 I’ll work for you.
0:16:15 I want an internship and just being very aggressive, very persistent, and willing to endure rejection.”
0:16:17 But let me just finish where I started.
0:16:19 You are doing exactly what you should be doing.
0:16:25 I apologize on behalf of the corrupt cartel called Higher Education that Crain’s Anxiety.
0:16:29 I have been through it, and I’m about to go through with my kids, but it cost me a tremendous
0:16:31 amount of anxiety.
0:16:35 Everyone listening to this podcast, Chloe, isn’t thinking, “Oh poor Chloe.
0:16:36 She didn’t get into the school she wanted.”
0:16:37 Early decision.
0:16:41 They’re thinking, “I would really like to be an impressive young woman about to start
0:16:44 college living in Boca Breton.”
0:16:48 Best to you and yours, Chloe.
0:16:49 That’s all for this episode.
0:16:53 If you’d like to submit a question, email a voice recording to officehours@proppgmedia.com.
0:16:57 Again, that’s officehours@proppgmedia.com.
0:17:08 This episode is produced by Jennifer Sanchez.
0:17:10 Our intern is Dan Shalon.
0:17:11 Drew Burroughs is our technical director.
0:17:13 It’s so nice to see Drew again.
0:17:14 So nice to see Drew.
0:17:15 He comes over to my house.
0:17:16 He sets everything up.
0:17:18 He’s this nice presence.
0:17:22 Thank you for listening to The Prof. G Pod and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:17:26 We will catch you on Saturday for No Mercino Malice, as read by George Hahn.
0:17:30 And please follow our Prof. G. Markets Pod wherever you get your pods for new episodes
0:17:32 every Monday and Thursday.
0:17:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Scott discusses GM’s outlook and then gives advice on transitioning into a management role in your company. He wraps up with more advice, to a high school senior gearing up for an exciting new chapter.
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