The Profile: The 80-year-old crypto pioneer & the tech billionaire riding the AI wave
The Profile: The 80-year-old crypto pioneer & the tech billionaire riding the AI waveThis edition of The Profile features Michael Dell, Anne Hathaway, Larry Culp, Jeff Zucker, and more.Good morning, friends! My friend Alex recently sent me this video about a person who doesn’t have an “inner monologue.” An inner monologue is characterized as that voice inside your head that narrates your day-to-day life. In the video, the interviewer asks his classmate, “How do you know what you’re thinking if there’s no words,” and she says, “Because I can see it.” This may sound bizarre to those of you who do have an inner monologue because it’s incredibly hard to grasp. But it’s also interesting because each person “talks” to themselves in a different way. Some people use words, while others visuals, symbols, or feelings. For instance, I have an inner monologue most of the time, so I’ll think things like, “Oh shoot, I need to order lunch,” or “Did I respond to that email? Let me go check.” But when it comes to writing, the information just … comes out. The writing is the monologue. But it’s also the one activity that is incredibly visual. I’ve talked before about how writing, to me, is like completing a jigsaw puzzle. I literally visualize the pieces of information as being these puzzle pieces that somehow have to fit together in a nice way, and then my brain creates connections between them (in the form of transitions) to link them. Perhaps this is why I enjoy writing so much — because it gives me a break from the relentless mental chatter. It’s hard to explain, but it makes perfect sense in my head. I guess that’s how people with no internal monologue must feel? This is interesting to me, particularly because I’m someone who spends a lot — a lot — of time in my head. I have a million questions for those who don’t: Do you say everything out loud? Is meditating a piece of cake? Do you never ruminate or worry? I had heard of this before, but I never really paid attention to it until I saw that it’s estimated half the population doesn’t have an internal monologue? No way. No way. As one person on Reddit said: “Monologue? I have entire 3 act plays in my head. How else am I going to prepare for that daily stressful conversation that never happens?” If you have a better way at articulating this, reply to this email and explain it to me because I’m skeptical ! I may compile the best answers (anonymously) in a future edition of The Profile. — BOOK EVENT AT THE STRAND: If you’re in NYC, join me for an event at the Strand bookstore on April 18 for my book, “HIDDEN GENIUS.” I will be interviewed by FORTUNE’s Emma Hinchliffe, who you may remember as the author of this recent profile on Kim Kardashian and her new private equity venture. I’ll also be signing books at the end of the evening. (Bourbon and books provided.) Make sure to RSVP here. PROFILES.— The tech billionaire riding the new AI wave [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**] PEOPLE TO KNOW.The tech billionaire riding the new AI wave: This profile starts with the reporter asking Michael Dell a question: “How big of a growth opportunity could the AI wave be for your namesake company, Dell Technologies?” His answer? “I don’t know for sure. Nobody knows.” Unlike some other tech CEOs, Dell doesn’t do bombastic declarations or colorful antics; he doesn’t have a side hustle that involves blasting himself into outer space. Despite having spent his entire adult life in the public eye, he is measured, analytical, and almost intentionally unexciting. So his reluctance to put a ceiling, or even a floor, on what generative AI could mean for his company is not surprising. (FORTUNE; if you can’t access the story, try this link.) “Michael Dell is the most courageous entrepreneur I’ve ever worked with.” The CEO who dismantled GE: It’s no question that General Electric has had a rough time. (Remember my interview with former GE CEO Jeff Immelt?) When Larry Culp became CEO in 2018, GE was far too big and complicated for its own good, and the company’s businesses weren’t bringing in enough money to support its sky-high debts. He managed to pay down more than $100 billion of the debt through a series of well-timed divestitures. He dismantled GE Capital, its investment arm, largely untangling the company from a financial albatross. And then, in 2021, he announced that GE was breaking up. Here’s how that split might save the company’s future. (Bloomberg; if you can’t access the story, try this link.) “We like to tear down monuments.” The former CNN boss wanting to build a new media empire: At 58, Jeff Zucker had been famous for more than 30 years in U.S. media circles, and not just for his television skills — which included launching Donald Trump on The Apprentice — but for his ambition itself. Two years ago, Zucker, in a surprise turnaround, was forced out as the president of CNN. Now, with the media business in shambles, Zucker still wants to build an old-school empire. This story goes inside his quest to buy the the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph. (New York Magazine; if you can’t access the story, try this link) The actress embracing her true self: Anne Hathaway has been famous for more years than she hasn’t and is well acquainted with the internet’s noisy opinions. She’s undergone an existential overhaul in the last five or so years—a period that coincided with giving up alcohol, new motherhood, turning 40, and treating herself with more grace. “This is the first time I’ve known myself this well,” she says. “I don’t live in what others think of me. I know my own mind and I am connected to my own feelings.” Also: “I’m way quicker to laugh now.” Here’s how she found clarity. (Vanity Fair; if you can’t access this story, try this link.) “People were advising me that I armor myself and keep that distance, and that I have two selves.” COMPANIES TO WATCH.The 80-year-old crypto pioneer: In 2017, amid crypto’s first full-blown bull cycle, Fidelity allowed employees to start paying for their lunch in the staff cafeteria using Bitcoin. From the outside, adopting crypto would seem to be an odd choice for an old-line firm like Fidelity, which launched in 1946 and manages trillions of dollars in assets. The experiment allowing employees to pay for hamburgers with Bitcoin didn’t work out, but Fidelity’s broader gamble on crypto, however, has been a resounding success. Here’s how an 80-year-old firm became a crypto pioneer. (FORTUNE; if you can’t access the story, try this link.) “Diversification seems to be on people’s minds.” ✨ The rest of this newsletter is only available for premium members of The Profile, whose support makes this work possible. If you’re not already a premium member, consider upgrading your subscription below for access to an additional section of weekly audio + video recommendations. ✨... Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Polina Pompliano.A subscription gets you:
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