There’s something inherently fascinating about leaked documents. Unlike polished press releases or glossy marketing assets, internal documents are the straight dope—raw and unfiltered. They’re not crafted to spin a narrative or promote an image; they’re designed for internal eyes only. As such, they give us a glance at the inner workings of a company.

Take, for instance, the leak of the MrBeast Guide to Production (link). MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldsen, the world’s biggest YouTuber, has been under fire lately for valid reasons, facing criticism for giveaways that seem an awful lot like illegal lotteries and for mistreating contestants in his challenges.

But he has 322 million subscribers and multi-billion dollar business ventures. So clearly the effectiveness of his philosophy is not in doubt. This leaked document provides a peek behind the curtain as to why his approach works. Below are some of the major takeaways and, surprisingly, nods to great thinkers who operated hundreds of years before Youtube existed.

I. Spelling Errors and Priorities

The spelling and grammar in this document are atrocious.

My take is that he’s not doing this entirely because he’s lazy. MrBeast leaves these errors in the doc to signal what he actually cares about: action over aesthetics.

His goal is to make the best YouTube videos in the world, not win Oscars awards or Cannes prizes. His world is Youtube, and any effort wasted on nonessentials—such as spelling and grammar—is a waste of time. What he cares about is focusing on the qualities—speed, adaptability, growth, and learning—that will get his team to that goal.

(Note: whenever you see grammar issues in my writing, it’s because I’m taking a MrBeast-like approach to focus, not because I’m sloppy)

II. Understanding Before Changing: The Chesterton Connection

As MrBeast literally begs his team to learn the ins and outs of their methods before attempting to “fix” anything, he subtly nods to a long-standing principle known as Chesterton’s Fence.

G.K. Chesterton (yes, we are referencing an early 1900s theologian to explain the most popular YouTuber today) famously argued that before you remove a fence, you should understand why it was put up in the first place. That fence could be serving several important functions: keeping predators away, preventing livestock from wandering off, or protecting against flooding.

Why would Jimmy need to urge his team members not to start changing things up? Youtube demographics skew younger, which means the people who want to work for him are also young. And young people often lack the experience to know better.

If, for example, someone on his team needs to negotiate renting a nuclear bunker, there has likely been a ton of lessons learned in securing properties for other videos. It would be remiss to not find out who the expert is at renting odd habitats and drawing from their knowledge first.

III. Consultants as Cheat Codes

I was surprised to see that MrBeast likes consultants so much. In my world (startups and entrepreneurship), consultants are usually seen as “big picture” people who over-index on strategy when execution is what’s actually needed.

But Jimmy refers to consultants as “cheat codes.” The example he uses is that if they were going to make a video where they needed to bake the world’s largest cake, you shouldn’t just start baking a cake; you should find who has the Guinness World Record for the largest cake and ask them.

I take his framing to mean that when he says “consultants,” Jimmy is referring to paying seasoned experts for their knowledge in a consulting-shaped engagement. Which seems pretty smart.

IV. Communication Hierarchies

You would think a digital native like Jimmy would lean heavily on digital communication tools. And he does. But it’s interesting to note how much he emphasizes that in-person discussions should always take precedence over digital communication. A face-to-face chat is where the real magic happens—the nuances of body language, tone, and immediacy that get lost in emails or texts. If there’s an important issue at stake, it’s best to grab someone in person or, at the very least, pick up the phone.

He likens the forms of communication to a hierarchy: in-person is king, followed by video calls, then phone calls, and finally emails and texts. This hierarchy reflects the richness of each method and underscores how critical it is to convey complex ideas effectively.

This concept resonates with the age-old wisdom of George Bernard Shaw (now it’s time to reference an early 20th-century playwright to highlight the wisdom behind MrBeast’s communication practices), who pointed out that the biggest issue in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. It’s easy to assume that sending a detailed email solves a problem, but without confirmation and engagement, that assumption can lead to confusion.

V. Timeless Principles

MrBeast’s approach—prioritizing action over appearance, fostering a unified vision, and embracing specific approaches to communication—highlights timeless principles of effective leadership and teamwork. The emphasis on understanding existing frameworks before implementing changes serves as a reminder that, to one degree or another, the work we accomplish today is because we are standing on the shoulders of giants.

What I find so interesting is that Jimmy Donaldsen, the youtube-obsessed king of modern media, understands the value of learning from those who came before. Whether that refers to a team member trying to rent a nuclear bunker or theologians and playwrights from hundreds of years ago.

It’s worth noting that while we’ve focused on overarching business principles here, MrBeast’s guide is rich with YouTube-specific tactics. For detailed insights on key metrics like Click-Through Rate (CTR), Average View Duration (AVD), and Average View Percentage (AVP), as well as strategies for video structure and audience retention, refer to the original document.

Thanks to early reader: William Tran