The Leverage Lens
Reuse proven work to turn a small input into a disproportionate result
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
The Leverage Lens evaluates work by the return produced from each unit of effort. Instead of beginning every project from a blank page, the practitioner searches for existing examples, templates, systems, research, or prior internal work that can be reused. The task is divided into known and unknown components: established solutions handle the known components, while scarce creative attention is reserved for the genuinely unresolved parts. This counters the “pride of originality,” the impulse to derive every idea personally for the satisfaction of novelty. Reuse does not mean thoughtless copying; borrowed mechanisms still need validation and adaptation to the current context. The output is faster delivery, less duplicated effort, and more time for problems where original insight can create meaningful value.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain when Hannah Fleischmann described pursuing leverage and Kip Bodner identified pride of originality as a barrier.
Core principles
- 01Useful work should create more value than the effort it consumes
- 02Reinventing known solutions wastes scarce creative capacity
- 03Originality should be reserved for genuinely unsolved problems
- 04Existing methods can be adapted without being copied blindly
How to run it
- 1
Define the Desired Return
Specify the useful result and the minimum quality threshold. This creates a basis for comparing effort with value.
Pro tip Express the result in audience or business terms rather than production volume.
Watch out Without a clear result, efficiency can optimize the wrong activity.
- 2
Search Before Creating
Look for previous work, internal examples, public templates, established practices, or people who have solved a similar problem.
Pro tip Search the organization’s archives before starting externally.
Watch out Do not assume a familiar-looking problem is identical.
- 3
Split Known From Unknown
Mark which parts have reliable existing answers and which require new judgment. Reuse the former and reserve investigation for the latter.
Pro tip Write the unknowns as explicit questions.
Watch out Treating every component as novel creates unnecessary work.
- 4
Adapt the Proven Components
Modify the reusable material for the audience, constraints, and current objective. Preserve the mechanism while changing irrelevant details.
Pro tip Document the source so future teams can reuse the adaptation.
Watch out Blind copying can reproduce stale assumptions and errors.
- 5
Invest in the Unresolved Work
Direct the saved time toward the part where original thought can change the result. Measure whether the leverage actually improved output or speed.
Pro tip Compare effort and outcome with a similar blank-page project.
Watch out Do not use leverage as an excuse to avoid difficult original thinking where it is needed.
In the wild
A communications team needs a new quarterly update. Instead of rebuilding the structure, it reuses the previous update’s proven narrative template, changes the evidence and decisions, and spends the saved time clarifying the one genuinely new strategic shift.
→ The team delivers faster while improving the section that requires original judgment.
A new manager finds an earlier campaign with the same audience and funnel stage. The team preserves its measurement plan and production checklist but tests a new message for the current product.
→ Reliable operating components are reused while experimentation focuses on the unresolved positioning question.
Common mistakes
Blank-Page Pride
Starting from scratch can feel more creative while consuming time that would be better spent on the unsolved portion.
Copying Without Context
A proven solution must still be checked against the current audience, constraints, and assumptions.
Measuring Effort Instead of Return
Leverage is demonstrated by useful value relative to effort, not merely by completing something quickly.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for recurring communications, content, operating processes, and projects with strong precedents.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when existing patterns contain invalid assumptions or when originality is itself the central objective.
From the transcript
“Like, how do you just get the most leverage out of everything that you're doing?”
“if you put in 15% of the effort, ideally you can get, you know, 70% back or something like that.”
“It's what I call like the pride of originality.”
From the episode
Leadership Lessons, Needing to Win, and Cards Against Humanity