Scott Galloway

Lift people up.

Please join me in thanking the governor of the great state of Illinois, J.B.

Pritzker.

I'm Scott Galloway, and this is No Mercy, No Malice.

We're measuring everything, sleep, calories, daily steps.

At some point, optimizers fall prey to obsession, reducing life to a series of tasks and quantifiable outcomes while missing everything that matters.

Optimization, as read by George Hahn,

What gets measured gets managed is often misattributed to Peter Drucker, the father of modern management theory.

The full quote from business journalist Simon Kalkin is a warning, not a promise.

What gets measured gets managed, even when it's pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organization to do so.

In other words, our mania for measurement can obscure what matters most.

Consider the popularity of health and fitness apps and the personal optimization trend those technologies enable.

To a point, the more data we collect on ourselves, the better able we may be to improve our lives.

But metrics aren't the arbiters of living well, nor is optimization life's end goal.

I believe this trend isn't about optimizing life.

It reflects a growing obsession that's consuming life's purpose and meaning.

The digital economy has created a winner-take-most ecosystem.

Life, America, is exceptional for the top tier and increasingly anxious for everyone else.

This K-shaped life offering awesome or anxiety fuels a maxing culture.

How do we look?