Wisdom in fragments

My grandfather and his generation were told this was their finest hour, and it's strange isn't it… some of our finest hours are the most heartbreaking. In war, you watch your friends die, you are forced to take a life and protect life, and that reality is often played back to you as a soldier as being part of your finest hour.

There is a phrase, tell me what you pay attention to, and I will tell you who you are. That is how I would see the quest for authenticity.

We're choosing brands like we choose friends. And that is a huge responsibility because they've got to be a real friend, not a false friend.

What happens if your true self is not a good leader? Or obnoxious to your colleagues? Or a narcissist? What if your true self is an axe murderer? We should be talking about bringing our best values to work.

The only people I've come across who don't have impostor syndrome are the real impostors. The conmen, con artists, the deceivers in our society who have no problem pretending to be who they are not.

We live in a society where our pursuit of authenticity is more important to us than ever, but we've created a society which is also extraordinarily fake. I want to understand this and understand how we can fight back.

This isn't a passing fad. Something fundamental is going on here.

Editor of Fortune Magazine & Wall Street Journal columnist

Social media has changed everything for companies. Within 24 hours, people on the other side of the world were cancelling flights because they were outraged. You can't segment your message, you have to take ownership.

Editor of Fortune Magazine & Wall Street Journal columnist

If you look at the balance sheets of Fortune 500 companies 50 years ago and today, you can see that 50 years ago, 80% of the value was physical stuff. Today, more than 85% of the value consists of intangibles. Companies must become so much more now that their value comes from their ability to inspire, drive and organise human beings.

Editor of Fortune Magazine & Wall Street Journal columnist

A lot of business leaders were watching all this and seeing it as a warning call… they felt that they had to figure out how to operate better or risk losing their operating license.

Editor of Fortune Magazine & Wall Street Journal columnist

At the time of the last great recession, something changed. It was a significant failure of the markets, and really did cause people to question market economics. It was the beginning of a time when everybody felt the need to put a modifier in front of the word 'capitalism,' it was clear the incumbent version wasn't working as well as it could.

Editor of Fortune Magazine & Wall Street Journal columnist

Instead of saying 'I'm a technology entrepreneur…' you might say, 'well, I run a technology business, but I love philosophy and playing the piano…' the person you're speaking to now has a few more dots to connect!

We can literally see in science that having an open mind, an openness to the unexpected, and the right goals and direction create a greater likelihood of success. This mindset literally gives people the permission to look- and act- on the unexpected.

The lucky person walks down the street, sees the £5 note, picks it up, goes into the coffee shop, and sits next to the businessperson, they have a conversation, exchange cards, and leave thinking they've potentially had a great opportunity. The unlucky person ignores the money, and sits next to the person without making conversation.

We are held back by our deep, underlying fears. Fears of rejection, fears of being the imposter. We need to reframe these fears and work on regret minimisation. If you didn't take that action, spark up that conversation, or try that idea, would you regret it?

Serendipity is about active luck, it's about the luck we create for ourselves and how we imbue meaning into the unexpected. Our reaction to unexpected moments can determine what happens in the future; that's a big component of what we perceive as 'luck.'