Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL Interviews the world's leading thinkers, and the people shaping the century.

Paying attention is a crucial human skill, yet many of us have forgotten how to listen carefully and observe intentionally. Deluged by social media and hobbled by the increasing social isolation it fosters, we need to rediscover the deeply human ways we connect with others. In this interview, I speak…

 

Susan “Lucia” Annunzio is an acclaimed leadership coach, author, President and CEO of the Center for High Performance. Lucia, known by her clients as the “CEO-Whisperer,” has spent over 25 years observing, analysing, and coaching CEO, C-Suite, and Board dynamics.  She has discerned that an organization is only as great as…

 

Ozwald Boateng has been at the forefront of fashion for over 25 years. He conceived a new silhouette and palette for international menswear, creating a concept of style and luxury for men not previously envisaged but desired by men everywhere. Always the revolutionary, Ozwald Boateng’s collections now see an evolution…

 

Myleene Klass has had a remarkable career. She is a classically trained musician, TV & radio presenter, businesswoman, and designer. In 2023 however, she changed history. Following four of her own ‘tortuous’ miscarriages, Myleene joined forces with MP Olivia Blake and spent over four years campaigning for changes to the…

 

John Chambers is an extraordinary leader. During his 25 years at Cisco, he took the business profitably from $1 billion, to over $49 billion in annual revenues. Not only is this one if the internet-era’s greatest success stories, but one which built much of the infrastructure of the modern internet.…

 

Bryan Johnson is the world's most measured human. Johnson sold his company, Braintree Venmo, to PayPal for $800m in 2013. Through his Project Blueprint, Johnson has achieved metabolic health equal to the top 1.5% of 18-year-olds, inflammation 66% lower than the average 10-year-old, and reduced his speed of aging by…

 

Sridhar Vembu is the CEO and Co-founder of Zoho Corp, which he describes as “...a state-of-the-art tech company with a very old-fashioned approach to company building.” Founded in an apartment, in 1996, Zoho now has over 15,000 employees, more than US$1 billion in annual revenues, and over 100 million users. All…

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

I got into boxing promotion by accident. One of my cousins was a boxer, so I used to go watch him fight as an amateur and then when he turned pro. He had a fight, I went to watch it… he got beat and had a return match… he beat the guy… they had another match, but they wanted to pay them crap money. I went to the meeting, turned around and said, '…I don't need you, we'll promote it…' I don't know why I even said that! The next minute, I was in the promotion business and helping to get this thing together; I got bitten by the bug, and it went from there.

— Frank Warren
Founder of PostSecret, anonymous confessions project & book series

These new regulations should (in theory, although there is no research to test it) prevent this psychological risk aversion by ensuring that all counterparties know that at a wholesale and institutional level, they are safe.

I never started off with money, I started off with love. The love of being an entrepreneur. The love of being a lawyer. The love of being an athlete. When you start off with love, people will love and respect you and you will always be monetarily rewarded.

— Shaquille O’Neal
Hall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion

I went from knowing the value of a dollar to forgetting the difference between $10,000 and $30,000 because everything was expensive. I certainly I got hoodwinked sometimes: people would Google me and the business and charge me astronomical prices.

— Sophia Amoruso
Founder of Nasty Gal & Author of "#GIRLBOSS

There are two different types of founders. A wartime founder – when things are tough, they act and a poor peacetime founder – it is really fun or nice to work for.

Browse all quotes →

Long-form Interviews with the World's Leading Thinkers — Thought Economics


The Wisdom Series

Ten in-depth articles distilling insights from over 550 interviews with the world's leading thinkers, creators, and changemakers.

The Wisdom of Leadership The Wisdom of Entrepreneurship The Wisdom of Creativity The Wisdom of Technology The Wisdom of Meaning The Wisdom of the Mind The Wisdom of Justice The Wisdom of Science The Wisdom of Geopolitics The Wisdom of Health
Explore the Wisdom Series →