How conformity leads to conflict
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene Romeo & Juliet __ Human beings are copying machines. This is the central idea of “mimetic theory”, which was put forward by historian René Girard to explain the motivations of human beings, the evolution of culture, and ultimately the rise of […]
Nickelback, Starbucks, and the power of in-authenticity
Everyone agrees, apparently, that it’s good for a brand to be “authentic”. So much so that it’s become one of those overused words that people are increasingly embarrassed to use: like “engagement” or “purpose” or “millennials”. We all know authenticity is good, there’s no need to go on about it. But then again… is it? […]
Nike and the concept of “cultural innovation”
When I want to make a point about strategy, I often refer to a famous brand in order to do it. So does everyone of course, and because there are so few brands out there who are strategically interesting, the same names always get repeated. To be honest I always feel a bit embarrassed to […]
Why are startup brands so boring?
All startup brands are the same. This was the implication of a Bloomberg article about the rise of what it called “the blands” – the army of VC backed DTC brands you see everywhere exemplified by the likes of Casper mattresses, Harry’s razors, Allbirds, and Brandless. I’ve been thinking a lot about that idea, so I […]
The hidden choice between growth and survival
Life boils down to choices. I like the way Epictetus put it, which was: “You are not your body body and hairstyle, but your capacity for choosing well. If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be”. Unfortunately, choices are by definition hard. An “easy choice” between something unambiguously good, and something unambiguously bad, is […]
How Christmas helps us see time differently
Being a modern Western person, you probably subscribe to a linear perception of time. What I mean by this is that you see time as a straight line, stretching into the future, along which you and society “progress” – onwards and upwards, cumulatively into the future. Seen this way, life is essentially a progression along […]
The upgrade paradox – why great products are bad for business
A few weeks ago Apple were hit by a 10% slump in their quarterly profits, thanks largely to a decline in sales for the new iPhone. Not ideal, certainly, but not wholly unanticipated either. Far from being an aberrant result, this blow is just the latest sign of a wider phenomenon that is progressively hitting […]
Why the future may look more familiar than you think
This piece originally appeared in Arc Digital. The tech revolution has claimed many scalps. Film cameras, video stores, landlines, and adult magazines — these are just a few of the technologies that have been thrown into obsolescence by the digitalization of everything. Less noticeably, technological progress has also slowed for a product that would seem to thrive […]
The limits of expertise
This piece first appeared in Quillette. “People are sick of experts.” These infamous and much-derided words uttered by UK Conservative parliamentarian Michael Gove express a sentiment with which we are now probably all familiar. It has come to represent a sign of the times—either an indictment or a celebration (depending on one’s political point of […]
Is the internet complete?
This piece first appeared in Quillette. In 2013, a debate was held between friends Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, the thrust of which was to determine whether we are living through an innovation golden age, or whether innovation was in fact stalling. Thiel, of course, played the innovation sceptic, and it is interesting now with […]