Inauguration, Transitions and Why Experience Is So Undervalued In Politics | Non-Obvious Insights #253

Dear Newsletterest,

In the past week, I've spoken to more than a hundred people virtually as we record sessions for next week's big Non-Obvious Diversity Summit (register here!). The one thing I heard over and over was that this week felt like a big "reset moment." Politically, the first full day of a Biden Presidency delivered on that with a flurry of 17 planned executive actions to undo many of the policies from the previous administration.

Even more interesting are the appointees who are being brought into roles within government institutions. It is a sad reality that the most noteworthy thing about most of them so far is just how qualified they are. Why is experience seen as a liability in government when it is treated the opposite almost everywhere else? That's just one of the topics we'll explore in this week's newsletter.

Why Is Experience Treated Like a Liability In Politics?

Yesterday Joe Biden became the oldest President at 78 years old. For the past year, if you heard anything about his age, it was probably negative. He spent decades in politics, as the ultimate insider, and for years we have heard about the negatives of his reputation as a "Washington insider." As his team began to roll out their list of political appointees, we are seeing the upside of finally electing someone as President who is probably a better administrator than a campaigner. Through his time in government, President Biden has worked with everyone. He knows everyone. Outside of politics, this would be a huge advantage. People with powerful networks get things done. Joe Biden has had longer than any other President to build those relationships, and now he is about to use them. If we appreciate young leaders for their ability to bring hope and change, shouldn't we also appreciate the older ones for bringing experience and expertise?

The $70M Buried Hard Drive

Maybe you heard the story of the guy who lost his password and ability to access 7500 Bitcoins (currently worth $275 million). It turns out he has a plan to get it back - and it involves offering a $70m reward to his municipality for them to dig up a landfill in a desperate treasure hunt to find his discarded hard drive. So far they have refused, but the search might still find another taker. In the meantime, the entire story is a great cautionary tale about how to save what really matters. Especially if it happens to be a Bitcoin password.

Learning a New Language ... By Binge-watching Netflix

If one of your new year resolutions involves learning a new language, maybe you can do it by binge watching Netflix. In this helpful guide on how to do it, the first tip they share is to start with content you know. There are other Netflix-specific features that can also be enabled to help you do it. I love hacks like this. When I finally start travelling again, I'll be using this trick to learn a little of a language from a place before I arrive there.

Barilla Creates Spotify Playlists Exactly As Long As You Should Cook Pasta

In a partnership with Spotify, Barilla launched a clever series of playlists that extend for just the right amount of time for you to cook several types of pasta. Titles of the playlists include “Mixtape Spaghetti,” “Boom Bap Fusilli,” “Pleasant Melancholy Penne,” “Moody Day Linguine,” “Top Hits Spaghetti,” “Best Song Penne,” “Timeless Emotion Fusilli” and “Simply Classics Linguine.” As the article points out, this may be the start of many more food/music collaborations in the year to come - as we find ourselves continuing to cook more from home.

Join the Non-Obvious Insights Show this week ...

This week on my Non-Obvious Insights Show I'll be interviewing author and consumer behavior expert Martin Lindstrom, author of the new book The Ministry of Common Sense. I hope you can join us!

Want to watch past episodes? Just visit my YouTube channel to see a full archive of all my previous guests. Watch the full playlist on YouTube >>

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Want to discuss how I could bring this thinking to your next event as a virtual speaker? Visit my speaking page >>

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Inauguration, Transitions and Why Experience Is So Undervalued In Politics | Non-Obvious Insights #253

Why Is Experience Treated Like a Liability In Politics?

The $70M Buried Hard Drive

Learning a New Language ... By Binge-watching Netflix

Barilla Creates Spotify Playlists Exactly As Long As You Should Cook Pasta

Join the Non-Obvious Insights Show this week ...

Older messages

Why Brands Redesign Logos and a Preview of the World's Most Ambitious Conversation About Diversity | Non-Obvious Insights #252

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Return of Movie Theaters, Why JK Rowling Got Canceled & Unusual 2020 Time Capsule Ideas | Non-Obvious Insights #249

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