some general housekeeping before i dive into the main meal of the conversation today:
i'm back making daily carousels on IG about branding, content marketing, and personal development (i know, it's been so long)
last week, some of you mentioned you were interested in the public speaking challenge, but the demand wasn't enough to make content about it. but if 5 more people reply to this email saying they'd like me to do the challenge, I'll run it in August
i'm recording a lot of videos these days on my tiktok as well, so if anyone wants a different way of consuming my content, here's my latest tiktok video on AI lool
now back to today's newsletter
_
the talent multiplier: why being "not good enough" made me better at everything
i used to be terrified of hiring anyone.
not because i couldn't afford it (though that was also true). but because i was convinced that admitting i needed help meant admitting i wasn't good enough.
here's the thing though. that insecurity accidentally led me to one of the most powerful business discoveries i've ever made.
the moment everything changed
about 8 years ago, i was sitting in front of my cracked adobe photoshop, sweating over my first real branding project.
unlike most designers, i didn't learn this stuff in school. no certification. no fancy portfolio. just genuine interest and a pirated software suite that crashed every twenty minutes.
my now business partner Nana called me up about this opportunity, and i almost said no immediately.
"i'm not qualified for this," i told him. "there are actual designers out there with degrees and experience and…"
he cut me off.
"mike, here's what you don't understand. i know almost nothing about branding and design. but i can see that you know a lot, even if you don't have the experience yet. that's exactly what I need."
that conversation changed everything for me.
and i remember it like it happened this morning.
the thing nobody talks about with hiring
most people approach hiring like a competition.
they either try to find carbon copies of themselves or they get threatened when someone might be better than them.
but Nana taught me something counterintuitive that day: admitting you're not the best at everything doesn't make you weak—it makes you a talent radar.
when you start from "i'm really good at a lot of things, but there are people out there who can do specific things better than me," something magical happens.
your ego stops getting in the way of seeing clearly.
that first project? we were both scared as hell.
but we did it anyway, and it was a success. i got paid, gained confidence, and it turned into a series of projects that eventually became the branding agency people see today.
but here's where most people stop. they find someone good and think, "great, problem solved."
we kept going.
why most training fails
as our little agency grew, we constantly needed more people. new designers, copywriters, developers—the works.
clients trusted me and my ability to deliver great work, so i had to figure out how to scale that trust without losing quality.
this is where most entrepreneurs either burn out trying to do everything themselves or lose control by throwing people into the deep end.
i feel like there's a third option that nobody talks about.
i started creating what i call "minimum viable processes."
step-by-step instructions for getting from undone to done. not rigid rules that kill creativity, but frameworks that guarantee results.
the key insight? these aren't training wheels that slow people down. they're training wheels that make people go faster.
here's how it works: someone new joins the team and follows my exact process until they can get consistent results. but once they prove they can deliver what we promise, they earn the right to improve the system.
the real breakthrough happens when someone masters your system and then starts making it better.
i remember the first time one of our designers took our inhouse brand strategy template and added their own research methodology that actually improved our client outcomes. they weren't just following instructions anymore, they were leading.
that's when i knew we'd cracked something important.
the signal isn't perfect execution of your process. it's constructive rebellion.
when someone can hit your targets while improving your methods, that's when they're operating at their maximum skill level.
this creates something beautiful: people don't just work for you, they become better at their craft while delivering exactly what you need.
what i discovered about talent
seven years later, i've watched this philosophy transform our entire business.
we don't just hire to fill gaps, we hire to create multipliers.
every person who goes through our system doesn't just learn to do good work for us. they level up their own skills in ways that often surprise them.
here's the truth, accepting i wasn't the best at anything led me to become the best at making others better at everything.
while other agencies struggle with consistency vs. creativity, reliability vs. innovation, we've made those things work together instead of against each other.
if you're building something
if you're building a personal brand while growing a business, this philosophy can be your secret weapon.
most entrepreneurs get stuck in the "i have to do everything myself" trap. they think delegation means losing control or compromising quality.
but what if the opposite were true?
what if admitting you're not the best at everything actually made you better at leveraging everything?
start here:
identify 2-3 areas where you know others could execute better than you. maybe it's graphic design, content writing, or social media management.
create your "minimum viable process." document the essential steps that get from "undone to done" in your voice and style. this isn't about perfection—it's about consistency.
design the graduation test. what does "mastery plus improvement" look like? when someone can deliver your results while making your process better, that's your signal.
look for constructive rebels. hire people who respect your standards but aren't afraid to challenge your methods when they see a better way.
the deeper thing i learned
the talent multiplier isn't really about hiring at all.
it's about building a system where everyone gets better, including you.
when you create frameworks that help others succeed while maintaining your standards, you're not just scaling your business. you're creating a talent development engine that attracts the kind of people who want to grow, not just collect paychecks.
your personal brand becomes magnetic because you're known as someone who makes other people better at what they do.
that's a reputation worth building.
what you can do this week
this week, pick one area of your brand where you could apply this philosophy.
start small.
maybe it's how you brief a designer or how you explain your content strategy to a writer.
create that minimum viable process. document what "done" looks like. then find someone who's eager to prove themselves and watch what happens.
i'd love to hear about your experience with this. have you ever had a moment where someone's fresh perspective improved something you thought was already working well?
or if you're struggling with where to start, let me know. sometimes the hardest part is identifying what you don't actually need to be the best at.
the most successful personal brands aren't built by people who can do everything perfectly.
they're built by people who can make everything they touch a little bit better, including the people they work with.
—
what area of your brand could benefit from some humble hiring this week?
Good read? Coffee donations appreciated :)
I appreciate all the support!
See you on social
Love, Mike.