Some of the most potent innovation taking place today does not involve breakthrough technologies… but rather the creation of fundamentally new business models. For most of history, these models were remarkably stable, dominated by a few key ideas, upgraded by a few major variations on these themes. In the 1920s,
The robots are coming! For years, Hollywood has warned us about the rise of robots, especially those of the stone-cold killer variety. However, the reality is far more exciting and humanizing—robots are rapidly becoming our friends, colleagues, employees, and the basis of our workforce. Robotics venture investment grew 50%
These days, paradoxes abound—grit vs. grace, perform vs transform, speed vs. significance, critique vs. create, execute vs. engage, head vs. heart. And one that I’ve seen a lot of lately is self vs. system—which can be expressed simply as “I vs. we.” The good news is we don’t have to
Last year, IBM reported that nearly six in ten consumers are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact. Meanwhile, 50% of Gen Z’ers (those born after 1995) report having recently called out a brand for behaving in a way they believed was unethical. Consumers aren’t the
Over the next decade, waves of advance exponential tech advancements will stack atop one another, eclipsing decades of breakthroughs in scale and impact. Emerging from these waves are 20 “Metatrends,” likely to revolutionize entire industries (old and new), redefine tomorrow’s generation of businesses and contemporary challenges, and transform our lives
Take moonshots and create abundance as an Exponential Leader. The only constant is change and the rate of change is increasing. Regardless of your organization’s size, sector, or industry, this guide can help you create a sense of urgency around innovation and add important new leadership competencies to spur innovation.
Building a collaborative “Dream Team” that consistently wins gold. Remember there is a mentor in all of us. Let’s get started… with the differences between the roles – Coaches speak to you; mentors speak with you; and sponsors speak for you. I searched and searched for that dusty field, but
That’s what a Moonshot is: going 10X bigger or better when everyone else is pursuing incremental change. Most companies ask questions such as, “How do we reduce costs by 10%?” or “How can we increase profits by 10%?” Having a Moonshot Mindset means applying 10X thinking (or 1,000%) to all your efforts
Are you taking the time to analyze exactly HOW entire industries are being revolutionized from the bottom up? Over the next decade, waves of exponential tech advancements will stack atop one another, eclipsing decades of breakthroughs in scale and impact. These waves will lead to 20 “Metatrends” that
Being an executive today is vastly different than it was 20 years ago. Today, each of us has access to more capital, more technological tools, more information, more talent, and more computational power than the CEOs of the world’s biggest companies did just two decades ago. As I
Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial success is a direct result of his mindset, strategies, and intelligence. Having known Elon for 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to watch his meteoric rise into someone who is arguably the greatest entrepreneur of our age. In this blog, I’ll summarize what every exponential entrepreneur can learn and
The other day, while speaking to a client’s leadership team, I was asked, “When are things going to get back to the way they were?” My answer was instantaneous: “They’re not—there’s no going back.”. Time has not stood still for any of us. Nor can we simply turn
Everyone is trying to figure out the workplace these days. And it’s not about the where—it’s all about the why. For employees, it’s about community and opportunity—how they can be part of something bigger than themselves—and receive the coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship they need to advance. For organizations, it’s about
Five-hour-long hold times to talk to an airline customer service representative. Restaurants normally open every day of the week now open only five days. Fast-food drive-through lanes closed. Manufacturers pushing back product delivery dates by days or even weeks. For years, experts have worried that there would be a massive
Emboldened by the rapid pace of vaccinations and the ability to once again be together without masks, a small but growing number of business leaders aren’t shying away from airing their true feelings about remote work—and it’s clear they’re skeptical of whether it produces the best results. The
High-profile hacks have shut down some big businesses. Is there any defense? The headlines alone can be nerve-racking. In March, a hack forced one of Australia’s biggest broadcasters off the air. Two weeks ago, a hack crippled a major US oil pipeline. And this week, a hack shut down operations
Becoming a better leader normally involves, well, being a leader. Indeed, most leadership experts say about 70% of learning and development comes from challenging assignments that force leaders to learn new skills. The rest of that development usually involves hours of training seminars, working with coaches, and dedicating oneself to
It was an unexpected reaction—encountered for the first time many years ago when I was a newly promoted CEO. The event was a formal dinner, and it started late, as was the custom. Three hours later … we were still there. Not wanting to appear rude to the hosts, I
I’ll never forget that first day of my first job out of college. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked through the door of the KPMG office in Los Angeles. But I looked the part—three-piece suit, shiny wingtips, and carrying that hard-sided brown leather briefcase. You know the
A new study says industry-wide turmoil can shave 18 months off a CEO’s life. Will more modern leaders handle stress better? It isn’t news that CEOs are under a lot of pressure. Even in less stressful times, they have to create successful strategies, energize thousands of employees, navigate investors, and
Imagine a computer that could crack the most sophisticated network in a mere few seconds. Perfectly model complex weather and biological systems. What could you do with such computational power? Invent new drugs? Create simulations of multiple universes? What about optimizing your investment portfolio? Now, breakthrough after breakthrough threatens to make
Trust is an investment, earning interest over time. And one errant withdrawal can lose it all. Yet, being trusting or being trustworthy are actually two different sides of the same coin. Trust me. If ever a statement has the opposite effect of its intended meaning, it’s this one. We’re not
When I was a kid, Sunday afternoon drives were a big deal—starting the moment somebody jangled the car keys and said, “Let’s go for a ride.”I can remember sitting in the back seat of our old car—the windows rolled down, the radio up, and the breeze in our faces. We
It’s been a longstanding idea in business that emotions should be kept out of the workplace. Whatever’s going on in your personal life, you leave it at home so you can bring your most productive self to work. But in a year when so many lines have become blurred —
I can personally attest to its importance in my own professional life. I cannot overstate that it always has been and remains one of the first steps you take in your journey toward finding unparalleled success. My goal is to share the easy steps to write your goals down on
Few people recognize the vast implications of materials science. To build today’s smartphone in the 1980s, it would cost about $110 million, require nearly 200 kilowatts of energy, and the device would be 14 meters tall, according to Applied Materials CTO Omkaram Nalamasu. That’s the power of materials advances. Materials science
Spring cleaning was a yearly ritual when I was growing up, replacing storm doors with screen doors, washing windows, cleaning out closets. It was the rite of passage to summer.As we marked start of spring this past weekend, we are hopefully on the precipice of this century’s rite of passage:
There are huge benefits to improve by 10x your outcomes, and it’s super easy. My clients say it’s magical how they get unstuck on a goal or issue. With this brilliant go-forward plan, you’ll always have a clear path to sound options and choices; you’ll find it liberating with the
In the documentary Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests, the discriminatory nature of a widely used tool is put under the microscope https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/03/they-become-dangerous-tools-the-dark-side-of-personality-tests A few personality tests: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the world’s most well-known personality quiz, which categorizes everyone into 16 distinct types gleaned from four binaries: people are
A Personal User Manual helps others understand your history, leadership, and communication style, which helps your team and stakeholders to learn more about the real you; plus, you can always return any time to update it. Communication Style: Direct and to the point I am known for: I am
We felt like we could reach out and touch the stars. A few years ago, my family and I went stargazing in a remote location. Without city lights to obscure our view, every tiny dot of brilliance shone crystal clear. As we looked through the telescope, we were awestruck by
Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam … – Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’ For organizations today, the times they are a-changin’ — and to make it ashore, we need to keep believin’. Many years ago, a ship out in the middle of the ocean was
Potential. It’s the common denominator for all of us. Yet, it will always remain a mere fraction—substantially less than one—without the numerator of opportunity. “I’m going on a date tonight,” one of my daughters announced excitedly this week. “We’re having dinner together.” Given the lockdown, I wondered how that
Today, just a few decades after the arrival of the internet, Google and Facebook together command more advertising dollars than all print media on the planet. In 2019, Google’s ad campaign revenue totaled $135 billion, while Facebook’s reached nearly $70 billion. Taken together, this is roughly 35% of all global
The COVID-19 health crisis and accompanying business disruption require boards and CEOs to chart a near-term response and develop a longer-term strategy for accelerating out of the downturn and winning in a post-COVID world. How well a company emerges from the crisis will have much to do with the ability
Highly successful people practice exponential thinking and you can too. Exponential business models aren’t designed to create a better company or product. They’re used to create a vastly different company or product. Think Amazon and Uber. Exponential technologies shape every aspect of our lives. These technologies include artificial intelligence (AI),
AI and broadband were already eating retail for breakfast. In the first half of 2019, we saw 19 retailer bankruptcies. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail apocalypse is only accelerating. S&P Global Market Intelligence has now tallied over 49 bankruptcies in 2020, the highest in over a decade. What’s
The ripple of empathetic leadership that spread across organizations last year needs to become a tidal wave in 2021. Our mantra for the New Year—whether we lead a team of 5, 5,000 or 50,000—should be the relentless pursuit of providing opportunity, mentoring and sponsoring others. Opportunity is the gateway for
The robots are coming! On our sidewalks, in our skies, in our every store… Over the next decade, robots will enter the mainstream of retail. And the numbers back it up: in a mere 8 years, the global retail robotics market is projected to grow by an order of magnitude,
“It’s beginning to look a lot unlike Christmas and Hanukkah…” This year, we might be tempted to change the lyrics of this nearly 70-year-old holiday classic to fit the mood of the times. But not so fast. Sure, this year the holidays do look and feel different—smaller for one, minus
All of my children are hoping for something right now. For my youngest, it’s about getting into a “good” college (whatever that means). My college-age daughter’s hopes are for a good job next year. My son longs for an end to the lockdown so he can enjoy some normalcy before
Given the restrictions of our linear thinking minds, it’s difficult for us to grasp how something that starts off deceptively small can… Double 10 times, resulting in 1,000x growth, and Double 30 times and get you to 1,000,000,000x growth. Part of overcoming this evolutionary bias is actively working to develop
Privacy in the Age of Facial Recognition: Everything You Need to Know Facial recognition is a biometric technology primarily used to identify an individual or verify their identity using their face. Facial recognition software can capture, analyse, and compare patterns based on a person’s facial features. The use of the
Over the next decade, waves of exponential technological advancements are stacking atop one another, eclipsing decades of breakthroughs in scale and impact. Welcome to a new era of runaway technological booms, and extraordinary abundance. Emerging from these waves are 20 “Metatrends,” likely to revolutionize entire industries (old and new), redefine
Another year has passed me by… And I’m still in the dark ‘Cause I can’t seem to find the light alone – “Man in the Wilderness,” by Styx We’re at the 11th hour of the 11th month of a year like no other. From time to time, the sentiment for
Remote workers fleeing to cheaper towns may see their pay cut. Why firms think this is necessary. Silicon Valley made Julia feel claustrophobic, and she didn’t like living far away from her elderly parents. So after moving back home to Austin because of the pandemic, she decided to stay there.
Early one morning, a couple of weeks ago, I had a phone conversation with a colleague that, frankly, I wasn’t proud of. As soon as I hung up, I realized what I’d done. When I called back a short while later to apologize, my colleague graciously told me, “You don’t need
There is a medical revolution happening right now. Where is quantified health heading? A growing array of technology sensors are becoming available: Wearables: Our wrist-based devices can now go well beyond steps, some fit on our fingers (‘Ringables’ like the Oura ring) to measure heart rate and heart rate variability,
Early in the pandemic, as my family sheltered in place, someone found the old Clue boardgame in the attic. Soon this relic from our old world was brought into our new lives As we rolled the dice and moved around the gameboard—was it Colonel Mustard in the library with a
More than ever, innovation and change are the twin engines of growth, competitive advantage, and success in global business. Nevertheless, companies and organizations continue to struggle, often failing to inspire their people to embrace change or to help them develop innovative ideas. The path to transforming innovation from an aspirational
Between 2005 and 2014, natural disasters have claimed the lives of over 700,000 people and resulted in total damage of more than US$1.4 trillion. During the past 50 years, the frequency of recorded natural disasters has surged nearly five-fold. And as wildfires grow increasingly untamable, wreaking havoc across regions like
What’s faster than autonomous vehicles and flying cars? Try Hyperloop, rocket travel and robotic avatars. Hyperloop is currently working towards 670 mph (1080 kph)passenger pods, capable of zipping us from Los Angeles to downtown Las Vegas in under 30 minutes. Rocket Travel (think SpaceX’s Starship) promises to deliver you almost
The U.S. healthcare industry is in for a major disruption in the decade ahead. It is so broken, that it’s horrifying. U.S. healthcare spending is expected to hit a total of US$3.6 trillion in 2019. Fear of liability prompts U.S. doctors to spend US$210 billion per year on procedures patients don’t need.
In 2018, for the sixth straight year, Los Angeles earned the dubious honor of being the most gridlocked metropolis in the world, where the average driver spends 2.5 working weeks per year trapped in traffic. And countless cities are close behind. For the average driver, dreams of being elevated above jammed freeways
We are about to massively increase the amount of Human Genius on planet Earth in two distinct ways. First, by identifying and connecting those geniuses that already exist, but lack access to the right tools (i.e. they are off the grid). And second, by connecting the average human cortex to
We’re about to connect 8 billion people on the planet, everywhere, all the time, at near zero cost. This is a future of gigabit connection speeds at the top of Mt. Everest or in the Gobi desert. Imagine downloading a feature-length movie in less time than it takes to read
In 2016, venture investments in VR exceeded US$800 million, while AR and MR received a total of $450 million. Just a year later, investments in AR and VR startups doubled to US$3.6 billion. And today, major players are bringing VR headsets to market that have the power to revolutionize the industry, as well
The average American meal travels 1,500-2,500 miles to get to your plate. Food… What we eat, and how we grow it, will be fundamentally transformed in the next decade. Already, vertical farming is projected to exceed a US$12 billion industry by mid-decade, surging at an astonishing 25 percent annual growth rate. Meanwhile, the food
“Hey Google, how’s my health this morning?” “One moment,” says your digital assistant. It takes thirty seconds for the full diagnostic to run, as the system deploys dozens of sensors capturing gigabytes of data. Smart sensors in toothbrush and toilet, wearables in bedding and clothing, implantables inside your body—a mobile
The AR Cloud As AR hardware advances within its deceptive growth phase, the business opportunity for AR content creators is now—whether building virtual universes or digitizing our physical one. But to create multi-player games, social media communities, and messaging platforms linked to the same physical space, a centralized AR Cloud must
Augmented Reality (AR) has already exceeded over 2,000 AR apps on over 1.4 billion active iOS devices. Even if on a rudimentary level, the technology is now permeating the consumer products space. And in just the next four years, the International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts AR headset production will surge 141 percent each year,
3D printing is about to transform manufacturing as we know it, decimating waste, multiplying speed to market, and harnessing never-before-used materials. Already forecast to hit US$15.8 billion in value by 2020, additive manufacturing products and services are projected to more than double to $35.6 billion by 2024. Just five years from today. But
How each of us sees the world is about to change dramatically… For all of human history, the experience of looking at the world was roughly the same for everyone. But boundaries between the digital and physical are beginning to fade. The world around us is gaining layer upon layer
Today, adults in the U.S. spend over nine hours a day looking at screens. That counts for more than a third of our livelihoods. Yet even though they serve as a portal to 90 percent of our media consumption, screens continue to define and constrain how and where we consume
Augmented Reality is about to add a digital intelligence layer to our every surrounding, transforming retail, manufacturing, education, tourism, real estate, and almost every major industry that holds up our economy today. Just last year, the global VR/AR market hit a value of $814.7 billion, and it is only expected
Each week alone, an estimated 1.3 million people move into cities, driving urbanization on an unstoppable scale. By 2040, about two-thirds of the world’s population will be concentrated in urban centers. Over the decades ahead, 90 percent of this urban population growth is predicted to flourish across Asia and Africa.
That’s the promise of Direct Air Capture (DAC), a technology that fundamentally disrupts our contemporary oil economy. Mimicking what already occurs in nature, DAC essentially involves industrial photosynthesis, harnessing the power of the sun to draw carbon directly out of the atmosphere. This captured carbon can then be turned into
The Challenge – Protein Folding and how AI-crowdsourcing solved this Biotech challenge. The machinery of biology is built from proteins, and a protein’s shape defines its function. One of the most challenging (and consequential) problems in modern medicine revolves around predicting the structure of proteins based on their amino acid
I’ve been asked to share my Board Document. Always feel free to reach out or refer me to your colleagues, for a Board of Directors or strategic senior executive position. 1. What is a board of directors? A corporation, whether for-profit or nonprofit, is required to have a governing board
In the coming decade, we may soon begin connecting our brains to an AI. Elon Musk’s company Neuralink just announced groundbreaking progress on its “Brain-Computer Interface” (BCI) technology, striving towards a 2 gigabit-per-second wireless connection between a patient’s brain and the cloud in the next few years. Initial human trials
How ‘Boards That Learn’ Elevate Themselves and the Organizations They Serve. Qualified is no longer a destination, but more so a continuous journey. There was a time in the not-so-distant past that dictated that once you ‘reached’ a new professional level or title, it was yours to keep – forever.
By 2030, more than 50 percent of the U.S. economy will run on electricity derived from renewables. What are the implications as we shift the U.S. and global energy economies away from fossil fuels? For the first time ever, our harnessing of renewable energy has surpassed domestic reliance on coal,
When most entrepreneurs (including me) face a challenge, our first reaction is to ask: “how do I solve this problem.” As an Executive Strategic Coach I teach a powerful management shortcut for success. Don’t ask “how.” Instead, ask “who.” This blog explores that concept. Feel free to contact me when you need a “who”
The rise of China as an epicenter of rapid-fire innovation and technological disruption is more important than ever before in transforming each and every one of our businesses. Soon to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy with a $14 trillion GDP, China has grown at about 9.6 percent
These five ideas convey an overriding truth. In our world of escalating change, the core principles of strategy have not only remained the same; they are now more important than ever for creating enduring success. In almost every industry you can think of, blockchain is poised to cut out middlemen,
These five ideas convey an overriding truth. In our world of escalating change, the core principles of strategy have not only remained the same; they are now more important than ever for creating enduring success. In the wake of the housing market collapse of 2008, one entrepreneur decided to dive
On the heels of energy abundance, we are additionally witnessing a new transportation revolution, which sets the stage for a future of seamlessly efficient travel at lower economic and environmental costs. In just five days, the Sun provides Earth with an energy supply exceeding all proven reserves of oil, coal,
How to thrive in today’s dynamic world. Our only sustainable competitive advantage is our ability to learn faster than our competitors. In his 1997 Harvard Business Review article, “The Living Company” Arie de Geuss asserted that sustainable competitive advantage cannot be achieved through particular products or strategies. These are soon
Twenty years ago, entertainment was dominated by a handful of producers and monolithic broadcasters, a near-impossible market to break into. Today, the industry is almost entirely dematerialized, while storytellers and storytelling mediums explode in number. And this is just the beginning. Netflix turned entertainment on its head practically overnight, shooting
3D printing (additive or augmented manufacturing) translates digital files into three-dimensional objects by layering material in a process known as additive manufacturing. Printheads release matter in precise orientations that can produce complex structures, ranging from jewelry to three-story homes. 250 Materials: Current 3D printers can produce functional part- and full-color
Exploring the three R’s of Regenerative Medicine: Replenish: Stem Cells – The Regenerative Engine of The Body Replace: Organ Regeneration and Bioprinting Rejuvenate: Young Blood & Parabiosis Let’s dive in. Replenish: Stem Cells – The Regenerative Engine of the Body Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can transform into specialized
If so, why? Should you, your colleagues or your children go to graduate school? If not, what are your alternatives? Millions of young adults across the globe — and their parents and mentors — find themselves asking these questions every year. I have three children and each has earned their
As I often tell my clients, people generally remember only 10 percent of what we see, 20 percent of what we hear, and 30 percent of what we read…. But over a staggering 90 percent of what we do or experience. By introducing gamification, immersive testing activities, and visually rich
The goal is to help you think about the specific benefits of artificial intelligence and the areas you can consider automating, in your organization or area of responsibility. Here are examples of successfully deployed artificial intelligence applications. When you need help reach out to me, my contact information is on
Tomorrow’s cities are reshaping almost every industry imaginable, and birthing those we’ve never heard of. Riding an explosion of sensors, megacity AI ‘brains,’ high-speed networks, new materials and breakthrough green solutions, cities are quickly becoming versatile organisms, sustaining and responding to the livelihood patterns of millions. Over the next decade,
Each week alone, an estimated 1.3 million people move into cities, driving urbanization on an unstoppable scale. By 2040, about two-thirds of the world’s population will be concentrated in urban centers. Over the decades ahead, 90 percent of this urban population growth is predicted to flourish across Asia and Africa.
Increasing your healthspan (i.e. making 100 years old the new 60) will depend to a large degree on artificial intelligence. Health Nucleus: Transforming ‘Sick Care’ to Healthcare Much of today’s healthcare system is actually sick care. Most of us assume that we’re perfectly healthy, with nothing going on inside our
When it comes to the future of healthcare, perhaps the only technology more powerful than CRISPR is Artificial Intelligence. Over the past five years, healthcare AI startups around the globe raised over $4.3 billion across 576 deals, topping all other industries in AI deal activity. During this same period, the
One of the most discussed topics in the place of work at the moment is personal branding. But then I have come to realized that many of you might not want to be associated with the term ‘brand’. The problem could be in the fact that word may seem strange
If you’re like me, you know leaders who exemplify achievement. Perhaps you’re one of them. These leaders work hard and smartly to reach their goals, excel in their fields, and rise to higher levels in their organizations. You also probably know people who seemed unstoppable in their rise but who
AI and the Crowd: A Collaboration This article will provide you live examples of AI and the Crowd, creating an effective collaboration. We start with the field of Biology. The machinery of biology is built from proteins, and a protein’s shape defines its function. One of the most challenging (and
Most of us are made men and women; what exactly do you mean by that? Well it means we are now senior executives, we have been recognized by both our colleagues and seniors to deserve us getting an invite to make contributions during meetings. However, the trouble is most of
What is the future of work? Is our future one of ‘technological socialism’ (where technology is taking care of our needs)? Or is our future workplace completely virtualized, whereby we hang out at home in our PJ’s while walking about our VR Corporate HQ? This blog will look at the
Governments are one of the last strongholds of an undigitized, linear sector of humanity, and they are falling behind fast. Apart from their struggle to keep up with private sector digitization, federal governments are in a crisis of trust. At almost a 60-year low, only 19 percent of Americans
Converging exponential technologies will transform media, advertising and the retail world. The world we see, through our digitally enhanced eyes, will multiply and explode with intelligence, personalization and brilliance. This is the age of Web 3.0. Last week, I discussed the what and how of Web 3.0 (also known as
The boundaries between digital and physical space are disappearing at a breakneck pace. What was once static and boring is becoming dynamic and magical. For all of human history, looking at the world through our eyes was the same experience for everyone. Beyond the bounds of an over-active imagination, what
I hope you had a very pleasant Thanksgiving with your family. Yes, it was very enjoyable with our growing family (NY, CT and MD) getting together for a wonderful meal and catching up with life’s happenings. My Thanksgiving was also filled with texting, Skyping, Zooming, Tweeting, FaceTime, Beam robots and
We profit from it, we fear it, and we find it impossibly hard to quantify… risk. While not the sexiest of industries, insurance can be a life-saving protector, pooling everyone’s premiums to safeguard against some of our greatest, most unexpected losses. One of the most profitable in the world, the insurance industry
This a big breakthrough in MedTech. What it is: University of British Columbia engineers recently built a new ultrasound transducer that can lower the cost of ultrasound to under $100. The patent-pending sensor is smaller than most bandages and can be powered by a smartphone. Conventional ultrasounds operate using a piezoelectric
Score one for the human brain. In a new study, computer scientists found that artificial intelligence systems fail a vision test a child could accomplish with ease. “It’s a clever and important study that reminds us that ‘deep learning’ isn’t really that deep,” said Gary Marcus, a neuroscientist at New
