Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian, Innovator, Micromanager

“What am I really sick of?” is where innovation begins.

You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model? Who’s McKinsey? It’s a consulting firm. Are they funny? No. Then I don’t need them. If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it—every word, every line, every take, every edit, every casting. That’s my way of life.

Once a TV series is in double digits, it’s like, “God, is this thing ever going to end?” Ten seasons seemed so much longer than nine. I decided that ninth season should be the last so that the audience would feel it saw a performance that ended on a high note.

Being funny is one of the ultimate weapons a person can have in human society. It might even compete with being really good-looking.