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

Steve Ballmer served over 20 years at Microsoft.  During his tenure, the company pioneered personal computing and democratized enterprise computing, growing from a small start-up to a company that today employs more than 110,000 people, with a market capitalisation approaching $100 billion.  After retiring from this role in 2014, he…

 

In these exclusive interviews, we speak to Dr. Christopher Wild (Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC - an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organisation of the United Nations), Prof. Nic Jones (Director of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and former Chief Scientist of…

 

In this exclusive series of interviews, we speak to four world experts on religion and science.  Fr. José G. Funes (Director of the Vatican Observatory), Prof. Alister McGrath (Director, Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford University), Dr. Deborah Haarsma (President of the BioLogos Foundation), Prof. Justin Barrett…

 

In this exclusive series of interviews, we speak to six world experts on theatre and performance. Sir Howard Panter (Founder of the Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, Chairman of Rambert Dance Company), Gilles Ste-Croix (co-founder of Cirque du Soleil), Joanna Read (Principal of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art…

 

The story of how education shaped, and continues to shape, humanity.  In this exclusive series of interviews we learn about how education has, and continues to shape our world.  We speak to Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin (Chair of the Board, Nobel Foundation), Sal Khan (Founder, Khan Academy), Professor Lino Guzzella (President,…

 

Before I start, let me be clear that I realise the irony of an entrepreneurship-advice column which advocates taking less-advice.  However, wrapped in that paradox is an important element of truth. The Plague of Uncertainty In the past few years, I’ve seen a disturbing trend amongst CEOs and start-up-founders that…

 

I have spoken at a few conferences lately where I’ve noticed entrepreneurs focus completely on the ‘social good’ of their business, as opposed to the ‘old school’ factor of making money. Now… I’m going to start this piece with a huge caveat.  I am a huge advocate for social-enterprise, charity,…

 

In this exclusive interview series, we talk to: Leymah Gbowee (Nobel Peace Prize Winner), Leslee Udwin (Director of ‘India’s Daughter’ and Founder of Think Equal), Sheryl WuDunn (Co-Founder, Half the Sky Movement), Dr. Anne Summers (Feminist, Author), Professor Michael Kimmel (Founder, Men & Masculinities), Amy Richards (Founder, Third Wave Foundation…

 

Authenticity is one of the most commonly uttered buzz-phrases at any management or leadership seminar, and while this ubiquity may banish it to the realms of ‘blue sky thinking’ (aka management-meeting-related-drivel), the truth is that authenticity is hugely important for entrepreneurs. A Philosophy Lesson In the classics, if we examine…

 

We’ve all seen the TV shows… Nervous start-ups go up against a panel of investors, giving their elevator-pitch followed- almost instantaneously- by a round of severe grilling.  The lucky few survive, with more cash, less equity and hopefully a brighter future. The phenomenon of ‘the pitch’ however, once exclusively the…

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

I didn't like the rampant tracking and the fact that Google and Facebook effectively ran some of the largest information gathering networks on earth (and that's a very charitable way of describing it).

— Sridhar Ramaswamy
Former Google Executive & Founder of Perplexity AI

Any time you're in a situation where the price is 'too low'—and I put that in quotes because it might not feel low to you, sometimes things are very expensive, but there are more people who'd like to buy the thing than they have the ability to serve—that's when a hidden market will crop up.

The industry is so big that it's difficult to give a general read of its state. It's a bit like saying 'what's the state of the global banking industry?' You could do a broad-brush and say that the banking industry is full of corrupt individuals intent on defrauding the world, or you could say that in some markets banking is doing very well- and in others it's doing terribly.

The arrival fallacy is this notion, this psychological trick we play on ourselves, where we repeatedly convince ourselves that happiness, contentment, and fulfilment lie just beyond whatever mountaintop we've set as our ultimate goal. You hit that target you've built up as the finish line, and sure, you get a fleeting rush of dopamine-fuelled euphoria—only to find yourself quickly eyeing a new, distant summit.

— Sahil Bloom
Content creator and author known for insights on decision-making and business

Many of us think that you should only believe things that are true, not just things that rally your coalition, sect, or tribe. That belief is by no means universal, but it is a gift of the enlightenment.

— Steven Pinker
Cognitive Scientist & Psychologist Known for Research on Language and Human Nature

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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.

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