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Tyler Perry’s Anti-Delegation
And how to remove yourself from emails
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Tyler Perry’s Anti-Delegation
While most show-runners employ 10-12 writers per show, Tyler Perry has no writers room.
He writes every script himself.
In 2021, Perry described his process to The Hollywood Reporter.
"For the past six weeks, I was in the mountains. I wrote 72 episodes of television. Me in a room by myself. I treat it like a job. Every morning, after I work out, I start writing at 7 and finish at 7 in the evening."
Perry owns a 330-acre studio in Atlanta. He was the first African-American to wholly own a major production facility. He could afford an army of writers.
He chooses otherwise.
"For these particular shows, my audience wants my voice."
Perry's model is anti-delegation by design. Some work scales through systems and teams. Other work scales through singular, irreplaceable voice.
Knowing which is which might be the most important delegation decision you make.
The No-Email Deep End
Most email management advice tells you to check less often. Batch your responses. Turn off notifications.
One Athena member took a more radical approach.
He deleted the email app from his phone, closed it on his desktop, and handed everything to his assistant for seven days straight. Zero inbox access.
His assistant triaged, responded, and escalated through Telegram. Voice notes replaced typing. A thumbs-down emoji meant delete.
By day three, he realized how few emails actually required him.
If you want to try the deep end yourself, here's the framework.
Delete the app and close the desktop tab for one full week
Arm your assistant with decision-making authority and escalation protocols
Run your system through Telegram or WhatsApp with daily 15-minute syncs
Use the reclaimed time for deep work and strategic thinking
Reflect at the end of the week and refine for long-term implementation
The full experiment breakdown lives here if you want to dive deeper.