digitaltonto

When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name. Signaling institutional authority, he stood behind a podium, wore a white coat, and talked passionately about the “science” of the disease and its spread. He asked people to change their behaviors, wear masks and distance themselves from their neighbors.

Many did not trust him or feel any c...

The truth is that change is not a hero's journey. Just because you have a vision you believe in and are willing to fight for it doesn’t mean it will ever get any traction. That’s simply not how transformation works. You can’t simply will an idea into becoming a reality. The universe cannot be overpowered, you need to attract its forces to you.

The true story of change ...

Teaching undergraduates gives you a different perspective on things. For many, they see their life already laid out: An analyst position at a prestigious bank or consulting firm after graduation, then graduate school and a string of impressive jobs at important institutions. Then family, travel, and maybe a board seat or two.

We all know that life is messier than that,...

Fifty years ago, in 1976, life expectancy in the US was 72 years, vs. 78 today. American families typically had one car and one TV. Houses were smaller, nutrition was worse, we polluted like hell and there was no internet. We spent much less time with our screens and more time with each other.

Today, it’s easy to see how many things have gotten better, but it’s just as...

We like to think of the big guys at the top getting fat and lazy. The story of Netflix upending Blockbuster is so appealing because it plays to those biases. It’s reassuring to believe that people get disrupted by not paying attention and making poor decisions because that means that we can avoid their fate with a modicum of awareness and intelligence.

Yet the far more...