TRAKYO POD · EXTRACTED
Trakyo Pod ft. Tristan
How the invisible head of content behind Iman Gadzhi's brand built a machine that ran billions of views without him in the room.
Preview · 3 of 8 tactics
"Iman famously said that I was the least ROI positive team member of the company." — Tristan
Somewhere out there someone has watched every short, webinar, and YouTube video Iman Gadzhi ever posted, without knowing Tristan built the system behind them. He still calls himself a cog in a wheel. This interview is the clearest look yet at what a head of content actually does. Not the flashy creative direction, but the operations: how the team is layered, how creatives are hired and kept, and why he was developed into the role rather than found.
Develop Your Head Of Content, Don't Find One
Tristan was not a finished hire; he was grown into the role over years. His closing lesson is "I was not found. I was developed. I was put into a position where I could grow into that role and become that person". Rather than searching for a savior hire, identify someone on the team with the aptitude and attitude and build a roadmap to the role.
THE PLAY
Instead of hiring a head of content to fix everything, develop someone already on your team into the role.
Demand A Creative And Operational Mind, Not Just A Creative
The space is flooded with people wanting a pure creative director, but scaling needs systems too. Tristan's definition is "a head of content should have a balance between a creative mindset and an operational mindset". A hyper-creative with no operations just produces chaos.
THE PLAY
For a scaling content operation, hire for the balance of creative taste and operational system-building, not creativity alone.
Newsletter
Get each new playbook the day it drops
One email per drop. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Split The Team Into C-Suite, Managers, And Makers
The machine runs on three clear levels with one manager per discipline. As Tristan lays it out, "you have three levels. You have your seuite, you kind of have the people at the very top of the organization. Then you have your managers and you have your makers". Managers keep a foot in the making and connect the dots so tasks route themselves.
THE PLAY
Structure content into C-suite, managers, and makers with one manager per discipline so work routes without you.
Subscribers Only
Unlock the Full Playbook
5 more tactics + Action Plan
TACTIC 04
Screen For Aptitude, Promote For Attitude
TACTIC 05
Give Every Video A Transformation, Not Value For Value's Sake
TACTIC 06
Manage The Ceiling And Reward In Steps
TACTIC 07
Treat Content As A Game Of Volume, Not Calculation
TACTIC 08
Build YouTube As The Legacy Asset
Already subscribed? Log in
TRAKYO POD · EXTRACTED BY PODEX