Chip Conley

Thanks to Ken Pasternak for yesterday’s ode to hospitality. It got me thinking and seriously feeling as you’ll see in today’s video.

During the Great Depression, Mexican artist Pedro Linares became very sick and was in and out of consciousness for weeks. One day, while unconscious, he dreamt of a strange place resembling a forest. Suddenly, some peculiar animals showed up.

Roughly 30% of the US population today hadn’t been born on 9/11. Nearly half weren’t born to see the stock market precipitously crash in 1987. And even fewer felt the fear of the most contagious years of the AIDS epidemic.

Our very own MEA alum Chris Murchison’s article on how to be a remarkable boss during this crazy time was featured in UC Berkeley’s prestigious Greater Good magazine last week.

China sneezed, and an unprepared world got a Depression. It’s odd that our two definitions of bad times, economically and emotionally, use the same word. Of course, given the fact that the world is having to decide between the health of the economy versus public health, maybe it’s not so odd. In either case, choice is tough, especially when so much is on the line. That’s where wisdom comes into play.

CC: Instead of our typical Friday Book Club, this week we welcome one of my favorite writers and thought leaders. Good morning, Arthur. Honored to have you join us. No article went more viral in our MEA alum community in the past year than your June 2019 “The Atlantic” magazine piece entitled “Your Professional Decline is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think.” Why do you think the article drew such attention globally?

I know it can feel oxymoronic to be full of anxiety and wisdom at the same time. But they often live side by side, a fact which forces us to choose which side to lean toward. Most days, I choose wisdom. It’s far more comforting and practical.

In a world awash in websites and screen time, the value of IRL (In Real Life) connection will become more apparent in the next year. At the same time, new habits have formed, and how we do business may have become forever altered.

“How can I be bored when I’m so busy?” A friend of mine asked this provocative question last week. Here we are experiencing a different kind of GDP (Great-Delicious-Pause), and he was lamenting how full his calendar is and how he’s becoming a “Zoombie,” with all the never-ending video calls.

When in doubt, watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” While some might see it as just another schmaltzy Christmas movie, if you look a little closer, the film can generate a psychological strength based upon many of the virtues Jimmy Stewart portrays as George Bailey: loyalty, selflessness, resilience, and, ultimately, community hero.