Experience drives efficiency

About 4 years ago, I listened to an interview that changed my entire outlook on life. The insight came from, of all people, Scooter Braun.

This entrepreneur, record executive, and sworn enemy of Taylor Swift has been slowly building his career in the music industry for over 20 years.

He’s given dozens of interviews over the years in which he shares lessons learned about building a business and living a meaningful life.

In one interview, he was asked:

“What has been the biggest difference in your work between today vs. when you were just getting started?”

Braun paused for a moment, then replied, “What used to take me a year, I can now do in one 5-minute phone call.”

Braun explained that, when he first started out in the business, he had no instinct, no skills, and no network.

But, after spending years working hard and building relationships, his output changed.

It’s not as if he found a way to work 10x faster than he did when he first started. It’s that those relationships and that experience has enabled him to work more efficiently.

Initiatives that, 10 years ago, would have taken months can now be coordinated in 20 minutes over two phone calls.

I’ve never heard a description of professional experience and efficiency summed up so elegantly.

And, I’ve witnessed the same thing happen in my own career over the past few years. It used to take me months of work with a founder to make a hire, fill out a round, or find a supplier/partner.

The difference is, now, I know exactly who to speak to and what to say in order to accomplish those tasks. All it takes is a couple text messages, an email or a phone call.

People now take my calls and emails seriously… There’s weight that comes with my name and my reputation.

As a result, I’m so much more efficient when helping founders today than when I was just starting out 10 years ago.

So that would be my advice to anyone who’s early on in their career — Look for the people and skill sets that allow you to be more efficient at your job.

Identify what you’re good at, spend years working towards it, and get close to the people who can help you achieve your goals.