Scott Galloway wants to be the most influential thought leader in business history

Scott Galloway aspires to be the most influential thought leader in business history. When asked why, he gave his usual self-criticism: mostly narcissism, desire to relate to people, fear of death, pursuit of financial security. “Mainly for selfish reasons,” he concluded. On further reflection, however, he noted, “I also feel like I have something to say about technology and monopoly power and unfettered corporate interests. They’ve always been there, but I think it’s gotten worse. Growth, going through fatherhood, looking back on how lucky I was when I was born, who I was when I was born, and some of my struggles when I was younger, I spent more money having time to think about young people who I think are struggling in our society , I want to be there to have a positive impact. It’s a mix of wanting to be influential for some good reasons and some not so good reasons.” For Professor G, it’s always about finding ways to improve yourself , and help others through a similar journey of self-discovery.

Galloway seems to be everywhere these days: Judging by his podcasts Pivot and Prof G pods, his venture-backed edtech company Section 4, Prof G Media, produces not only his podcasts but also a weekly newsletter, YouTube Videos and columns for New York Magazine, he appears in your ears or in front of your eyes in many forms. Combine that with his tendency to publish a book every 12 to 18 months or so, and it feels like he’s everywhere.His new book has just been published, called Drifting: America in 100 Charts.

Many of the 100 charts paint a bleak picture of the state of the U.S. federal government. Galloway proved that, just like in 1945 and 1980, America was again a nation at a crossroads. Parts of the book include such titles as “The Idol of the Innovator”, “Private R&D; The Progress of Privatization”, “The Hunger Games”, “From Imbalance to Dystopia”, “The Attention Economy”, “Political Censorship” and Fake News”, “House of Cards.” At times, Galloway seems to think America is more wrong than right. He admits to being the kind of person whose glass is half-empty, but aside from noticing the existential challenges we face, He also forces himself to highlight the silver lining. “Whenever I actually sit down and look at the data, I feel like there’s a lot of brilliant highlights,” Galloway said. “You may be a pessimist, but we have one in five Families with children who were food insecure before the pandemic. It’s one tenth. Through a simple child tax credit, we were able to reduce child poverty by 50%. Now the bad news is we made a last-minute decision to take it off the infrastructure bill, but the good news is I’m not sure if any of us think we can cut it by 50% in a year. “

Galloway also pushes us to look at the challenges through more lenses. While today’s problems may seem insurmountable, they are no greater than the challenges we have given ourselves and accomplished in the past. “Fifty years ago, we sent three men 250,000 miles into space and found a way to land them … we didn’t even know where they landed,” Galloway said. “Somehow we got them out there and figured out a way to get them home alive. It feels like these are huge issues and compared to the Everest we’ve climbed before as a nation, they’re… moles Rat Mountain. Treat anyone in isolation, it will never happen.”

Galloway likes to say, “America isn’t wrong, America isn’t wrong.” He points out that while 54 percent of Democrats are most concerned about their children marrying a Republican, one-third of each party will There are some very elegant moments when the members of the group see them as their mortal enemies. “If you take a closer look at how we got here, the skills we have, the capital we have, the innovation, the generosity in American DNA, and the rise in empathy,” there’s reason to be optimistic, says Gallo Wei. “The best chart in the book [highlights] People all over the world are spending more time helping people they would never meet.tree planting [creating] They will never sit in the shade. ”

One of the solutions he talks about most enthusiastically is the need for National Service. The fact that our representatives in government are less likely to serve in the military than in past generations means that Democrats and Republicans have no common bond of service. “[In the past, representatives] Definitely think of yourself as American first and far ahead of Democrats or Republicans,” Galloway said. He believes that under a country like Israel, making National Service a necessary right of way would have established The strengths of these ties, while creating a new generation of Americans who have more ties to their country. “I think national service and creating more connective tissue gives children who are increasingly segregated an opportunity to have a different The opportunity for kids of racial backgrounds, different income backgrounds to mix, even before they develop this crazy polarization around politics,” he noted.

Perhaps the most ironic analysis comes from his view of four-year colleges, given that he is a professor, albeit at the graduate level, of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Stressing that pathways to upward mobility will increasingly be through community colleges and vocational schools, he encouraged the government to continue to properly fund these alternatives. “I think we need to stop obsessing over the traditional four-year degree at elite universities,” Galloway said. “Every parent and child is following this path, and we’re all heading toward it. I’m tracking down with my kids that they need to go to MIT or the Ivy League and then go to Google or KKR, Anything different from that is disappointing. Not only is it incorrect, it’s bad for the economy, and it’s incredibly emotionally stressful.”

As a serial entrepreneur, Galloway recently dabbled in Part 4, an edtech startup that has made huge strides since its launch during the pandemic, and online training options are the best, and often the only, option for many choose. During this period, Part 4 enrolled 1,200 students per class and covered topics including _____. We knew there was wind on our sails, but we didn’t realize how much the wind would weaken when COVID was over. The business has closed and the business is growing 70% annually. It could be down 30% or 40% this year because no one wants to stay home and study while staring at a screen. It’s tough. If his entrepreneurship goes through a rough patch, traditional higher education will be as strong as ever. “Traditional education at elite universities has never been stronger, and I think it’s strong because we embrace this LVMH, rejectionism It’s the wrong cause of the NIMBY model,” Galloway noted. “We artificially limit supply so we can grow or raise prices faster than inflation, constantly coming up with new sectors and managers that never go away. “

Galloway noted that he was an undergraduate student at UCLA, and when he applied, three out of four applicants were accepted. He argues that four years ago, universities were more inclined to try to elevate the humble in order to make them great.Now, only those who are already amazing can enter, and there are many more them be rejected. “We’ve decided we’re Hermès bags, and we want to take the top 1 percent, the children of the extraordinary rich, and turn them into billionaires,” Galloway said. “I think we’ve completely lost the high Playbook in education.Cartel is more corrupt than OPEC…I think we are looting middle class hopes and dreams and capitalizing on this obsession and if you don’t let your kids pass the traditional four, you as The adage that parents fail – year degree. I’m trying to do something about it, but at the same time, I’m continuing to be affiliated with NYU.” When asked how he puts that ironic position on becoming a The leading critic of higher education, especially at elite universities, increasingly competes with them through his entrepreneurship, while also being associated with one of the elites, and he points out that he has reaped huge gains through that connection. . “It provides an aura of credibility,” Galloway noted. “I’ve been at NYU for 20 years and I want to stay for another 10 to 20 years…I probably won’t because I said some provocative things. I’m not sure I’ll be as patient with me as they were with me. I do Bite the hand that fed me. I’ve refunded all my compensation for the past ten years…They’ve been very flexible with me, I have great friends there, and there’s no way around it.”

Galloway’s influence grew as he mastered multiple media. Whether he can achieve his goal of becoming the most influential thought leader in business history remains to be seen, but at least he will continue to be a great source of insight.

peter high is president Métis Strategy, a business and IT consulting firm. He wrote two bestsellers, the third, reach agile, recently released.He also hosts Technological innovation Podcast series and speak at conferences around the world.follow him on twitter @PeterAHigh.



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