Subscribe now for actionable insights, data, and solidarity. From the punks who make progress possible.
“What’s My Trade, A$$hole?” - Innovate Like Wall Street is Watching
In June, 2007, I had my first F U Pay Me innovation meeting. It showed me that every intrapreneur needs to be defend their ROI to an innovation-agnostic investor.
First, Fix Your Culture: Why Amazon And AI Will Disrupt Investment Banking in 2024
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mike Bloomberg all quit or got fired from banks before becoming entrepreneurs. The culture of banks spits out brilliant innovators and negates their investments into technology. AI is no different. Here’s how to fix banking culture.
Ethics vs. economics: What happened at OPEN AI is why ESG is doomed
Ethics almost never wins a fight against economics. But sometimes they are totally interdependent. I talk about it more in this week’s edition of the newsletter.
Microsoft Just Got Pregnant With Altman AI
The mismatch that OPEN AI experienced as a disruptive tech juggernaut trapped in the body of a non-profit will morph into a new challenge at Microsoft: a disruptive tech startup trapped in the body of a huge, political, bureaucratic corporation.
Urgency With Optimism: The Hubert Joly Turnaround Doctrine of Human Magic
From 2012-2019, Hubert Joly led Best Buy from the precipice of bankruptcy to a 3X increase in market capitalization, in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in corporate history. He did so through a doctrine of ‘human magic’ which depended on empowered, energized solidarity among Best Buy’s workforce. His doctrine is essential reading for anyone leading massive change in an emotionally messy company.
The biggest AI headline this week was McKinsey not Open AI
When CHAT GPT went public a year ago I predicted that it would be more of a threat to McKinsey, BCG, and Bain than to Google. Two disparate headlines this week indicate that this prediction is coming true.
Like Sex Therapy From A Nun: Simon Sinek and how to tell a thought leader from an expert
When you really need help, you need an expert - not a thought leader. Experts are survivors - thought leaders are observers. In this article I show you how to spot the difference.
Richard Branson and the Sex Pistols Disruption Doctrine
In 1977 the most notorious punk band on Earth, The Sex Pistols, was fired by EMI records and signed by a fledgling independent record label, Virgin, led by a struggling, young magazine publisher named Richard Branson.
Sir Richard Branson is now worth approximately $7 billion.
How Punk was the cornerstone of Richard Branson’s business empire.
The Musk Disruption Doctrine Pt. 2: Launch A Product - Not A Powerpoint
In 2009 a team of Daimler executives visited Silicon Valley as part of a global innovation expedition to explore electric vehicles. The team visited Fisker, Think City, BYD, and a struggling Silicon Valley startup called Tesla.
Tesla’s eccentric CEO, Elon Musk, did something different from everyone else. When he came out to greet them, he asked if they wanted to test-drive an electric Smart car.
What happened next is a masterclass for anyone trying to innovate in the face of corporate resistance.
How To Build A $1.55Bn Artist Colony
I’ve worked with C-Suite Leaders at Google, Bloomberg, Uber, and across the Fortune 500. But Ethan Berman, CEO of RiskMetrics, had the most enduring impact. In this article I reverse-engineer his strategy for disruptive growth.
The Musk Disruption Doctrine
In 1991 a young intern at ScotiaBank proposed an idea to the head of strategic planning: buy $5mn of distressed Latin American bonds.
The intern was Elon Musk. It instilled in the young Elon Musk a deep sense that banks are broken, and set him on a lifetime mission to disrupt industries that are bloated, old, and inefficient.
The AI We Need VS. The AI We Want
There are two types of innovation: indulgence innovation and abundance innovation. Indulgence innovation makes us gamble, game, scroll, and buy more crap through a mobile device. Abundance innovation helps us solve big, systemic problems.
In this article I talk about how AI might help us create more abundance if we don’t screw it up.
Two Sams: SBF, Altman, and How AI Can Overdeliver
Sam’s black hoodie set him apart from the models, moguls, and millionaires at the invite-only affair in New York’s Hudson Yards. They hovered around him asking to take selfies or if he would listen to their startup idea. He had just flown in from Hong Kong. The next day he traveled to Washington DC where he testified before Congress. He was encouraged by the warm, bipartisan reception he received at the Capitol. “I think there can be a regulatory framework that can help build a really strong industry while also providing oversight and consumer protection.” he said in an interview afterwards.
The Baptism
The Punks & Pinstripes usual programming will be back next week with an article called “The Two Sams: SBF, Sam Altman, and how AI can overdeliver.” That was going to be the newsletter today. Then life made other plans. I never really talk about my experience on the front lines of September 11. But sometimes my memory of that day won’t let me do anything else. So, here it is. It was one of the most formative experiences of my life. We’ll get back to our regularly scheduled programming next week. Thanks for being patient.
5 Tough Choices You’ll Face When You Reinvent Yourself
I think a lot of people experience what I went through that August toward the end of summer vacation. They’ve had a few weeks to ask themselves, “how am I doing?” And sometimes the answer that comes back is “not good. Get your $h*t together.”
Read This Before You Leave Your Corporate Job To Launch A Startup
The Entrepreneur Exodus (the corporate executives leaving large companies to launch startups) is very real and very hard.
The Entrepreneur Exodus: The Next Phase Of The Great Resignation in 6 Charts
During the Great Resignation, a record 80 million Americans quit their jobs from 2020 - 2023. But they didn’t just leave work and then sit on the beach.
Older, More Impactful: Breaking Down The 2023 Class of Startup Unicorns
CB Insights released its list of 629 US Unicorn startups last week. Here are some of the key takeaways: The US is producing fewer unicorns.
Happy Early Birthday, Liar’s Poker
Happy Early Birthday, Liar’s Poker - In 1988, a 28 year old bond trader with an undergraduate degree in art history sat down on his sofa and recorded a two-hour voice memo recounting the crazy things he witnessed working at Salomon Brothers, the most prestigious bank on Wall St. That cassette tape would later become Michael Lewis’s debut book, “Liar’s Poker.”
Battle-Tested Optimism: Why Entrepreneurs Like Ian Cook Move Mountains After They Leave Corporate
From Ian Cook’s fancy 27th floor corporate office in Pittsburgh he gazed out at the dilapidated warehouse where his old startup used to be. In that moment a feeling that had been simmering for a while became totally clear: he wanted his old life back.