It doesn’t matter how great your ideas are, how driven you are, how much money you have to invest or even what your track record is; your next venture, deal or project will only be as good as the people involved. For many, ‘networking’ conjures up images of awkward forced…
“Growing up in Los Angeles at the age of two it was just my mother, brother and I.” John Paul Dejoria told me, “We had very little but didn’t know it. We had a very loving mother. At 6 years old, my mom took my brother and I downtown for…
In these exclusive interviews, we speak with Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE (Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace), Prof. Yuval Noah Harari (Author of the international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) and Dr. Carl Safina (Prize-winning author, ecologist and MacArthur Fellow). We look at the fundamental nature of humanity, how our species has grown to become dominant, and what the future holds for mankind.
In these exclusive interviews, we speak to Russell Simmons (Co-Founder of Def Jam, Chairman & CEO of Rush Communications – described by USA Today as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years”) and Tricia Rose (Professor of Africana Studies and Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University). We discuss the story of hip-hop, its growth into a global phenomenon and how hip-hop reflects the extreme social realities of urban culture globally.
When I’m mentoring or consulting with entrepreneurs, I’m always intrigued by what they’re reading… Why? It gives me a great indication of where they’re getting their inspiration from; and I’ve noticed a real change in the past few years.. The Cult of the Business Book! A passing examination of the…
In diverse industries from banking to entrepreneurship and medicine to engineering, it’s no accident that those who excel share the sports analogy of being, ‘at the top of their game.’ The world is so constantly-on, so global, and so demanding- that those with an eye on the pinnacles of their…
In this exclusive interview series, we talk to Jaan Tallinn (Co-Founder of Skype and Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk), Professor Sir John Beddington (Senior Advisor, Oxford Martin School & the UK Government’s former Chief Scientific Adviser) and Sir Crispin Tickell (former diplomat and advisor to successive UK Prime Ministers, who is regarded as the world’s foremost authority on climate change and environmental issues). We tackle the question of how vulnerable our species really is and explore threats ranging from climate change and natural disasters to food, energy and water security, technology, artificial intelligence, near earth objects and the biggest threat to humanity… humans themselves.
In this article, we exclusively talk to four of the world’s leading experts on Justice. The Rt. Hon Lord Woolf of Barnes (Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000-2005), Susan Herman (President of the American Civil Liberties Union ‘ACLU’), Professor David Kaye (UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression) and Widney Brown (Director, Physicians for Human Rights). We look at the very concept of justice itself, and explore issues ranging from the concept of democracy itself to free speech, civil liberties, war and terrorism, human rights, social justice and more.
In these exclusive interviews we speak to Col. Artur Suzik (Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, NATO CCD COE), Ambassador Gábor Iklódy (Director of Europe’s Crisis Management and Planning Directorate), Professor Sadie Creese (Professor of Cybersecurity at Oxford University and Director of the Global Centre for Cyber Security Capacity Building at the Oxford Martin School) and Professor Howard Schmidt (Partner at Ridge Schmidt Cyber and Former Cyber Advisor to Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush). We discuss the threats posed to nations, their economies and societies from the internet and networks that form cyberspace.
Our Quest for Immortality – In this exclusive interview series, we speak to Prof. Jack Szostak (Nobel Prize winning Geneticist), Dmitry Itskov (billionaire founder of the 2045 Initiative), Aubrey de Grey (Chief Science Officer of the SENS Research Foundation), Prof. Ezekiel Emanuel (Bioethicist and Fellow at the Centre for American Progress) and Prof. George Church (Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School). We discuss the fundamental essence of life itself, why we die, research into extending lifespans, and whether we will ever overcome our mortality.
In a world dominated by the information economy, it’s perhaps easy to assume that ‘unicorns’ (businesses that achieve that elusive billion dollar valuation) can only be found in the realm of apps, software and platforms. The truth however, is that the economy of things (engineering, manufacturing and production) is very…
For many entrepreneurs, the billion dollar valuation or exit, is the non-negotiable target they set for themselves. As of 2015, there are just over 1,800 (known) dollar billionaires in the world, with a combined wealth of over $7 trillion-which is growing fast (the same list had a combined wealth of…
Outside the [wonderful] ‘bubble’ of the creative industries, businesses often see ‘design’ as a cost, as something that the marketing department does in between espressos and yoga. The truth however, is that the vast majority (if not all) of the most successful businesses I have ever seen place design thinking at the head-table of conceptual pillars for their enterprise; alongside financial and strategic.
My first business was a very successful digital agency and consultancy, it gave me almost a decade-long adventure, taking me around the world and enjoying the thrill of being on top of my game, it was my life. The .com crash however, slaughtered this business in spectacular fashion- and once…
Forming a board or similarly high-level leadership team is an inevitable part of your entrepreneurship journey. Often it can happen organically, as part of the normal growth of your business- or sometimes, particularly in the case of businesses attracting external investment, it can be something which is done early- before…
How Creativity, Animation and Stories define us. In these exclusive interviews we speak to Ed Catmull (Co-Founder of Pixar Animation, and President of Walt Disney Animation Studios), Nick Park (Oscar Winning Writer, Director and Animator with Aardman Animation) and Jonathan Gottschall (A world expert in storytelling and Distinguished Research Fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College). We discuss the fundamental role of storytelling in human existence, and learn the secrets of creativity, animation and great stories.
With very few exceptions, those in leadership roles (whether they be entrepreneurs, senior corporate figures, or those with positions of great responsibility) tend to be the type of individuals that thrive under stress.
Scientists, scholars and academics have yet to define genius, yet the concept is rightly applied to those exceptional individuals who, through their art, their science or their enterprise, create unique changes in our thinking, or our broader-world. Genius carries a certain mystical quality, distancing it from even that which we…
By: Vikas Shah, Originally Published at AllAboutAlpha.com Factory farming is a brutal endeavour. In this environment, chickens (and other animals) are given a variety of feeds and chemicals (stimuli) designed to make them grow as big as possible as fast as possible and hence maximise output. In truth, factory farms…
In these exclusive interviews, we speak to Moisés Naím (Distinguished Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former Minister of Trade and Industry for Venezuela and Executive Director of the World Bank) and Admiral James Stavridis (Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO). We discuss the fundamental nature of power, how it shapes our world economically, politically, socially and how it impacts the lives of every single individual on the planet.