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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…

Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL 24 min read

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“Relationships are an emotional exchange hub. We bestow energy upon one another, help each other de-stress, and ignite joy in each other's lives. However, we must acknowledge that the digital realm filters out a significant portion of our emotional bandwidth.”
— Robert J. Waldinger Director of Harvard Study of Adult Development & Psychiatrist
“Researching the story of empire didn't make me hate Britain, rather it gave me a deeper sense of belonging because it made me realise that we (brown people) have been here for centuries.”
— Sathnam Sanghera British journalist and author, wrote "The Boy with the Topknot
“In biology we are still in a kind of Ptolemaic era with man considering himself the centre of the universe.”
— Stefano Mancuso Plant neurobiologist and founder of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology.

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Insights, themes and patterns from years of long-form interviews — organised around the questions that matter most.

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  1. 01 Business & Economics When Do Leaders Actually Matter? A Conversation with Jared Diamond on Discretion, Timing and the Hamlet Test 361 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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