Jennifer Wilkins’ Post

Economic power has taken over political power and the media. This article is a great example, and Jennifer Wilkins comment is spot on. We MUST demand accountability and responsibility, and call them out whenever we need to. I know one thing to be true: Degrowth is not only feasible but absolutely necessary if we’re to dodge massive environmental and social collapse. The problem most people seem to have with it has more to do with the name and what they associate with it than with the theory and evidence behind it. So here’s the friendly nudge you might be needing: If talking or thinking about degrowth makes you uncomfortable, congratulations! You’re on the right path. All significant change will inevitably make you feel that way. Keep on going! And, if you, as most of us, are so hard wired to really feel uneasy at the thought of degrowth, change its name both for your internal thinking processes and for conversations with others. Call it “reassessing the growth paradigm”, or “wellbeing economics”, or whatever you like. Just be careful not to call it green growth, because that’s just plain old growth with a dash of greenwashing. (Remember decoupling is not possible). And the best way to start thinking and approaching degrowth is with one self. Ask yourself: where might you not need to keep growing? What is enough for you to lead a happy and fulfilling life? What or who made you think that you need to be forever producing and growing in order to be worthy? Are you a victim of marketing campaigns and carefully constructed narratives pushing you to buy stuff so you can look like someone else or have “status”? Is that a good way to spend your life and energy in? Food for thought… 🌎🐝🌿 P.S. Shame on you The Washington Post (and Jeff Bezos)

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Our new Tech Digest is out! In this month's edition, we break down the arguments made by the FTC in its new lawsuit against Amazon and the potential implications for the broader #BigTech ecosystem. Lawson Mansell Milken Institute #regulation #payforplay #antitrust #competition #fairplay See below to read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/gR_-BNm7

Why is everyone so obsessed with Gen Z?!? It's pretty simple really... 👇 Any industry driven by trends can see that Gen Z is not only trendsetters, but they're also *trend-getters* That's right! They're not simply blazing the trail for new style and flavors; they're funding it too. We're talking about nearly 70MM Americans with close to $360B of disposable income, who aren't shy about saying what they want + putting their money where their mouths are to buy it. And for the foodservice industry, that's significant! Especially considering that Gen Z - more than any other generation - prioritizes food experiences and plans to eat out more this year than years prior... So, as operators grapple with traffic driving stunts and strategies, all eyes are on this highly influential (and highly influenced) generation... as they should be. Because that Gen Z is soooo hot right now. #GenZoolander

Had a great conversation yesterday about the Future of Marketing with some of the most talented marketers in the DMV. Some highlights from the discussion: 1. AI is just a tool and won't take ALL of our jobs. But a tool in the hands of a fool...... 2. Data is important but is the well dry? Have we gone too niche and tapped out our target audience? We are just not getting the responses we used to from the same audiences. 3. Globalization is more of a threat to your job than AI. If they can find better talent, cheaper in other countries - you can and will be replaced. 4. Tech stacks are still growing, but are point solutions killing the big tech ecosystem? The big players don't want to integrate with the small guys. But point solutions are cheaper and in some cases better. 5. Content is king, but it's harder than ever to break through the noise. Short video content (think Tik Tok) is dominating when it comes to engagement. Thanks to Jeff Zelaya for coordinating this event. And special thanks to Hiram Enriquez for hosting us at AmazonHQ2. #networking #marketing #contentmarketing #martech #AI #analytics #datadriven #globalization #DMV

Creative Destruction Over the holiday weekend, while conversing with a family member, the topic of creative destruction came up. As artificial intelligence moves swiftly into our day to day, the topic seemed well-timed. The example I'll use to illustrate the concept is Walmart in the 80's. The retail giant, without question, remade small town America. Lots of "mom and pop" stores closed as Sam Walton's big box giant swept across the nation, destroying lots of small businesses who happened to get in its way. That's the downside of creative destruction. It disrupts, often at the expense of real people. The upside of Walmart was its stated goal - to bring real savings to real people. It also brought other businesses along with it. When Walmart came to town, new banks usually followed. New banks led to other new developments. New developments led to new opportunities at the same time many factories were closing. Those opportunities didn't usually pay as well as the factory jobs, but imagine if they hadn't been there at all. New opportunities, smaller grocery bills. That, too, is creative destruction. Now you've got A.I., which is soaring in and doing all sorts of jobs we used to pay people to do. It will unquestionably upend industries and change the entire human landscape at a speed we probably haven't ever seen. It will cause destruction. It will also create opportunities. It will hurt. It will also heal. From the printing press to the world wide web, new changes have brought about big problems and also solved big problems. The only question now is whether we roll with the changes or get rolled by the changes. For some of us, both will happen. The train doesn't stop. So hang on tight.

Rana Foroohar writes about the sea change in antitrust enforcement we are finally seeing in the U.S. -- particularly in big tech. Although it's too early to understand the full implications of the Amazon trial--due in no small part to the unusual amount of redactions and lack of transparency flagged by Rana, I agree we've entered a new era, and it's clearly a bipartisan majority. Although the FTC's record to date is relatively poor, this goes far beyond the FTC to a societal-level awareness that the network effect in big tech is rapidly taking us towards a dystopian future. Even if big tech companies win some of the technical arguments in court, the revelations coming out of the trials have already turned sentiment not just in the public, but employees, partners, and a growing number of investors. That said, from what I can glean, arrogance still dominates the cultures and ecosystems, complete with a sense of entitlement we haven't seen in an oligopoly in my lifetime. We've experienced similar levels of arrogance in individual companies like in the Microsoft trial, but not in an entire industry and ecosystem. By their actions, these cultures have proven they feel entitled to the privacy, property, time, and income of others -- it is very godlike in a negative power addiction sort of way. A significant change in structure and behavior in big tech will change the industry and our economy, unleashing trillions of dollars in new wealth creation spread more evenly across the country and world, which is precisely what's needed to begin to narrow the wealth gap. The implications of even a modest change will have profound effects on #entrepreneurs, #startups, #venturecapital, #semiconductors, many other suppliers, and regional economies. In my many discussions of late, it's clear that hasn't even begun to sink in yet. There is a sense of denial, complacency, and invincibility. A more diversified and competitive economy in the U.S. would be a very good thing. It would be much more innovative, dynamic, fair, and just. In contrast to what many claim, it would make the U.S. stronger and more resilient -- not less so. Partial resolution of the historic big tech market failure as evidenced by Satya Nadella's testimony at the Google trial, which is what all would-be competitors to big tech monopolies experience, will create a great many opportunities, but it will also be disruptive to many. VCs will need to change their business model back to a super majority backing company builders rather than flippers, cloud infrastructure business units will need to be separated from the parent companies, and others spun off. #bigtech has become so large and influential, reasonable #antitrust enforcement will change the structure and nature of our #economy and society.

I was right! (kind of... maybe). Back in Biz School, I remember 'arguing' with a prof (wasn't much of an argument) about the notion of first-mover-advantage (which, yes, I know is a well established and proven concept. Not to mention my personal affection for 'category creation'). I suggested there was a "2nd mover" advantage, whereby you sill capture 70% (?) of the first-mover advantages, and enjoy perhaps 40% additional advantages (free market data, customer feedback, operational scale, smoother supply chain, market awareness, etc.), creating a 10% gain over first-movers. One day when I do my PhD (never gonna get around to this), I'd love to gather empirical evidence to support my theory, but for now, I found this article sufficiently validating.