Born in 1954 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, Jerry Seinfeld spent his formative years in Long Island, New York. The son of two orphans, Jerry grew up with one sister and lived a pretty routine life as a child of the sixties. From an early age, Jerry developed an interest in comedy. Over the years this interest in comedy led to a deep passion. As a young teenager, Jerry would rigorously study the television acts of the comedians of the era to document their techniques and deliveries of their humor. He continued to develop his own sense of humor and delivery through high school, while not really fitting in with any typical high school crowd. 

After graduating high school he attended Queens College to study communications and theater. All through his time in college he participated in improv comedy groups and attended open-mic nights at a few of the now world famous comedy clubs in New York City. After graduating from Queens College in 1976 he finally gave his own comedy career a shot as he did his first standup comedy act as a part of an open-mic night at a comedy club called Catch a Rising Star. (This club opened in 1972 and in hindsight was a hotbed of comedy and entertainment talent as it led to the careers of Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Ray Ramano and many others, including Jerry Seinfeld.) 

At the young age of 22, while still living at home with his parents, Seinfeld performed another open-mic night, at a club called The Comic Strip. His act was a hit and he was invited back. He began to perform seven nights a week at The Comic Strip. His only compensation for his performance was cheeseburgers from the bar and a few t-shirts. With no monetary gain, his compensation came in the form of packed crowds each night at this club, and an opportunity to hone his craft. 

To make ends meet, Seinfeld would work construction by day, earning $25 a day for hard labor on a demolition crew. After getting off work he would head to The Comic Strip to get some food and would spend the rest of the evening there until the acts began late at night. While hanging out at the club he would meet other comedians. In the early morning hours, he would return home to his childhood bedroom to get sleep before getting up early in the morning to head back out for work as a construction worker.

This routine of construction work by day and performances for free at night would continue for five years before he got a big break in May of 1981. He was invited to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His appearance on The Tonight Show proved to be the pivotal moment of his career leading to more popularity and eventually to the evolution of his hit television show titled “Seinfeld.” 

The show Seinfeld debuted in 1988 and ran until 1998 and is considered one of the most successful television shows in history. Over the nine year span, the show was nominated for each of the top awards in the industry. The Emmys, the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.  For his role in producing and starring in the show Forbes magazine reported that Jerry Seinfeld earned over 267 million over the nine seasons.

While the show Seinfeld was at the top of the industry, Jerry continued his stand-up comedy act. After the show ended in 1998 Seinfeld continued traveling around the country on his own tour. From coast to coast people pay to see Jerry Seinfeld perform his comedy act. Now in his sixties, Jerry Seinfeld continues to be at the forefront of the comedy and entertainment industry, consistently one of the most sought after and well compensated comedians in the world. His overall net worth is recorded at $950 million.

The rise of Jerry Seinfeld displays to us the unique challenge of defining soft skill and creating a path to developing soft skill. Soft skills are habits and traits that show up in many domains or work environments. These skills are sometimes unique to each person and are not usually developed through rote repetitions. Some examples of soft skills would be communication, creativity, organization, teamwork, and leadership. When a soft skill is on display, we often assume the individual was born with the skill. This is especially true in communication and leadership. 

For most people, when they look at Jerry Seinfeld they assume his stand up act is the product of him just walking on stage and giving it a go. The perception is; Jerry Seinfeld is basically “winging it” up there - he’s just a natural. This is his default setting. When someone is really skilled in a soft skill it almost appears they are just naturally gifted at this craft and have put little to no effort in developing the skill. 

This is the case when we see most soft-skills on display - the largest of which is leadership. When we encounter a truly great leader, we often assume they are a “born leader.” Indicating there was little to no development of their skill set. We assume, like Jerry Seinfeld, that they are just naturally gifted and are winging it. While some are born with a natural amount of skill, it is still incumbent on each individual to develop their skill.

Here are 4 strategies Jerry Seinfeld deployed to develop his natural comedic abilities over decades while rising to the top of the entertainment field.

1.) He studied other successful comedians

As early as his teenage years Jerry Seinfeld began studying the tapes of successful comedians. Seinfeld studied the tapes of Mike Nichols and Elaine Mays. He listened to the shows of Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby. As he began to rise in fame alongside other great comedians like Steve Martin and and George Carlin he didn’t view them as threats, but instead leaned in to pull from their expertise. He wasn’t just admiring as a fan of their work, but rather he studied the intricate details making them so successful. The cadence and rhythm of their timing on stage. The use of voice inflection and the rise and fall of their pitch. Their presence on stage and body language. 

2.) He developed a system for creating his material

A comedian is constantly on the hunt for the jokes that will kill, and will enhance their act on stage. Instead of just letting bits and jokes reside in his mind, Seinfeld began to write down every single joke he thought of. He wrote each joke on yellow legal pages and saved them in an accordion folder. Every joke he has written since 1975 resides on paper, in a single accordion folder. By writing his jokes down, he began to create a database of material he could reference and revisit to fine tune and enhance. An amatuer has no system of recording and curating material. A professional creates time and space. There is a level of intentionality to this process, akin to a bodybuilder lifting weights every day. 

3.) He had a side-hustle

Before he made millions of dollars doing what he loved to do and had a natural knack for, Seinfeld was broke. He worked as a construction guy on the side to make a little money, lived at home with his parents while pursuing his passion and craft by night in the city. Nobody goes from “I’m going to give this a go” to instantly making good money doing what they love. Every person on the path has had chapters or extended chapters doing what they love for free, and funding their passion with random odd jobs that allows their schedule to keep the dream alive. 

4.) He withstood rejection

In 1977 about a year into his career, Seinfeld got a paid gig at a disco club in Queens on New Years Eve. He would be paid $100 for a twenty-minute act at a club. Unfortunately when it came time for him to go on, the DJ did not turn down the music. As everyone danced to the music and continued to ring in the New Year, off to the side on stage, a 22 year old Jerry Seinfeld did his entire act into a microphone that no one could hear. Not exactly the encouraging type of gig a young comedian needs. Seinfeld has also chronicaled a few other times in the early years in which he was booed off stage and even one time when someone threw a glass at him on stage. Even Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t a hit at the start of his career. 

When natural ability meets disciplined work ethic, leaders have the best opportunity to grow in mastery of their craft. There are born leaders, but nobody operates off of their natural ability alone. You can be born for something and still have to figure out how to do it. 

Soft skills can be the hardest to develop because they are difficult to measure. The fundamentals of soft-skill development for leaders from the career of Jerry Seinfeld - Study successful leaders, create a system for recording your ideas and observations, don’t be afraid to work for free, and keep showing up for the gig even after the last audience didn’t care for it. 

Study Successful Leaders

• In Business: Study CEO’s of companies that are successful. In Athletics: Ask for interviews to pick the brain of great coaches and staff. Ask to watch team practices. In Education: Sit down with successful teachers. Buy coffee and bring a notebook, ask how they craft the best lesson plans.

Create A System

• In Business: Create a folder of articles from the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, and notes from books on leadership you have read. In Athletics: Study the great coaches in history and create your own database of material to draw from. Create a folder of practice plans from all years coaching. In Education: Create a folder of lesson plans from each year organized by subject matter. Continue to refine lesson plans over years.

Work For Free

• In Business: Take the unpaid internship opportunity to work in a great company. In Athletics: Be the volunteer assistant on a great staff instead of chasing the paid gig on a losing team. In Education: Substitute teach in great buildings, stick around after the assignment and connect with great teachers.

Keep Showing Up

• In all domains: Pursue opportunities that will help you grow. If you get turned down or rejected. Move on to the next task - keep getting better - keep getting on stage.

Stay The Course,

JB

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