Wisdom in fragments

Music can reveal the nature that lies within us, the part of us we cannot hide. When you hear a single note, a C, it's not a single sound, it's the result of many harmonies. It's like God hiding in plain sight.

African music more broadly is about rhythm, it's so addictive when you listen to it. People dance from 10 pm to 10 am without really stopping much – it's not complicated harmonies, it's about rhythm and connection. It's like a trance – you get hooked.

I think music is a way for God to speak to humans. We have a connection through music that we can't find anywhere else. I believe that's why music is so important for society- its connection- its healing.

You come back and go to a job where your boss is trying to make an extra buck and your co-workers are trying to trample each other to get ahead- even though you just came back from a place where people were willing to die for you.

In war, you're forced to survive. It's kill or be killed, it's the most basic human instinct. You have to unleash that aggressive shadow side of yourself. It gives you a profound sense of being alive, it becomes a dopamine slot machine.

Soldiers don't get post-traumatic stress on the battlefield, they get it when they get return. When you're there, on the battlefield, life is simple. You have a mission, a purpose, a direction, and you're trying to survive. When you come home, that's when you have to reconcile your humanity with who you are.

Every soldier who enters the military knows what makes the grass grow. Civilians are like, 'okay… sun? Water? Photosynthesis?…' for us? Its blood, we say the bright red blood makes the green grass grow.

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