Dear Reader, I'm here in Chicago this week for the world's largest gathering of women working in technology. Thanks to an invitation from the team at Anitab.org, I have the chance to share some ideas for how to become a non-obvious thinker and the art of better connecting with people. It's part of a track called "long-term career strategy" which I really love. Given how popular and useful it has already been with all the other speakers and programming, it's clear more events should create...
14 days ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, This week’s Non-Obvious Insights dives into what’s real, what’s fake, and what’s next. From the revelation that much online outrage might actually be driven by bots to Nike’s futuristic “bionic” sneaker, we explore how technology and perception are reshaping reality. Jeff Bridges sparks a debate on how long we should give creative work before calling it a flop, and Bill Gates challenges conventional climate metrics by suggesting innovation—not just emissions cuts—may hold the key...
21 days ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, Last week was the first announcement for SXSW 2026 Keynotes and Featured Sessions and many of you already saw that I'll be debuting another new talk - and this one will be different from anything I've done before: 5 Non-Obvious Secrets of Human Connection (For Love & Profit). I was thinking about it earlier this week, as I was in Austin for another event and looking at the hole in the ground where the Convention Center used to be. It's a time of reinvention for the city and if...
28 days ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, Welcome to all the new connections and readers I met this week! It's been a whirlwind of gatherings starting Tuesday morning when I spoke at the NVAR Annual Convention for local realtors in the Northern Virginia area, then joined RedThreadX in DC to imagine the future of military operations as part of the AUSA Annual Army Show. Later that evening and yesterday, I was in Loudoun County with a community of tech founders, operators and investors participating in a $1 million dollar...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, I'm at IMEX America talking with event professionals about creating amazing experiences. It's also nearly Diwali, my favorite holiday and a time when we are attending many South Asian experiences in person to celebrate and also support my wife's book about Diwali (read more about that below!). And in stories this week, you'll real about a creative insight from the world's quietest room, what a sensory haptic ai device might teach us about the future of pets and more, and how...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, This week I've been doing some high stakes editing ... with my son for his college application essays. It's my second time through this and so I've been taking notes on all the things that I found helpful in this exercise of helping him stand out, be memorable and relay his personality in just 650 words. That challenge is not unique to a high school senior applying to college. So this week, in the book recommendations as well as my featured podcast episode, you'll see a deep dive...
about 2 months ago • 9 min read
Dear Reader, What really happened to Silicon Valley’s ideals how might our reality be transformed if just a few moments had unfolded differently? That's a question explored in the lead article from this week's newsletter and the implications are surprising. Also, this week I offer a non-obvious take on why a maligned AI company churning out 5,000 useless podcasts a week could actually be great news for creators. In other stories this week, a unique Swedish perfume asks you to pay with your...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Since I know you're likely already planning big celebrations for this momentous holiday, I'm resharing a video where I visited an American island that has been under 8 different flags (including a pirate one). Don't worry ... I have lots more to share than just evidence of me doing a bad pirate accent! In stories this week, we consider whether there may be a secret message behind South Park's infamous missed episode last night that we're all missing...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, This week’s Non-Obvious Insights explores the rise of “vibe movie making,” compressing production time and costs while sparking debate about who will remain essential in the future of storytelling. In other stories, you'll read about how we may be reaching “peak farmland," allowing us to produce more with less land. Also this week, Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement with authors marks a potential turning point in the long battle over AI copyright and creator compensation. In bonus...
2 months ago • 8 min read