This year, I spent some extra time thinking about my father – and his influence on me and countless others. It's been 20 years since my last Father's Day with him.
My Dad was incredibly loving and demanding. I recognize how much his vision of what I could become helped shape me.
For example, after winning the State Championship in the shot put, my dad came down from the stands onto the field. He hugged me and told me that he knew I could do it. Then, he looked deeply into my eyes and asked whether I was a little disappointed? "Disappointed?" I asked. "But, Dad, I won." He looked at me and said, "Yeah, winning is great … but you didn't throw a personal best." He was proud and he loved me. He recognized that winning was important … but he wanted to remind me that the other throwers weren't my real competition.
In life, to be and do your best, the competition is really with yourself; and we both knew I could do better.
My Dad believed in setting high standards. He taught me that most people's lives are defined by their minimum standards. Why? Because once those standards get met, it is easy to get distracted and complacent.
One of his favorite sayings was "The difference between good and great is infinitesimal." This applies to many things. For example, people who are good take advantage of opportunities; people who are great create them. The point is that setting higher standards is one of the best ways to ensure a better life.
As time goes on, I recognize how much of him is inside me.
Many of the lessons he taught me became the lessons I taught my children – and my company. It's easy to focus on the big stories and the big lessons – but as I look back and consider what had the biggest impact, it was what happened in between … It was his incredibly consistent and unconditional love and his focus on what was possible.
The standards I hold people to are high, and it can be tough for them to meet those standards. Hopefully, they understand that it's because I love them (as my dad loved me) and that I see the greatness in them and available to them.
I'm surprised how often I see people who are bearish on Artificial Intelligence. Many are stuck in science fiction's depictions – sentience, personification, etc.. Modern AI is very different from science fiction predictions, but is still exciting. (Here's an infographic debunking 8 common AI myths)
Modern AI does many things and has many applications, but ultimately it's relatively faceless. It works in the background, impacts everything it touches, and silently collects vast lakes of data. AI may not be Star Trek's "Data," but it is transforming our economy at warp speed.
TechJury has put together an infographic on the history of AI until today. It highlights a number of key inflection points, AI's impact on today's economy, and which countries and companies are leading the pack.
June 6th, 1944 … the day we stormed the beaches of Normandy. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The invasion created a foothold that allowed Allied forces to expand through France.
The memorial in France this year was a particularly touching event with the many surviving World War 2 soldiers being well into their 90s.
"A generation whose unconquerable spirit shaped the post-war world. They didn't boast. They didn't fuss. They served" – Theresa May
A 97-year old veteran paratrooper, Tom Rice, commemorated the day by once again dropping into the field he landed in on that fateful night.
Seems like a friendlier welcome than a sea of German soldiers. As an extra fun fact, Teddy Roosevelt stormed the beaches of Normandy at 56 with a heart condition, arthritis, and a cane. He was the oldest man to take part in the invasion.
Our society is built on the backs of many strong men! I'm thankful for their sacrifices.
Population growth is an interesting measure. Historically, growth has been slow. But something changed that. And the implications are stunning.
Scientists estimate that humans have existed for over 130,000 years. It took until 1804 for us to reach 1 Billion. We doubled that population by 1927 (123 years later), and then doubled it again in only 47 years later (which was 1974).
Early population growth was driven by the agricultural revolution. Since 1804, the industrial revolution, health and safety advances, and technology have radically improved quality of life – spurring comparatively rapid growth.
World population growth rates peaked in the late 1960s and have declined sharply in the past four decades, but we're still on a positive trend. We're expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, but a lot of that growth comes from developing countries – they also almost exclusively come from urban areas.
Urbanization: Megacities
Since 2014, over 50% of the world's population has lived in urban areas – today it's approximately 55%. That number is growing.
Ironically, as we grow more digitally connected, our world is shrinking and our populations are concentrating.
An interesting consequence of this rapid urbanization and population growth in developing countries has been the increased development of Megacities – defined as cities with populations greater than 10 million. Today, there are 33 megacities – more than triple the number in the 1990s.
This creates a set of interesting opportunities and challenges.
For example, how will these cities deal with infrastructure – sanitation, transportation, etc.
China and the US produce 23.2 trillion and 19.4 trillion respectively; unchallenged powerhouses now. That being said, the global balance of power and population is shifting; and many developing countries (like India) are growing quickly.
It seems likely that with their population growth and maturation as global economies, we'll see a relatively different landscape in 10 years. Will it look like this? Maybe? But Egypt's projected growth of 583% seems a bit beyond normal expectations … Time will tell!
Here are the biggest companies by revenue (in 2018) in almost every state. You'll notice some states are missing. Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming lack Fortune 1000 headquarters.
Theresa May has just announced her resignation as UK Prime Minister. She's faced massive criticism for an inability to come to a resolution on Brexit, and missing two deadlines. A new PM will be appointed in July.
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.
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