Recently, a leaked PDF from MrBeast’s team titled How to Succeed in MrBeast Production went viral. It gave a clear breakdown of how Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) views his production team: You’re either an A-Player, B-Player, or C-Player.
For those unfamiliar, MrBeast is not just a YouTube phenomenon; he’s running a massive production team that cranks out some of the most high-budget, complex content on the platform. The secret to his success? Only working with A-Players and transitioning C-Players out immediately.
Let’s unpack this mindset, and why it works.
What Are A-Players?
In MrBeast’s leaked document, A-Players are described as obsessive about their work, coachable, and always striving to be the best. These people don’t just get the job done—they excel at it.
MrBeast has built his empire by hiring people who:
- Learn from their mistakes.
- Are coachable and take feedback to improve.
- Don’t make excuses.
- Believe in the mission (in this case, YouTube and the value of MrBeast’s brand).
- Aim to be the best in the world at their specific job.
B-Players: Potential, But Not There Yet
MrBeast’s B-Players are essentially works-in-progress. They have potential but aren’t quite at the A-Player level. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Every team needs B-Players who are coachable and driven to improve.
With the right mentoring and experience, B-Players can be trained up to become A-Players. But there’s a catch—they can’t stay B-Players forever. If they don’t step up, they either move up or move out.
Why C-Players Are Poisonous
Here’s where it gets tough: C-Players. They’re not terrible at their job, but they’re not great either. They do the bare minimum, punch the clock, and collect their paycheck. They’re not striving for excellence, and more importantly, they’re not learning or growing.
In MrBeast’s words, C-Players are poisonous to the company culture. Why? Because they bring the whole team down. A-Players get frustrated when they see C-Players coasting. It creates an environment where mediocrity is tolerated.
That’s why MrBeast’s leaked document is so clear: C-Players need to be transitioned out immediately. And they don’t leave empty-handed—he provides severance, ensuring they have support as they move on.
MrBeast’s Production Team
Imagine you’re running a YouTube production team that puts out massive videos, sometimes spending millions of dollars on a single project. There’s no room for error or half-hearted effort. Every detail counts.
In this high-stakes environment, you can’t afford to have people who are just “okay.” You need A-Players who are passionate, driven, and excellent at what they do.
This mindset is what’s allowed MrBeast to create content at an insanely high level. He’s built a culture where only the best stay and the rest move on.
The Danger of Keeping C-Players
If you let C-Players stay, you risk creating a culture of complacency. A-Players might start questioning why they’re putting in so much effort if C-Players are allowed to slide by. And once that happens, your top performers could start looking elsewhere.
C-Players aren’t necessarily bad people, but they’re not right for a high-performing team. Keeping them around creates a toxic environment where mediocrity is accepted. That’s why it’s crucial to either help them improve or transition them out of the company.
How to Spot an A-Player
MrBeast’s playbook is pretty clear on what makes someone an A-Player, and it’s advice anyone can apply to their own team:
- Obsessive Learning: A-Players are never satisfied. They’re always looking for ways to improve, whether through feedback, self-education, or trying new things.
- No Excuses: A-Players own their mistakes. They don’t shift blame or make excuses. Instead, they figure out what went wrong and fix it.
- Mission-Driven: They believe in the bigger picture. In MrBeast’s case, that’s YouTube and the value of his brand. In your case, it might be building a great product, service, or experience.
How to Handle B-Players
B-Players are teachable. They have potential but haven’t reached the level of excellence that A-Players exhibit. But here’s the key: they need mentorship. Invest time and resources into training them up, but keep a close eye on their progress.
The goal with B-Players is to get them to A-level as quickly as possible. If they don’t improve, you might have to make the tough decision to let them go.
Build a Team of A-Players
Here’s the reality: If you want to build a team that excels, you can’t tolerate mediocrity. MrBeast’s approach is a bit extreme, but it works. If you want to create something exceptional—whether it’s YouTube videos, a product, or a service—you need to surround yourself with A-Players.
B-Players are fine, as long as they’re working to get better. But C-Players? They’re dragging everyone down, and they’ve got to go.
This isn’t about being harsh—it’s about creating an environment where excellence is the standard. If you want to achieve greatness, there’s no room for people who aren’t pulling their weight. A-Players lift the team, push boundaries, and drive innovation. C-Players? They just exist. And that’s not enough.
So take a lesson from MrBeast: Focus on building a team of A-Players. Train the ones who are close, and kindly transition those who aren’t. In the end, it’s about creating a culture where everyone is working toward the same goal: being the best.
Mr. Beast: Say the Negatives
MrBeast is all about transparency and problem-solving. In his team culture, being upfront about the challenges is just as important as the successes. This concept is captured in one of his rules: “Say the negatives.”
It’s easy to get excited and share what’s great about an idea, but if you don’t talk about the downsides, you’re not giving your team the full picture. For example, you might find the perfect location for a video—an epic castle. But if it’s booked all year, over budget, and has a problematic history (like someone dying there), these are crucial details that could derail the whole plan.
MrBeast doesn’t want his team to sugarcoat issues. It’s way more valuable to know up front what could go wrong. This way, the team can brainstorm solutions before time and money are wasted. This level of honesty fosters better problem-solving and creates a stronger, more agile production team. It’s not just about celebrating wins; it’s about being realistic and preparing for the hurdles that come with any big project.
Mr. Beast: I’m Not Always Right
Mr. Beast, despite his massive success, admits that he’s not always right. In fact, he’s quite open about his imperfections and his willingness to learn from mistakes. At a young age, he’s built an empire of multiple channels, businesses, and projects, but he emphasizes that no one, not even him, can get everything right all the time.
However, his approach to being wrong is what sets him apart. He stresses the importance of his team understanding his world—how much he juggles, and how they can help him make better decisions. Running four channels, multiple businesses like Beast Burger and Feastables, and managing their translation services is no small task. On top of being the face of his brand, he also has to network and constantly stay ahead in the YouTube landscape.
For Mr. Beast, it’s not just about having the right idea, it’s about how his team presents problems and solutions. He encourages his team not to simply ask vague questions like, “Should we buy this $10,000 car for a giveaway?” Instead, he wants detailed options—context about the video, alternatives, and a well-researched plan that allows him to make a quick, informed decision.
His philosophy is simple: If you want to get the right answer from him (or any leader), don’t just ask surface-level questions. Come prepared with everything they need to know, and make their job easier. In this way, Mr. Beast isn’t looking for perfection but for a team that can support his ever-expanding vision and help him be right more often.
Clear Communication is Critical
In Mr. Beast’s production company, clear communication lines are non-negotiable. Whether on-set or off-set, maintaining the right flow of communication ensures that everyone stays on the same page. If more than one person is responsible for the same task without clear coordination, that’s a problem—one that needs to be fixed immediately.
The ideal communication method in the team is to “go up and then over” when coordinating between departments. If you bypass this and directly communicate with someone outside your immediate line, you must inform those in charge afterward.
For example, imagine a production coordinator calling a writer and asking for a segment about cooking a sandwich with lava. It sounds harmless at first. But because Tyler, the head of creative, isn’t aware of this request, and Will, the head of production, hasn’t been informed, things quickly go off track. Will might then assume Tyler approved the idea and waste days trying to create lava, only for Tyler to find out later and halt the unnecessary work.
This type of miscommunication can cause major delays, rework, and confusion. By simply following the proper communication channels and ensuring that key team members like Tyler and Will are in the loop, days of wasted effort can be avoided. It’s a simple process, but one that—when ignored—causes confusion, duplicated work, and frustration on a weekly basis in the production process.
Always Question and Verify
MrBeast’s production philosophy emphasizes accountability, and a big part of that is never taking anything at face value. Always dig deeper, especially when dealing with people or companies outside the MrBeast production team. If something sounds too good to be true, question it. If something seems off, investigate.
For example, if you need 10,000 pillows for a shoot next week, and most suppliers can only offer a few hundred, but suddenly the 11th company has all 10,000—ask why. Are they drop shipping? Are the pillows poor quality? Why haven’t other companies gone for this supplier?
MrBeast’s team has learned not to trust blindly. Instead, they verify and push for answers, preventing last-minute issues that could derail the entire production. If you don’t investigate and something goes wrong, it’s on you. This level of due diligence is vital to ensuring success, especially in such high-stakes content creation.
Mr. Beast: Own Your Mistakes
MrBeast is clear—he hates excuses more than anything. Mistakes are not only expected but seen as a necessary part of the learning process. According to him, every veteran on his team has made million-dollar mistakes at some point, and he never held it against them.
Why? Because those mistakes were valuable lessons. MrBeast sees these errors as an investment in his team’s growth and ability to improve. He believes in the power of learning from failures, which is why he has zero tolerance for “C-Players.” In his view, if mistakes are inevitable, they’d better come from “A-Players” who will grow from the experience.
His message is simple: Don’t make excuses or try to save face. Own your mistakes so they can be fixed and everyone can move forward. The real issue arises only when people repeat the same mistakes, failing to learn from them.
If you’re working on a MrBeast production, you won’t be fired for a mistake. But you’re expected to be accountable, address the problem, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Mr. Beast: “No” Does Not Mean No
When working at MrBeast Productions, a “no” from someone outside the team doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road. If you call a store and the manager says, “No, you can’t film here,” that’s just the start. MrBeast pushes his team to explore every possible avenue.
Maybe another employee is a fan, or they have kids who are fans. Talk to the boss, and then the boss’s boss. If that doesn’t work, hit them up on social media, have MrBeast send a direct message, or try the store’s social team. And if that store stays a hard no, go try another location where the manager might be more willing to play along.
This mentality is what MrBeast calls “pushing through no.” You don’t stop at the first obstacle. You keep going until every possible option is exhausted. It’s this relentless persistence that dramatically boosts success rates when producing videos. The takeaway? A “no” is just a speed bump, not a stop sign. Keep pushing until you run out of roads.
Understanding Culture Through What You Watch
MrBeast emphasizes that what you consume daily—whether on YouTube, TV, social media, or even the games you play—forms your “information diet.” Your information diet directly impacts your creativity and sense of humor, and ultimately how well you connect with the culture around you.
Take Chris Tyson, one of MrBeast’s oldest collaborators and a key figure in their videos. Chris is widely known for being hilarious, and a big part of that is because he constantly watches cartoons and goofy content. His brain is filled with endless quirky and ridiculous references, from SpongeBob to absurd internet memes. That exposure fuels his ability to be funny on camera.
Now, imagine if Chris only consumed content about stocks and investments. He wouldn’t be half as funny, right? His humor is deeply rooted in the silly, ridiculous things he consumes daily. This is a lesson for anyone creating content—whether you’re a writer, director, or on-screen talent. What you take in shapes what you produce.
Writers need to breathe in inspiration. The more variety you expose yourself to, the more you’ll have to draw from when crafting content. Think of it like this: If you didn’t know about a random purple fruit in Australia that makes you two feet taller when eaten, you couldn’t reference it in your content. But now that you do, it might become the perfect quirky bit for a future video.
You can’t be inspired by things you don’t know exist. Staying up to date with memes, trends, viral videos, TikToks, and celebrity news is essential for maintaining cultural relevance. This is why your information diet should be curated to help you create better, more engaging content. What you consume matters, and the more you expose yourself to, the richer your creative output will be.
