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When Do Leaders Actually Matter? A Conversation with Jared Diamond on Discretion, Timing and the Hamlet Test

In this interview, I spoke to Professor Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, about when individual leaders genuinely change outcomes. We discussed discretion, timing, his Hamlet Test for irreplaceability, assassination as a…

Vikas Shah 24 min read

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Three thousand moments. Three picked at random.

“In order to build a truly powerful brand, you can't just sell a product. You need a brand that is authentic and resonates deeply with your fans. The reason we've been able to amass so many followers around the world in such a short period of time is that they aren't just consuming a product; they're finding meaning in it.”
— Chatri Sityodtong Founder and Chairman of ONE Championship, premier Asian MMA organization
“A regional war in say, South Asia, which involved as few as one hundred nuclear bombs would result in firestorms in their urban centres that would put so much smoke and particulate into the atmosphere that the earth would be covered in a cloud that would reflect sunlight back into space and reduce global temperatures but two to three degrees for several years. This would kill most food crops on the planet, resulting in massive famines and starvation.”
— Joseph Cirincione Nuclear weapons expert and president of the Ploughshares Fund.
“Toyota's reputation for long-term quality is finished. People aren't going to buy Toyotas, period. It doesn't matter which model. What's happened is sufficient to keep people out of the stores.”
— Maryann Keller Automotive industry analyst and consultant, known for expertise in car manufacturing.

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  1. 01 Business & Economics Can Optimism Survive Bad News? Michelle Gielan on Resilient Optimism, Burnout and Becoming a Positive Deviant 362 interviews
  2. 02 Culture, Society, Sports & Arts The Crisis Diplomat: A Conversation with Ian Proud on the 2004 Tsunami, Institutional Failure and Living with Trauma 236 interviews
  3. 03 Politics & Policy From the Minefields of Kuwait to Sandhurst: A Conversation with Major General Arthur Denaro on War, Leadership and Peace 170 interviews
  4. 04 Science & Technology Could Machines Be Conscious? A Conversation with Dr Tom McClelland on Minds, Machines and the Hard Problem of Consciousness 135 interviews
  5. 05 Health & Medicine The Continuum of Mind: A Conversation with Professor Michael Levin on Cognition, Bioelectricity and the Future of Being 74 interviews
  6. 06 Nobel Laureates Markets, Morals and the Road Ahead: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Professor Alvin Roth 21 interviews

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