I had a meeting with a client the other day. It was a consultation on a project they need to start at their institution, to help communicate with students more effectively during our continued pandemic.
There is a somewhat standard set of questions I ask in these consultations. For example, I ask about personnel, budget, and administrative buy-in. But at some point in the conversation, I have another go-to question. I’ve found it really helps to clarify—both for me and the client—the true state of their project:
Tell me about your eighth or ninth episode.
This has proven to be such a useful question because, let’s face it, everyone knows what their first episode is going to be about. Everyone has given a lot of thought to starting, to the first time they sit down in front of the camera or the microphone. They have thought about what they are going to say, the questions they are going to ask, and the way it is going to feel that first time.
I will also grant that a significant number of folks have given a bit of thought to the second episode. Maybe they’ve imagined that first transition of ideas, or they have thought about the handoff to a co-host. It’s possible.
But almost nobody puts any mental energy into what the eighth episode is going to sound like, or what it is going to be about.
This is why the question is so important, and why I find it so fascinating (and reassuring) when clients are able to answer it.
What it tells me is that the client has gotten past the glamour of performance and has begun to think about the nitty-gritty of production.
We all know about performance, right? That’s you in front of the mirror, singing into your toothbrush. We all do it. All upside, no work. It’s the high, the fun, the fame, the glamour. We all think we want that.
But the eighth episode? Nobody is throwing roses on the stage for that. The eighth episode is you showing up, putting in the time, and doing the work for no applause. When you get a solid eighth episode under your belt, you have started the shift from extrinsic (the glamour, the applause) to the intrinsic.
There is no margin formula for getting there. There are lots of roads that folks take. And that’s okay.
When I work with clients, these are the most important questions I work on with them. The stuff everybody wants to know is easy; it’s mostly what microphone to buy, or how to find advertisers. Believe it or not, most of those questions have very easy answers.
The tricky questions have to do with the culture of your organization, and what obstacles exist that will keep you from getting from the first episode to the eighth one. This is where I spend the bulk of my time with clients, and with myself. The obstacles might be institutional, or personal and psychological—but I guarantee you they are there. Until they get named and thought about, they will trip you up, every time.
I don’t want to dismiss glamour, because the hope of it sustains you in the beginning. But as Robin Williams once said about his Academy Award, “that shit lasts about a week.”
If you are in this to really succeed, that means you are in it for the long haul. That means you are showing up when no one else does—not even your audience.
That’s the eighth episode, or the eightieth. And you have to learn to be as dedicated to that one as you are to the first one.
Courage.
If you find these reflections useful, please share them with folks who might need them. If they make you think, please leave a comment. Thank you always for your time.
I've bailed on so many worthwhile things once they hit the eighth or ninth "episode" (when it became tough sledding and the cheering stopped). I'm learning to keep pushing; to do things because they're right, or important, or necessary. This encouragement helps so much.
True of many endeavors, not just podcasts! Tell me about what happens the 8th time you skip your workout, meditation, healthy food option...