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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.

“We can only solve our ecological problems by linking ecology and economy. If we can create the right economic environment, change will happen. If it's more profitable to be efficient than wasteful, we will be efficient.”
— Bertrand Piccard Swiss Adventurer & Pilot of Solar-Powered Aircraft Solar Impulse
“I wasn't thinking about success or being 'big' or creating a huge business. I was thinking about answering a need, a void, creating something that wasn't there before.”
— Donna Karan Renowned Fashion Designer & Founder of DKNY Brand
“The platform of business is one of the most amazing ways to change society, but I am telling you this as someone who grew up not liking the platform.”
— Hamdi Ulukaya Founder and CEO of Chobani Greek Yogurt Company

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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 We Are Not Alone: A Conversation with Jonathan Caplan KC on the Evidence for UAPs, Non-Human Intelligence and Why It Was Never Disclosed 136 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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