From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
People have lost their belief in the establishment, they believe that the outsider who would bring anger and chaos is much better than the status quo; even if that is against their own interests. Fear is a great weapon, and tyrants use fear against their people to encourage them to vote for increases in military spending, even when infrastructure, education and healthcare are suffering.
It's not enough to lead yourself, you need to tune into the people you work with- the people that you know- your family. You need to pick up non-verbal cues, facial expressions, tone of voice.
Conflict resilience is the capacity to sit with the discomfort of disagreement in the first place. It's a leadership quality that integrates various skills, most notably genuine, curious listening and effective assertion—the ability to articulate one's experience authentically in a way that isn't avoidant but increases the likelihood of being heard.
There are two different types of founders. A wartime founder – when things are tough, they act and a poor peacetime founder – it is really fun or nice to work for.
It is vital that you never, ever, ever stop pursuing excellence. And that is elusive. It's very elusive. It calls for a lot of honesty. A lot.
In society, we assume (still) that male dominance is natural, and that males will make better leaders. We see no evidence of that in primates. We assume (still) that homosexual behaviour isn't natural, but we find homosexual behaviours in all primates. In some of our closest species- such as the bonobo- it's extremely common, perhaps as common as heterosexual behaviour.
You can't control what happens to you, you can only control how you react to it. So, focusing on what's in your control and accepting for the time being what's beyond your control is a really useful therapeutic idea.
I have always been attracted to creative people and been fascinated by what drives them and what they are made of; whether that be a recording artist, an author or a broadcaster. The most exciting thing about it is the fact that you can support somebody on a mission to create something unique, something that creates impact- and often at the level that we are operating at – something culturally relevant.
We need fear, but fear has to be harnessed, and a crucial way we harness it is through training. Training helps you turn fear from something that paralyses you into something that spurs you to take the right decisions in very difficult situations.
When we show our vulnerabilities, what we are insecure about, we are more transparent in how we lead, this is what unlocks cultures of inclusion, empowerment, agency, and psychological safety. We signal to our team members, 'you can trust me' and as a leader, it is vital we show up more authentically.
This has been a heart-wrenching day, and I will never forget the destruction and suffering that I have witnessed. I have visited the scenes of many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this. The scale is so large: so many people, in so many places, in so much need…
San Francisco is the city of love and compassion, will always be, and will never change that. I know that's a very broad response, but I do think that's what motivates me the most in terms of the vision and feeling I have for the city.