Exponential Wisdom

Episode 72: When to Kill a Company

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Peter and Dan examine one of the most challenging decisions faced by serial entrepreneurs: when is the right time to kill a company? Illustrating firsthand stories of past company failures, they discuss the most tell-tale signs of dwindling passion and poor long-term prospects. If only plowing ahead out of obligation to investors, you might have reached the optimal time to kill an idea. Whether burning through cash with no profits in sight, or fast losing enthusiasm for a venture’s mission, these revelatory flags can help you pull the plug early and move on to stronger ventures.

In this episode:

  • Peter delves into the story of building Zero Gravity Corporation, his struggles with the FAA, and creative maneuvers for launch after 11 long years.
  • Dan discusses the respective roles of excitement, disappointment, and fluctuating mental resolve in determining your commitment to an idea, and discerning when to let it go.
  • Peter and Dan agree that a critical step in launching any startup involves testing your idea against the marketplace early. In a similar vein, Dan explains why he only talks to “check-writers” when determining the validity of an idea.

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Episode 71: Lifetime Learning

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Peter and Dan discuss continuous education as critical in the 21st century to take advantage of new opportunities and develop new capabilities. With technology changing every month, week and even day, your agility as an entrepreneur depends on your ability to learn new skills and instantly apply this knowledge.

In this episode:

  • Peter talks about the fundamentally broken global education system and his belief that exponential technology will completely transform how we learn in the next decade. He gives an example of AI-driven education curating an AR experience, in which digital avatars have conversations with you to create the most impactful experience you’d never be able to have from reading a book.
  • Dan and Peter agree the old system was not a system of inspiration or creativity, but a system of doing what you’re told. The new system will be customized education, where AI is helping people learn in the best ways for them.
  • Peter talks about the gamification of learning and gives an example of an unemployed workforce playing games all day and learning. Once they master a certain level, an employer can offer then a job or a higher paying position.

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Episode 70: The Future of Higher Education

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Peter and Dan continue their hiring discussion with a focus on higher education and the ongoing debate of apprenticeships versus business school. As millennials represent more and more of the job market, should the next generation of leaders go into debt pursuing a degree or acquire business acumen through various forms of apprenticeship?

In this episode:

  • Peter talks about interviewing a recent employee who decided to get an MBA at Stanford Business school and his takeaways in a recent blog. 
  • As an employer who has hired hundreds of candidates, Dan shares tips as we head towards a world where you can know anything you want, anytime you want.
  • Peter and Dan discuss why the rapid rate of technological change, a booming job market, and the digitization of education are chipping away at the traditional graduate-level business program, as we’re seeing with the decline of graduate school admissions.

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Episode 69: Setting Expectations With New Hires

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Peter and Dan discuss one of the biggest problems with the hiring process: most of the time, a job description doesn’t provide enough information to create a successful relationship between an employer and a new employee. In Episode 67, they shared best practices within their own companies; in this follow-up episode, Peter and Dan discuss a specific agreement that communicates expectations to a new team member.

In this episode:

  • Dan explains his dislike of team management meetings and why he developed a new tool called the 4×4. This thinking process helps you clarify and then communicate your expectations to team members.
  • Peter talks about the importance of ensuring his team loves what they are doing and feels fulfilled, while still providing the support needed to meet company objectives.
  • Dan shares a successful example of hiring a recent employee with a 4×4, and discusses how your organization can use this upfront communication tool for better results.

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Episode 68: Flipping the Insurance Industry

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Peter and Dan talk about the history of insurance, and why this age-old industry is ripe for disruption. They discuss which exponential technologies will help inefficiencies and the new business models they see in the near future.

 

In this episode:

  • Peter believes insurance will start to disappear for most people as tech companies begin covering costs (i.e. autonomous car companies like Waymo offering free insurance to their riders).
  • Dan talks about how AI will disrupt the middleman. He outlines a future scenario in which most individuals will purchase life insurance from a robot online, because the process will be that instant, easy and accurate.
  • Peter and Dan discuss how insurance companies should flip the business model from retrospectively protecting from risk to proactively protecting you from risk. This would force insurance companies to keep customers alive longer to retain their business.

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Episode 67: Hiring Great Humans

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Peter and Dan discuss one of the most important aspects in any organization: hiring. They discuss best practices in their own companies, and Dan shares tools that have helped Strategic Coach retain team members for over 25 years.

 

In this episode:

  • Peter and Dan discuss the idea that most of the talented professionals on Earth aren’t looking for you and your business. To attract their attention, you must show them your ethos, what you stand for, and the type of world you want to create.
  • Peter says the term “work” has a bad connotation, and should be redefined as a cause to which you want to contribute, or someone to whom you want to be a hero. As Dan says, “Properly structured, working is one the great sources of meaning and pleasure in a lifetime.”
  • Dan discusses hiring people for roles that align with their Unique Ability — an individual’s distinct set of mindsets and capabilities. A core tenet of Strategic Coach is helping entrepreneurs and team members alike focus on their Unique Ability and effectively collaborate.

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Episode 66: Living to 156 Years

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Peter and Dan discuss Dan’s new book, “My Plan for Living to 156,” and their shared belief that mindset is critical to longevity. You’ll hear about one of the book’s key themes — “everyone’s got a number” — and learn why a longevity goal is extremely important in enabling a long, healthy lifespan.

 

In this episode:

  • Dan gives his biggest takeaways from the book (pick up your copy here), starting with a special tool he calls “The Lifetime Extender” and an idea to eliminate retirement.
  • Peter discusses why purpose is fundamental to longevity, and why humans are purpose-driven animals.
  • Dan and Peter describe your mindset as a skill like a muscle; just as you’d go to the gym to build muscle, you must always train your mindset. Reinventing who you are in the present when new technology comes online is critical for a happy, long life.

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Episode 65: The World Becoming Automagical

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Peter and Dan discuss the recent bankruptcy of retail giant Sears. After being in business for 132 years, converging exponential technologies ultimately led to Sears’ downfall.

They discuss the future of retail, in which AI knows everything and the experience is “automagical.” As the world is automated, AI will be able to leverage large data sets to predict exactly what you want.

In this episode:

  • Peter describes the transformation of the retail experience. In the past, you might think of something you need, look it up in the Yellow Pages and then go to the store to see if it was in stock. In the future, you might instead have a frictionless conversation with your AI, which is always listening and knows your preferences.
  • Dan and Peter talk about the fact that every company will eventually go bankrupt. If you’re not constantly trying to fundamentally reinvent your company now, how can you make a massive change?
  • Peter gives the example of ExP Worldwide, a company that went from the 2008 real estate crisis to reinventing as a fully virtual company with zero offices and a virtual campus for staff to meet online.

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Episode 64: Privacy Is Dead

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Peter and Dan discuss the idea of privacy and how it is a recent human invention. A thousand years ago, people didn’t assume the level of privacy we enjoy today. Do we assume privacy is a right, when it never existed?

 

In this episode:

  • Peter discusses how wrongdoing becomes harder in a world without privacy. When everyone is watching, you’re more likely to think about the consequences of your planned actions. 

  • Dan believes blockchain will become ubiquitous because of public demand. He outlines a future business model in which companies that make money on someone’s personal information will pay users a small percentage of the profits their data earn.

  • Peter discusses a future scenario with an AI software shell that watches everything all the time. As owners of this technology, we will give it permission to watch us and collect every piece of data on us so that it can make decisions that improve our lives.


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Episode 63: The Future of Real Estate

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Peter and Dan discuss one of the undeniable human needs — shelter and a sense of safety — and how the real estate and property ownership industry will transform in the next decade as exponential technologies disrupt the “middleman.”

 

In this episode:

  • Peter describes technologies changing the real estate game, including aerial ridesharing and transportation-as-a-service, VR office headquarters, and 3D-printing personalized houses in days.
  • Dan mentions that humans will always crave a sense of “home,” a place where you want to relax, and how virtual houses won’t be able to replicate this feeling.
  • Peter described the process of buying a new house and why “Smart Houses” connected to the IoT, imbuing the house with intelligence and making it responsive, will change the way we interact.

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