Jeff Booth has been at the forefront of technological change for over 20 years. He founded a company called BuildDirect based in Vancouver, an e-commerce platform that was on its way to being a unicorn before he dramatically and suddenly left because, as he says it, his integrity was not for sale. When I first heard this story, I could relate to the emotional toll this must have taken on him, having been through something very similar, albeit on a far smaller scale. But I was also struck by how quickly Jeff bounced back, and the impact that he has had since then, be it with companies he’s founded, invested in or advised. Jeff and I talk about the arc of his career, his book "The Price of Tomorrow," as well as crypto and blockchain. Then we drop from macro-topics into micro-topics of how he chooses to spend his time amidst the many new opportunities that he sees in the world today.
What We Cover:
- The roots and disastrous consequences of inflationary monetary system
- The “war” between the current monetary system and what exponential technology is bringing
- Why digital currency like Bitcoin has the potential to mitigate the climate change and to contribute to a different economic system
Key Learnings and Takeaways:
- There is no way to solve inequality through an inflationary monetary system. An inflationary monetary system equals inequality.
- In a world that is changing really fast, the advantage goes to people that are open to learning faster.
- We need to have an incentive system based on truth, that can’t be changed by rulers, a system that incentivises cooperation. Digital currencies can play a significant role in creating such systems.
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- “The Price of Tomorrow” by Jeff Booth https://www.amazon.com/Price-Tomorrow-Deflation-Abundant-Future/dp/1999257405/
- Jeff Booth’s Website https://www.jeffreybooth.com/
- Connect with Jeff Booth on Twitter https://twitter.com/JeffBooth
- Terramera https://www.terramera.com/
- Cubic Farms https://cubicfarms.com/
- Addy https://www.addyinvest.com/
- NocNoc https://nocnoc.com/
- “Swag: Alternative Investments for the Coming Decate” by Joe Roseman https://www.amazon.com/Swag-Alternative-Investments-Coming-Decade/dp/1781485186/
- Eric Jorgenson: Leverage, Permissionlessness and Naval’s Book of Wisdom on OutsideVoices https://outsidelens.com/eric-jorgenson/
Connect with Mark Bidwell:
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbidwell/
- Twitter https://twitter.com/markehb
My guest this week is Dorie Clark, a consultant and keynote speaker, who teaches executive education at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School, and she is the author of “The Long Game,” “Entrepreneurial You,” and “Stand Out.” A frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, she consults and speaks for clients including Google, Microsoft, and the World Bank.
Dorie’s latest book "The Long Game" caught my attention because it touches on themes such as compounding, and not in the traditional financial sense, but compounding of expertise, of brand and of content. It also explores why it is so important and also so hard to play the long game, and how to stay in the game despite the inevitable challenges. We also talk about her business model and how it has evolved over the years.
What We Cover:
- The Long Game framework for strategic thinking in business and life
- What gets in the way of the Long Game and why so few people apply it
- The power of compounding and why it’s so hard to understand it on a visceral level
- What “choosing to to be bad” means and how it affects the Long Game
- How to “optimise for interesting” in today’s fast-changing world
Key Takeaways and Learnings:
- There is a consensus that strategic thinking is important, yet there is a big gap in implementation and very few people apply it despite the obvious benefits of playing the Long Game
- Preconditions for playing the Long Game are creating more whitespace for strategic thinking, focusing on the right goals and keeping the faith - cultivating persistence and resilience
- In our culture, there is a polarity between optimising for money and optimising for passion. Optimising for interesting is a third way that is kinder and healthier for our life and business paths
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- “The Long Game: How to be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World” by Dorie Clark https://dorieclark.com/longgame/
- Dorie Clark’s website https://dorieclark.com/
- The Long Game Free Self-Assessment https://dorieclark.com/thelonggame/
- Recognized Expert™ Course by Dorie Clark https://learn.dorieclark.com/courses/expert
- The Long Now Foundation https://longnow.org/
- “The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World” by Roman Krznaric https://www.romankrznaric.com/good-ancestor
- “Uncommon Service” by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss http://uncommonservice.com/
- “Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain” by Pete Egoscue https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675597/pain-free-revised-and-updated-second-edition-by-pete-egoscue/
- The Weekly Dish by Andrew Sullivan on Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/
- Common Sense with Bari Weiss on Substack https://bariweiss.substack.com/
- It Bears Mentioning by John McWhorter on Substack https://johnmcwhorter.substack.com/
- Joel Greenblatt: The Common Sense of Long-Term Investing on OutsideVoices https://outsidelens.com/joel-greenblatt-the-common-sense-of-long-term-investing/
- Wade Davis: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in Today’s World on OutsideVoices https://outsidelens.com/wade-davis/
- Chris Rainier and Olivia McKendrick: The Race to Save Cutlural and Intellectual Diversity on OutsideVoices https://outsidelens.com/chris-rainier-olivia-mckendrick-the-race-to-save-cultural-and-intellectual-diversity/
Connect with Mark Bidwell:
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbidwell/
- Twitter https://twitter.com/markehb