Good Morning Must Readers 👋

It’s the 209th Must Reads newsletter. This week its stacked with brilliant reads and must watch videos.

Thank you for spending your valuable time reading Must Reads again today!

This week’s edition of must-read has 11 stories to enjoy and a video dedicated to super producer Rick Ruben's process of letting people do great work.

Must Read Stories Of The Week

For Work

Is Your Business Infected? 😱 Are you championing an infected focus at your work? Is your moat hindering you? Is the one thing your business believes to be true actually hurting your performance and people? I hope not! This post breaks down why you need to really rethink your key point of your strategy. - Read More

It’s Not Just You, Execs Didn’t Want To Go Back To The Office 👀 The misconception is when you sit in that big boardroom you want to be there and it’s easy going, especially when you make those big decisions impacting everyone. That definitely isn’t the truth. Like most, the execs didn’t actually want to return back to the office. Slack’s survey results aren’t surprising, however, they will make you question why there's such a demand to go back to the old office following the same old broken routine…- Read More » Struggling with hybrid work, here’s my free hybrid work guide (🔓 ungated).

When $54m Isn’t Enough - World Domination Is Strategically Next 🌍 Mr Beast is the most famous person so many haven’t heard about. He is long time creator, prank artist, giveaway king and now is smartly translating his content so the world can experience in their own language. Will Mr Beast lead this trend of translated content - yes! Will others afford it long term? No (costs). Brands take inspiration from this creator, service your audience… - Read More

Beauty Refill Or Stores Last Chance ❓The first order effect is: Can in-store refills work for stores and recycling or will it end up greenwashing? The second to third order: Is footfall an important element to success for beauty brands? Or is it more hassle than it’s worth when your staff and store just isn’t an experience centre and this could just become another disappointment?- Read More

Is There A New Collar? 👔Blue and white collar are terms we grew up with but when it comes to jobs they never seem to align much anymore. In the 🇺🇸 it seems like there is a big shift between collars and the jobs, is there a new collar? Or should we just get rid of the phrase? - Read More

Netflix Victims Of Own Successes 😯 I rarely share stock price shifts on Must Reads but this week Netflix (usually the industries darling) dropped ~30+%. Why? They lost subscribers and believe they will lose 2m more by the end of June. Netflix blame saturation and password sharing (estimating 100m breaking their rules), there are a number of factors at play; choice paradox, huge competitors with fresh catalogues, pricing increases, Netflix’s (old secret sauce) 6/10 series aren’t good enough anymore and don’t stack up against better content on other networks, viral hits aren’t worth the time investment and young viewers are more interested in user generated content than scripted and bad reality shows. When your old USP is content and the first mover isn’t a wedge anymore you fight against others with same or better (tech or content). Netflix’s old power is under threat and with more choice than ever Netflix and many other streamers just need to be more relevant with better content, better recommendations and building a wedge (that isn’t gaming) across the board. - Read More

» I created a quick take on LinkedIn how Netflix in a unique place to win with an ads supported model, read here.

Q: Do You Agree? 🤨

For Life

Cracking The One Hit Wonder Code 🎶 Fan of music? Here’s an interesting piece on the breakdown of why some artists are one hit wonders and the insights behind these hits. FWIW Shania Twain is far from an one hit wonder…- Read More

Why Video Games Are Hollywood’s Latest Hit Maker 👾Have you noticed the recent trend, all Movies are either sequals and prequels or movies about computer games. Why not build ontop of an audience and active fans to drive people into the cinema’s (theatres). Smart business move but the question maybe should be, are they any good and worth our valuable time? - Read More

TikTok’s Latest Trend — Deep(er) Analysis 💃Not content with viral videos and niche toks, TT is now bubbling longer and deeper analysis videos to many for your pages. Why? These videos are becoming popular and TT needs you to spend more time on the app to learn more about what entertains and educates you - Read More » Related Read: How Vaseline has refreshed itself on TikTok 

The Power Hungry Mongoose 💪 The animal kingdom is built on survival and fight for power. Much like the primates (and us human), the most hungry for power and dominance is the Mongoose. This is a fascinating read about the Mongoose and their power hungry fight for survival. - Read More 

Get Rid Of Those Fruit Stickers 🍎 The world is recycling and composting far more than it ever has, the one issue, the little sticker. Surely there is a smart brand out that can remove or make the sticker compostable?! - Read More

This is my favourite tweet is a long time 

Recent Must-Reads From Me: Why Personal Quests Are Paramount // The tech tools and extensions I use // The future of content // How to write a business letter that lands // What the difference between tactics and strategy is // The TikTok Strategy Breakdown // Gen Z Report // How to improve your Google Docs with their new feature smart chips // 3 alternative ways to build team connection // 25 Meeting Rules To Implement.

Well Worth The Watch ⏯

Super producer Rick Rubin (includes Eminem, Jay-Z, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chilli Peppers etc etc) talking through his process and trying out what others think will be ‘good’-

Thanks for reading this week. Go and have a great weekend and I will see you again next week.