Rita McGrath

So these things seep into this whole world of reality. And then something comes along like internet, digital advertising, e-commerce, changes all those rules, and your system is still operating on the old ones.

Well, okay, back in 1995, the internet was very new. Computers at the time operated on, you know, things called floppy disks. And things were very primitive. Most of us got our access to the internet, if we were on at all, which most people weren't, by dial-up. You remember? You know, the modem dial-up. And...

Well, okay, back in 1995, the internet was very new. Computers at the time operated on, you know, things called floppy disks. And things were very primitive. Most of us got our access to the internet, if we were on at all, which most people weren't, by dial-up. You remember? You know, the modem dial-up. And...

Well, okay, back in 1995, the internet was very new. Computers at the time operated on, you know, things called floppy disks. And things were very primitive. Most of us got our access to the internet, if we were on at all, which most people weren't, by dial-up. You remember? You know, the modem dial-up. And...

The visionaries among us were saying, oh, you know, the web is going to completely replace newspapers and novels and magazines. And Stoll was looking at the reality of 1995 and he was saying, let me get this straight. You're going to drag a computer to the beach to read your racy romance novel? I don't think so.

The visionaries among us were saying, oh, you know, the web is going to completely replace newspapers and novels and magazines. And Stoll was looking at the reality of 1995 and he was saying, let me get this straight. You're going to drag a computer to the beach to read your racy romance novel? I don't think so.

The visionaries among us were saying, oh, you know, the web is going to completely replace newspapers and novels and magazines. And Stoll was looking at the reality of 1995 and he was saying, let me get this straight. You're going to drag a computer to the beach to read your racy romance novel? I don't think so.

idea behind a lot of this is it's a bit like the line from the old Hemingway novel, you know, the sun also rises or one character asks another, well, how did you go bankrupt? And the answer was, well, two ways, gradually and then suddenly. And in the gradual part of that curve, everything looks the same. Nothing looks as though it's changing.

idea behind a lot of this is it's a bit like the line from the old Hemingway novel, you know, the sun also rises or one character asks another, well, how did you go bankrupt? And the answer was, well, two ways, gradually and then suddenly. And in the gradual part of that curve, everything looks the same. Nothing looks as though it's changing.

idea behind a lot of this is it's a bit like the line from the old Hemingway novel, you know, the sun also rises or one character asks another, well, how did you go bankrupt? And the answer was, well, two ways, gradually and then suddenly. And in the gradual part of that curve, everything looks the same. Nothing looks as though it's changing.

And it's very hard for human beings to think about these exponential changes that can come out and really shift what's possible in the world.

And it's very hard for human beings to think about these exponential changes that can come out and really shift what's possible in the world.

And it's very hard for human beings to think about these exponential changes that can come out and really shift what's possible in the world.

Yeah, they do. They do. And I think what's interesting is you kind of go from this will never happen to, hey, what's happening to, well, of course that happened. We're kind of like that when we think about change. I also think that there is a human tendency, if something's going to be very destabilizing to your business or your life, there's kind of a human tendency not to want to see it.

Yeah, they do. They do. And I think what's interesting is you kind of go from this will never happen to, hey, what's happening to, well, of course that happened. We're kind of like that when we think about change. I also think that there is a human tendency, if something's going to be very destabilizing to your business or your life, there's kind of a human tendency not to want to see it.

Yeah, they do. They do. And I think what's interesting is you kind of go from this will never happen to, hey, what's happening to, well, of course that happened. We're kind of like that when we think about change. I also think that there is a human tendency, if something's going to be very destabilizing to your business or your life, there's kind of a human tendency not to want to see it.

Yeah. So Antonio Perez grew Hewlett Packard's printer business from kind of nothing to, I think it was seven billion something business. And he lost out in his bid to become CEO at HP and Carly Fiorina was named instead. Now she's got a problem and he's got a problem. She's got to figure out what to do with him because he was very clearly a qualified heir apparent at that company.

Yeah. So Antonio Perez grew Hewlett Packard's printer business from kind of nothing to, I think it was seven billion something business. And he lost out in his bid to become CEO at HP and Carly Fiorina was named instead. Now she's got a problem and he's got a problem. She's got to figure out what to do with him because he was very clearly a qualified heir apparent at that company.

Yeah. So Antonio Perez grew Hewlett Packard's printer business from kind of nothing to, I think it was seven billion something business. And he lost out in his bid to become CEO at HP and Carly Fiorina was named instead. Now she's got a problem and he's got a problem. She's got to figure out what to do with him because he was very clearly a qualified heir apparent at that company.

And there were kind of two warring camps there. So she kind of let him carve out his own space around printing. So they forged a joint venture with Kodak, which went on for a few years. Perez wanted to buy Kodak. I don't think he got the board to buy into that. And eventually when the CEO rolled up and opened up a Kodak, he took that role.