It's mainly comedy, but there are some nuggets of truth hidden in there.
As for the Tony Robbins event, there is a lot of truth woven through lots of entertainment. And I'm always impressed by how masterfully he controls a room!
I've been to many Tony events in the past, but I get something new every time.
One of the ideas I liked was a concept he uses often … Victory is near!
The night is always darkest before the dawn. The storm is roughest before the break. And even after the coldest, darkest, winter … Spring appears.
If you're looking for a relatively short (but representational) glimpse at what Tony does – a good place to start is his TED talk on why we do the things that we do.
Some say change is the only constant … Others remind of death and taxes.
In this video, Bill Gates says we should tax robots.
Are we about to treat robots as "electronic persons"? It isn't unprecedented … we already treat certain business structures like people in tax and legal matters.
But, where does it stop?
If you tax robots … what's the difference between a robot, an algorithm, a cotton gin, or printing press?
Taxing increased productivity could have happened at any time.
Are we ready to change the face of capitalism and society?
At the extreme, it raises a question, if production and efficiency can be raised without as many humans working, what will humans do?
This quickly leads to some far-fetched (but thought-provoking) ideas and conversations. For example, recently Elon Musk (and this presidential candidate) proposed a Universal Basic Income. The basic premise of this is that by giving people the minimum income necessary to survive, you free them up to do what they're passionate about.
Hans Rosling, a Swedish medical doctor, academic, and statistician became famous for just that.
He died last week. Sadly, that is what prompted me to review some of his videos, and to share this.
Rosling called himself an "edutainer." He had a knack for explaining difficult concepts (like global inequality, climate change, disease, and poverty) using a sense of humor and a strange collection of props (including, maps, storage boxes, and colored stones) to tell the story of our world.
For example, in an interview with the Guardian, Rosling beckons: "Let me show you the world," as he used stacks of Lego-like bricks to demonstrate the dynamics of population growth, child mortality, and carbon dioxide emissions.
"The challenge for the world is to get everyone out of extreme poverty and get the richest people to use less fossil fuels so that everyone can share their energy levels," he said.
His messages were often more positive than most would think, demonstrating that life is getting better for more people, if we only bothered to look at the numbers.
Here are links to two other Rosling posts worth a look.
Recently, there's been a lot of talk about fake news and fact-checking the contents of the news and what public figure say. However, I haven't heard much about measuring the veracity of movies.
This interactive breakdown lets you be as "pedantic" as you want — letting the "truth" be relatively flexible, or seating the truth-scale at "only what objectively happened".
When you see this picture from the 2000 NFL Combine, it's hard to believe that Tom Brady would be a 3-time Superbowl MVP taking the Patriots to their 5th under his reign.
The Patriots are a well-oiled machine, and it's not because their players are better than the rest.
Keep in mind, the NFL is a league at the top of the food chain (their athletes are the best of the best). Moreover, the NFL actively creates rules designed to level the playing field and create parity.
So, it is hard to create a team that 'can't be beaten' – When it happens, it happens because of culture, coaching, and process. Ultimately, somehow, winners find a way to win.
Bill isn't known as the friendliest (and he's certainly not known for dishing out praise) – but he is known for discipline (and lauding hard work when it's deserved).
More importantly, Belichick created a framework of success that isn't reliant on the individual – and it is that which allows the individual to shine.
Frameworks create the structure that allows, focus, specialty, and the freedom to improvise.
The System is the 'system'; but, within it, you can measure what works, who contributes, and use it to identify the best things to try next.
Win, lose, or draw … some things speak for themselves.
In my office, we use a lot of what seems like "futuristic" artificial intelligence approaches to understanding financial markets. Most of my team are technical or data-science specialists that develop and drive the systems that create our systems.
Pretty soon, we may start to question where using humans is still smart or cost-effective.
In the meantime, I'm fascinated by what is becoming possible … and how, even when the A.I. is little more than an elegant use of brute force, incredible results are becoming commonplace.
Recently, in an interview with Tom Bilyeu (co-founder of Quest Nutrition), he addresses the issue of Millennials – and why they seem lazy and unfocused.
Sinek points to four characteristics that help "create" this issue:
Parenting,
Technology,
Impatience, and
Environment.
Sinek suggests that this generation is a product of failed parenting strategies … being told they're special without effort, being told they can have anything they want, and being handed trophies for showing up.
Next, add technology to the mix.
Before millennials, interaction happened in person much more frequently … meaningful trust-based relationships were built with time and effort, and when you were at dinner with friends, or watching a movie, you were at a dinner with friends … not on your phone.
For added irritation, next add impatience (which is a byproduct of instant gratification).
Why wait for amusement when it's a text away? You've got Netflix making video rental a thing of the past, Tinder making dating as easy as "swiping right" and Amazon making it so you don’t have to checkout when you go to a store.
Is it any wonder that these kids have short attention spans?
Now, put those kids in an environment where they're forced to realize you can't rush success, and you can't force meaningful relationships.
It's a recipe that has often terminated without a happy ending.
I thought it would be fun to ask one of them, what they thought about it …
So I asked my son, Zachary. Here are his thoughts.
I was born in 1993. When I was in elementary school, I was already using a computer almost daily, and a lot of my education and entertainment was computer-centric.
As such, I am a textbook “Millennial.”
I use Snapchat too much, I relax by playing video games, and at times I can be unacceptably lazy.
Because of that, I found this interview with Simon Sinek particularly interesting.
I’ve been lucky. My dad did a good job of forcing me to work hard, and valued my efforts more than my results. So, while I'm constantly reminded that I'm lucky I'm not working 80 hour days (and being forced to get a haircut every week) I do feel as if I'm a step ahead of many of my peers.
I still find myself falling in to a lot of the "traps" Sinek describes – I'm reliant on social media; I'm frustrated when my effort doesn't transfer in to immediate impact; and I struggle to not take my phone out in social situations.
I do think the issue is bigger than millennials. It's not just our generation that takes their phones out at meetings and ignores who they're with for someone on their phone. If you pay attention I'll bet you'll notice you do it as well.
The difference, I think, is that millennials spent their formative years in this environment.
This does effect the way we see and interact with the world.
Will we ever measure up to your expectations?
Perhaps not … because our generations approach the world the world so differently.
Nonetheless, we are still capable of great things. We are still driven to create and pursue great things. It's just that we are playing a different game and keeping score a little differently.
Understanding that, in and of itself, can help to close the gap.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject, and any tips you might have for someone relatively new to the corporate world. You can e-mail me at [email protected].
In my office, we use a lot of what seems like "futuristic" artificial intelligence approaches to understanding financial markets. Most of my team are technical or data-science specialists that develop and drive the systems that create our systems. 
