Next Sunday is Easter, but yesterday was the first night of Passover – an 8-day long Jewish holiday that recounts the story of Exodus.
The overlap can be seen in DaVinci's Last Supper, depicting a Passover Seder and Jesus's last meal before his crucifixion.
Part of the Passover Seder tradition involves discussing how to share the story in ways that connect with different types of people, recognizing that everyone understands and relates to things differently.
To do this, we examine the Passover story through the lens of four archetypal children — the Wise Child, the Wicked Child, the Simple Child, and the Child Who Does Not Know How to Ask.
The four children reflect different learning styles — intellectual (Wise), skeptical (Wicked), curious (Simple), and passive (Silent) — and highlight how we must adapt communication to the diverse personalities and developmental stages of our audience.
This seems even more relevant today, as we struggle to come to a consensus on what to believe and how to communicate with people who think differently.
On a lighter note, one of the memorable phrases from Exodus is when Moses says, "Let my people go!" For generations, people assumed he was talking to the Pharoah about his people's freedom. But after a week of eating clogging food like matzoh, matzoh balls, and even fried matzoh … for many Jews, "Let my people go" takes on a different meaning.
After Passover, and as we enter a new season, it's a great time for a mental and physical 'Spring Cleaning,' and delve into your experiences to cultivate more of what you desire and less of what you don't.
Change is the only constant in life, yet it rarely unfolds in ways we expect. While we sense its approach, its shape — whether sudden and disruptive or slow and subtle — often defies our predictions. As the pace and scale of change accelerate, understanding its patterns becomes more crucial than ever.
The World Government Summit put together a helpful interactive website where you can test your knowledge on the trajectory of key statistical indicators for the development of society over the past decade. Here is the text from their opening screen.
Can we estimate how much the world has changed in a decade? Or do our own experiences impact the perception of progress? This work challenges the assumptions we make about how key statistical indicators regarding Health, the Environment, or Education evolve through the years.
The first part of the process was designed to be like a guessing game where you try to predict the direction and the rate of change of key issues shaping the world (like oil dependency, pollution, literacy, economic freedom, etc.) by answering some questions at "The Shape of Change." It is simple, easy-to-use, and has a nice interface … but answering the questions was more challenging than expected. Try it here.
The second part of the experiment lets you explore the year-over-year changes in key statistics regarding health, education, economy, and other topics.
Casinos only offer to play games that they expect to win. In contrast, gambling customers play even though they know the odds are against them.
Why does this happen? The rush of a win, the chance of a big win, and random reinforcement are common factors that incentivize people to play the lotto, go to a casino, or try to trade.
Chemicals like adrenaline and dopamine play a part as well. Even in a sea of losses, your body can't help but crave the chemical reward of even a small win.
The "House" knows this and engineers an experience that takes advantage of it.
In the case of casinos, every detail is meticulously crafted to extract you from your money – from carpet patterns to the labyrinthian layouts, the music, the lights, and even the games themselves.
Most people aren't gamblers … the fear of losing big inhibits them. However, when people were instructed to "think like a trader," they showed considerably less risk aversion when gambling. And I bet you have no problem filling out a March Madness bracket, even if you put money on the line.
The illusion of control convinces us we can overcome the statistics.
When you almost get it right – when you guess the first round of March Madness correctly, when you miss the jackpot by one slot on a slot machine, when you just mistime a trade to get a big win – you're more likely to play longer, and place bigger bets … because you're "so close."
It's human nature to want to feel in control.
This is why you find a lot of superstitious traders & gamblers. If you wear this lucky item of clothing … if you throw the dice in this particular way … if you check your holdings at this time every day … you have control.
There is a big difference between causation and correlation.
It is not hard to imagine that, for most traders, the majority of their activities do little to create a real and lasting edge.
Skill vs. Luck
There are games of skill, and there are games of chance.
In a casino, poker, and blackjack are considered games of skill. In contrast, slot machines are considered a game of chance.
In trading, predicting markets is much different than using math and statistics to measure the performance of a technique.
Much of what we do is to figure out how to eliminate the fear, greed, and discretionary mistakes humans bring to trading.
In trading, "Alpha" is the measure of excess return attributed to manager skill, rather than luck or taking on more risk.
We believe in Alpha-by-Avoidance … Meaning much of what we do is figure out what to ignore or avoid so that more of the games we play are games of skill rather than games of chance.
Twice this week, I heard someone say, “Start with Why.”
As a tech entrepreneur, I often ignore that aphorism.
Someone who embodies it (and made it famous) is Simon Sinek. He is a motivational speaker and organizational consultant who gained widespread recognition after his 2009 TED Talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” which remains one of the most-viewed TED Talks ever, with almost 70 million views.
This talk introduced his core framework: The Golden Circle, the concept that catapulted him to fame. It is a simple but powerful model for understanding why some leaders and organizations inspire while others don’t. It consists of three concentric circles, like a bullseye. At the center is Why, the middle ring is How, and the outermost ring is What.
Most people and organizations focus on the outermost circle first—what they do—and then work inward. Sinek flips this approach, arguing that great leaders and companies start from the inside out: start with Why.
Why Start with Why?
Here’s an analogy: Think of a magnet. The strongest force comes from its core. Similarly, in leadership and business, the Why is your core—it’s what attracts people to you. It’s not just about selling a product; it’s about sharing a belief or vision that resonates emotionally with others.
For example:
Apple doesn’t just sell computers (What). They believe in challenging the status quo and thinking differently (Why). Their How—innovative design and user-friendly technology—flows naturally from this belief.
Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t say, “I have a plan.” He said, “I have a dream.” His Why inspired millions because it connected with their values and emotions.
The Biological Connection
Sinek ties this idea to how our brains work. The outer layer of the brain (the neocortex) processes logical information like facts and figures (What), but decisions are driven by the limbic brain, which controls emotions and instincts (Why). When you lead with Why, you speak directly to people’s feelings, inspiring trust and loyalty.
Simplified Takeaway
Think of it like this: If you want people to join your cause or buy into your vision, don’t just tell them what you’re selling or how great it is. Tell them why it matters—to you and to them. Starting with Why connects hearts before minds, creating a lasting impact.
In short, the Golden Circle isn’t just a business strategy; it’s a way to inspire action by leading with purpose.
I met Simon through friends before his first book came out.
Then, in 2009, he gave a speech to the Dallas Chapter of EO, and then visited my office to speak with our team afterwards. I still remember how well-received he was. It was right at the beginning of his meteoric rise, two short months after the release of his famous book "Start With Why."
Who do you believe will do a better job, someone who takes a job because of the salary and benefits … or someone truly inspired to accomplish the job's purpose?
Phrased that way, of course, you know the answer. Still, how can you leverage this to better select customers and employees?
For example, Simon uses the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton to illustrate this concept. Shackleton was preparing to lead the first expedition across Antarctica in 1914. Legend has it that when seeking crew members for his journey, Shackleton placed the following ad in a newspaper:
"MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. - SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"
When the expedition became stuck in the ice and could not be rescued for 22 months, not a single man was lost. The reason Simon gave for their unlikely survival was that Shackleton hired survivors that could deal with the situation and were aligned with the mission and purpose.
Can you imagine writing an ad like that to attract the right people to your cause?
Watch This Video.
Here is a video of Simon speaking at a TED Conference. It is an excellent intro to his stuff.
Other Resources:
Here is a link to Simon's Blog. (2023 Note: this now links to his old blog, which is poorly formatted but interesting to see. His new website/blog can be found here.)
It's now more than ten years later, and Simon is one of the most prominent leaders in leadership development and has published five books, to much acclaim.
Part of his success is the charisma and pith with which Simon speaks and writes – but a large part is his focus on what makes humans human. He's not preaching a leadership mantra focused on the bottom line and revenue; he's focused on the aspects of human nature that don't change. He's focused on purpose and the elements of leadership that apply to everyone – not just CEOs.
As we move into an era of increased volatility – both in markets and business – these leadership principles will become more important.
Understanding your "WHY" is vital if you want to make a difference (and not be replaced by an AI). It’s also vital in making discipline the easier choice.
No, I'm not talking about how fast the DOGE team is terraforming government.
I'm talking about how fast the insights of exponential technologies are compounding the real-world implications of where we are and where we are going.
In past issues, we've talked about how quickly the world is changing, how fast innovations happen, and why it's not about today's tools but rather the value and capabilities of the foundational assets we build upon … and, ultimately, the things that makes possible.
Today's commentary is different from our usual posts. Yes, the inspiration came from my weekly curation of links selected based on what captured my attention or imagination. However, today's post is about the sheer volume and density of groundbreaking innovations competing for mindshare and investment dollars. And while commercial success is a great way to keep score, we'll explore what this accelerating pace of innovation means for our future and the world.
So, here is a list of some of the things that made headlines this week.
Nvidia and Arc Institute launched a new AI Bio model – Evo 2 – trained on over 100k species. This doesn't just analyze genomes … it creates them.
Sakana.AI introduced the AI CUDA Engineer, an agentic AI system that automates the production of CUDA kernels 10-100x faster than with common machine learning,
Some may not matter to you now. Try re-reading the list while letting yourself be amazed at what is happening!
Any one of these is a momentous achievement that would have sounded like science fiction even 10 years ago. Now, that's one week of achievement.
As someone whose company invents things for a living, I understand that none of these breakthroughs were actually invented last week. Obviously, a long and winding road leads to each of those announcements. However, it's remarkable to see so many significant innovations reaching the stage of public announcement simultaneously.
It's hard to quantify the impact of these innovations on not only the tech industry – but the world.
Think about the implications. Google's co-scientist is already solving problems that humans haven't been able to solve for decades. Clone is building robots that will use the next generations of AI to transform how we think about what artificial intelligence looks like.
Not to mention the improvement in quantum computing and nuclear fusion, industries that I've been paying attention to since the 90s.
While any of these topics would have made a good article, in my opinion, the whole is more impressive than the sum of its parts.
If I had to pick one of those topics to highlight, I think it's now time to start focusing more on quantum computing.
Most of you probably aren't interested in watching the whole thing, but here are some of the highlights.
They've created a new state of matter called a topological superconductor.
The qubits created with topological superconductors are fast, reliable, and small … very small.
These new qubits are 1/100th of a millimeter, meaning we now have a clear path to a million-qubit processor.
To put that in perspective, imagine a chip that can fit in the palm of your hand yet can solve problems that even all the computers on Earth today combined can't!
Satya doesn't believe in making claims about how quickly AGI is coming.
However, he believes it is useful and productive to set a benchmark of making the world 10% better.
He also believes the topological superconductor breakthrough makes quantum computing a practical reality that can happen in a few years – not decades +.
From 2023-2024, over $26 billion flowed into the sector – including big deals like Inflection, xAI, and Anthropic.
While many of the biggest investments were in foundational models and infrastructure, some money is now moving into targeted AI applications.
AI isn’t just for researchers and the tech giants anymore … it’s becoming more commercial.
Realistically, AI is overhyped – and there is a lot of competition. Yet, few firms have operationalized AI in a meaningful way.
With that said, here is a question worth considering.
Where are the AI applications capable of generating returns that justify the infrastructure, investment, and focus?
The next battle will likely be in the AI Applications space. To keep it short, why hasn’t it happened yet … and what will likely create the value we’re looking for?
Why Haven’t AI Apps Taken Off Yet?
• Cost vs. Value Gap: Many AI applications are still experimental or add only incremental value.
• Enterprise Hesitation: Many companies are still figuring out how to integrate AI into their operations in a way that delivers real ROI.
Where Might the Value Come From?
For AI investments to pay off, applications must solve big problems, not just serve as experimental tools. The highest-value areas likely include:
• AI copilots and automation (Enterprise AI reducing labor costs and bottlenecks)
• Autonomous systems (AI for analytics, compliance, and logistics)
• AI-driven discovery (Accelerating breakthroughs in capabilities and performance)
• Next-gen digital assistants (LLMs with memory, context, and long-term utility)
Right now, AI apps are where mobile apps were in 2008 — there is plenty of potential, but only a handful of genuinely indispensable use cases.
Companies like Capitalogix that crack the code on industrial-grade AI applications, will drive the next wave of value creation.
It’s fun and rewarding to watch artificial intelligence become available to everyone.
As the cost of “intelligence” decreases, let’s hope more people take advantage of the opportunity.
However, the sad truth is the opposite is also more likely. As AI becomes more available, it becomes easier for it to become a distraction.
Remember the Internet? When it first started, most of the uses were academic. Now, despite there being functionally infinite ways to use the internet to improve your life and make you smarter, most people use it for memes and distractions.
When you think about AI, don’t just think about artificial intelligence … Think about amplified intelligence. That is the term I use to distinguish between the technology and what people really want … which is the ability to make better decisions, take smarter actions, and continuously improve performance.
AI isn’t about taking away the humanity from your business or automating away the things you love. It’s about allowing you to be more human – doing more of the things you’re best at – that give you energy and bring you joy.
It means exactly what it sounds like – but probably also a lot more than that.
On a personal level, energy affects how you feel, what you focus on (and what you make that mean), and, consequently, what you choose to do. That means it is a great way to measure your values, too.
On a business level, energy impacts more than you might recognize. It has a lot to do with who you hire and fire, where you spend your time, the target markets or segments you pursue, and even your company’s long-term vision.
Ultimately, if something brings profit and energy, it is probably worth pursuing.
In contrast, fighting your energy is one of the quickest ways to burn out. Figuring out who and what to say “no” to is crucial to estaying on track and reachingyour goals. This is where mindset and mindset scales apply.
Mindset Matters.
Watch this short video on Mindset Scales. It’s packed with insights and tools you can use as targets and filters.
The video highlights the critical role that specific values and mindsets play in business success. It goes over a few easy exercises (including how to create a Mindset Scale) to help identify and assess the path to desired outcomes.
One of the techniques I’ve developed is called the “Three Word Strategy”. It’s based on the idea that people, capabilities, products, and even companies can be described in a three-word strategy (think of it as a “recipe for success”). By understanding this process, you not only can help choose the right people, but it might also help to create the right technology to achieve that (think of this as a digital WHO to do the HOW) in a way that helps and supports the humans involved in the process.
Three-Word Strategies.
I believe that words have power. Specifically, the words you use to describe your identity and your priorities change your reality.
First, some background. Your Roles and Goals are nouns. That means “a person, place, or thing.” Let’s examine some sample roles (like father, entrepreneur, visionary, etc.) and goals (like amplified intelligence, autonomous platform, and sustainable edge). As expected, they are all nouns.
Next, we’ll examine your default strategies. You use these to create or be the things you want. The strategies you use are verbs. That means they define an action you take. Action words include: connect, communicate, contribute, collaborate, protect, serve, evaluate, curate, share … and love. On the other end of the spectrum, you could complain, retreat, blame, or block.
People have habitual strategies. I often say happy people find ways to be happy – while frustrated people find ways to be frustrated. This is true for many things.
Seen a different way, people expect and trust that you will act according to how they perceive you.
Meanwhile, you are the most important perceiver. Think about that for a moment!
Another distinction worth making is that the nouns and verbs we use range from timely to timeless. Timely words relate to what you are doing now. Timeless words are chunked higher and relate to what you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do.
The trick is to chunk high enough to focus on words that link your timeless Roles, Goals, and Strategies. When done right, you know that these are a part of what makes you … “You”.
My favorite way to do this is through three-word strategies.
These work for your business, priorities, identity, and more.
I’ll introduce the idea to you by sharing my own to start.
Understand. Challenge. Transform.
The actual words are less important than what they mean to me.
What’s also important is that not only do these words mean something to me, but I’ve put them in a specific order, and I’ve made these words “commands” in my life. They’re specific, measurable, and actionable. They remind me what to do. They give me direction. And, together, they are a strategy (or process) that creates a reliable result.
First, I understand, because I want to make sure I consider the big picture and the possible paths from where I am to the bigger future possibility that I want. Then, I challenge situations, people, norms, and more. I don’t challenge to tear down. I challenge to find strengths … to figure out what to trust and rely upon. Finally, I transform things to make them better. Insanity is doing what you always do and expecting a different result. This is about finding where small shifts create massive consequences. It is about committing to the result rather than how we have done things till now.
If I challenged before I knew the situation, or I tried to transform something without properly doing my research, I’d risk causing more damage than good.
Likewise, imagine the life of someone who protects, serves, and loves. Compare that to the life of someone who loves, serves, and protects. The order matters!
One more, just to get you thinking about it … Connect, Engage, Contribute!
There is an art and a science to it. But it starts by taking the first step.
Try to find your three words.
Once you do, remember to use them. Over time, I’ve set daily alarms on my phone to remind me of them. I use them when I’m in meetings (to help orient, reflect, or inspire), and I often use them to evaluate whether I’m showing up as my best self.
You can also create three words that are different for the different hats you wear, the products in your business, or how your team collaborates.
Finding Your Three Words
Everyone feels a range of emotions. It helps if you can express them. This emotional word wheel might help. It isn’t exhaustive … but it should give you some ideas.
Like recipes, these three-word strategies have ingredients, orders, and intensities. As you use your words more, the intensities might change. For example, when my son was just getting out of college, one of his words was contented because he was focused on all the things he missed from college – instead of being appreciative of the things he had. Later, his words switched to grateful and then loving. These evolutions coincided with his personal journey … and represented his ability and desire to take stronger actions.
Realize that we create what we want by doing. As such, choose words that inform or spark the right actions. You can see that in my son’s words. As he grew, he became more comfortable actively prompting the actions he wanted to approach life with instead of just passively hoping for a feeling.
You can apply these simple three-word strategies almost everywhere once you learn how to create them.
Unsurprisingly, almost half of consumer spending goes toward housing and transportation.
While this has slightly outpaced inflation, it hasn’t by much.
Meanwhile, spending in some areas surged well beyond wage and overall inflation levels. For example, Americans spend 21% more on food than in 2021. A closer look shows that the cause isn’t just inflation. Food and beverage companies increased their operating profits by 79% from 2019-2023.
Educational spending and healthcare spending are also rising.
How do you think the Trump administration’s actions will impact the economy and the wallets of typical Americans?
Many of my close friends and advisors are optimistic about the Trump administration’s actions and expected impacts. However, as I’ve often noted regarding technological change, people are good at noticing big turning points – but struggle with predictions about the second and third-order consequences of these shifts.
Her children surprised her with over 60 family and friends at dinner last night. Here is a photo of us with her at the party.
My mom is quite the woman. She went to Cornell, taught Spanish Literature at Temple University, and has volunteered for countless good causes. At 40, as her kids became more self-sufficient, she decided to go to law school and become a lawyer to help those who needed it most. That doesn't even begin to capture it! For example, she still serves as a museum docent and is an active member of many clubs and organizations. In addition, after my Dad died, she chose to serve as a hospice counselor to help families going through that difficult time. After doing that for a while, she decided that she wanted to continue – but in a more positive way. So, to help make things better and easier to bear, she became a clown to bring light to people struggling. That is not a sentence I imagined writing a few years ago.
My mom also loves poems, wordplay, and puzzles.
As part of her celebration, we had everyone (OK, almost everyone) write poems for her.
I did not write a poem (though I did write something) … and I also chose not to use ChatGPT (or any other large language model) to help with what I wrote.
I feel like I should explain that. What I did write, came from the heart.
If my goal had simply been to come up with a poem, I would have used ChatGPT or one of its competitors. The truth is, many people at the event did exactly that, and I was surprised at the quality of their output.
With that said, there's something meaningful about the process of thinking deeply about something (in this case, my Mother) and choosing which things to highlight (or set aside), what to poke fun at, and which things to express gratitude for. The act of thinking and writing is valuable … separate and apart from the output generated.
The same is true for your life as well. Being and Doing are both important.
Your identity and strategies combine to create the life you are living. Said a different way, the things you choose to focus on (and what you make them mean) shape your perspective and guide your actions.
That is also why it's vitally important to consciously create a compelling future that calls you forward (and keep score by tracking your progress in ways that resonate with your values).
Here is a small excerpt from my love note to my Mother.
The Golden rule says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But sometimes, it’s important to remember to be as kind to yourself as you are to others.
As I think about you and what I wish for you, Mom, it’s that you’re as kind and understanding to yourself as you’ve been to those around you.
It’s important to recognize the progress you’ve made with the good you’ve done, rather than what could have or should have happened – or how many things you still feel the need to do.
I think one of the most useful definitions of “intelligence” is that it is the ability to get more of what you want – and for you, Mom, I think that is a sense of happiness, contentment, and purpose. In your words – a Happy Heart.
Happy Birthday, Mom … and many more!
I suspect we all know the power of purpose. With a big enough WHY, the HOWs don't seem to matter.
The average age at this party was probably 80 – and at least one of them was 100! Think how important it is for them to have a sense of purpose and accomplishment!!
But if it is important for them … it is probably more important to you because of something I call The Time Value of Life (which we'll discuss next week).
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