Where were we?

Here, yes, here we are.

I started publishing audio here almost 12 months ago. About three months ago, I switched to video, a fun, and exciting format. Most of my content is experimental or impromptu. I always have many ideas swirling around in my mind. The difference between those ideas swirling in my mind and laying them down in writing or audio is stark. I have many recordings I am sitting on and maybe five more scheduled before the end of the year. These will be conversations I am excited to post at the right time. The question is, should I push the video portion over to YouTube and keep the audio and writing on Substack?

Who knows. What is certain, though, is the world is alive politically and economically. On the one hand, you have Barack Obama holding discussions with young people from across the globe on the benefits of Democracy. On the other hand, you have the rise of populism and hard right political movements, and the democratic backsliding happening in Brazil, Mexico, India, etc. Ukraine and Russia are making politics even more complicated. The division in Italy on how to proceed forward with Ukraine-Russia may have led to unseating of former Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

And what is Imran Khan doing in Pakistan? Leading protests and getting shot in the leg? Is this real? Benjamin Netanyahu is elected for his third stint as Prime Minister of Isreal.

Donald Trump announces his intention to run for President in 2024. Elon Musk buys twitter for $44 Billion and grounds his argument for the takeover in free speech maximalism.

FTX blows up, creating some $50 Billion of losses, and people are surprised that digital currency is rife with a new, technology-focused, modern wave of white-collar crime.

The Federal Reserve Bank in the United States increased interest rates six times this year to ‘tame’ inflation! And we still haven’t seen a spike in unemployment. Some institutions are projecting a recession in the next 12-18 months and while Goldman Sachs removed a recession from its base case forecast.

What about the endless circle fuck of academics, critical thinkers, and public intellectuals who are pro or anti and always speaking about dynamics that may not even exist in the broader political discourse but exists within their echo chambers? The anti-wokes, the social justice warriors, the far left, the far right, the so-called ‘centrist’ - what about them? Sex and gender have been at the top of the stack this year. Look at the debates in the classroom, the school boards, many universities' regent levels, and amongst students around the country.

Lately, my life has been more practical. Studying political science. Selling software. That kind of thing.

But today, I make a few moments to stand in my insulated, grand architecture, seething in my grandiosity and hubris, thinking about where I came from and where I am at, all of it in my mind.

When I was in my 20s, I opined on these grand strategies to lead corporate intervention(s) as to bring more automation into organizations. I built my theories by researching and challenging areas of organization theory, social construction, and software architecture. I aimed to drive automation through the supply chain end-to-end and in every business unit. I didn’t just think about these theories; I tried to implement them. I argued that corporations should seek an ideal of near-frictionless interactions between departments and that technology could be the bedrock for achieving this ideal. It wasn’t until I spoke to an archetypal MIT Sloans, McKinsey alum, who was leading digital strategy for a large European insurance carrier in the Asia-Pacific region, that I realized I was over my head.

I couldn’t lead my intervention externally. I didn’t have end-to-end control of the supply chain, which is a sexy way of saying I had no control over management or operations.

I looked at intervention through climate change research, change management, systems thinking, digital transformation, etc., and then I moved beyond methods of intervention to instruments of control, i.e., public and private equity models that allow one to seize control of a corporation at the board level and executive level. You may know some of these organizations which are labeled simply as private equity firms or individuals and firms who name their model activist investing. Then I used Environmental Social Governance as a catalyst for understanding corporate bureaucratic structures, decision-making, corporate governance, risk management, and beyond.

But why!

Naturally, I am interdisciplinary. I didn’t have good educational experiences when I was young, but I was building computers, tinkering with wireless networks, and running competitively in racing simulators. So it was clear I had a sharp mind. I just wasn’t focused.

It wasn’t until I was 32 that I stepped into a community college and, at 33, a University. At the community college, I could hardly be contained in the classroom. What has kind of been a string in my life is how limited I feel when I have to think through and around most people. A rant came about because I could think independently of others, independently of structure, still accept critique and the knowledge of others, but be more convicted with the connections or inferences I am making. Structurally, the society said I wasn’t valuable, which enhanced my insecurities. When expressing myself, I would either be met with vitriol or silence, even though what I was communicating was accurate and, in many cases incisive analysis.

“What are his credentials!”

“He didn’t even go to college!”

“He is just an employee.”

“He’s a job hopper!”

“Who the fuck is this man!”

Anything but responding to the words that were coming out of my mouth. It didn’t help that I had decently low self-awareness of certain things; my own capabilities, the way I was being received, and my communication style - whatever it was, it was not worth overanalyzing.

My point is I aged into this kind of brazen outspokenness, and I could not acknowledge hierarchy. My sense of self was kind of built on top of this determined belief that I am better than where I am at or what my experience is, and this will show given enough time and opportunity; otherwise, I will force it.

Because I am going to be heard.

Or so I tell myself, assuming no one was hearing me previously.

This set the stage for the rest of my life and…

I started A rant. It’s been a lot less about my voice, and more about the voices of those who have a certain kind of politics, a stance in the international community, meaningful academic research, and more, except the discussion Lex Fridman and I had on public intellectuals.

Heading into the following year, I want to get a little more personal and lay down my own beliefs. Maybe give some additional context on where I am coming from and take a stance on some crucial matters. Having an audience is great, but it’s also therapeutic for me to put my beliefs on the table. There is a lot I want to say about the bay area tech scene, U.S. politics, and the broader global economy.

As for my upcoming guests, I think they will become more political and more relevant to the broader public discourse. Plus, I hope to add in some near real-time, live analysis.

I’ll try to bring my opinions through, and I look forward to corresponding with you more frequently.