Why Exceptional Performers Don’t Get Paid What They’re Worth |
Why Exceptional Performers Don’t Get Paid What They’re Worth
Blame the Locksmith’s Paradox.
EXPERT OPINION BY JEFF HADEN @JEFF_HADEN
A few years ago an agent asked me to “rescue” his client’s book. Big name, big advance… but the publisher had rejected the manuscript. No flow. No through-line. As with great novels, great non-fiction books have a compelling story arc. Flat, boring, uninspiring. (Publisher’s words, not mine.)
They gave me a month. I gave them a not inconsiderable price. I sent the revised manuscript back a week later. The publisher was delighted.
The clients were not.
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The difference between time and outcomes is often called the Locksmith’s Paradox. Say an inexperienced locksmith fixes a lock in about an hour. He charges $100, and the customer is happy. Over the next few years, the locksmith gains skill and experience. Then, when the same customer asks him to make the same type of repair, he finishes the job in about fifteen minutes, and hands the customer a bill for $100.
The job didn’t take long. The locksmith made it look easy.
The customer thinks, “How could this be worth $100?”