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

The World’s Most Profound Health Challenge. In these exclusive interviews we speak to: Dr. Thomas Insel (Former Director of the National Institutes of Mental Health, NIMH – Co-Founder, Mindstrong Health), Dr. Shekhar Saxena (Director: Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organisation, WHO), Paul Farmer CBE (Chief…

 

How Climate Change and Environmental Damage Threaten Humanity, and What We Can Do to Protect Our Future.  In this exclusive interview series, we speak to H.E. Mohamed Nasheed (Former President of the Maldives), H.E. Anote Tong (Former President of Kiribati),  Achim Steiner (Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme UNEP), Professor…

 

I meet Thor Björgólfsson, an Icelandic entrepreneur who made one of the greatest comebacks in modern entrepreneurial history- losing close to 100% of a $4 billion fortune, dusting himself off, starting again, and eventually re-joining the billionaire-class with a current fortune estimated (conservatively) at $2 billion.

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

Visionary leaders that build great companies have some personality attributes they share. They are self-confident enough to be humble. They have a reservoir, a personal drive, passion, belief in their capabilities, and they're willing to admit what they don't do well and to seek those people to join their team from the very beginning.

— Steve Jurvetson
Prominent venture capitalist and early Tesla investor at Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Studies show that to get an MBA and to be a high-level executive you need to be a standard-deviation above the norm (have an IQ of 114 or more). After that, it turns out there's a negative relationship between IQ and leadership effectiveness. Perhaps because at that point people become narcissistic or egocentric.

— Daniel Goleman
Psychologist who popularized the concept of emotional intelligence

The overlap of these two is incredibly fertile territory and this is exactly where businesses in the U.S. and UK see each other – places where they both need to do business and want to do business.

— Matthew W. Barzun
U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, France, and the United Kingdom

There's a concept in psychology called naïve realism. We think we see the world perfectly and assume that everyone sees it the way we do. If they don't? if they disagree? Our assumption is that they are wrong, and that they are misinformed. It's a natural inclination we all have which stops us putting ourselves in the other's shoes.

— Amy Gallo
Harvard Business Review contributor & workplace dynamics expert

People were sure that they were risking death when building mutual aid webs or asking for dignity on the streets of our great cities around the world. People are choosing humanity, dignity, freedom and equality as ideals even when they perceive a risk of dying.

— Ece Temelkuran
Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

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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
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