The Four

Oct 23

Written By Socrates - Head of School Team

Think you might want to read this book?

Solid statistics and analysis are frequently merged with vulgarities and venom in The Four, by Scott Galloway. The solid takeaways here (e.g., about 1 in 6 internet searches are new, more American families have Amazon Prime than own a gun, etc.) help us wonder how consumerism and technology will impact the world of learning. If you want to read about educational prototypes- go elsewhere. If you want to learn about the modern economy and then try to make connections to the future of education, there may not be a better book.

What Would Socrates Ask?

If the world is going towards more voice activated commands, what are the aspects of learning that we can make more verbal/auditory?
When guiding students, how well do we balance short-term setbacks with larger long-term learning goals?
How can we reframe the timing and infrastructure regarding a student's demonstration of mastery?
How do we create lessons/units/courses/schools where the student experience is paramount?
If we innately love and need relationships, how can we ensure that they are always at the center of learning?
What is the role of the teacher when students are working primarily with other students?
When clarifying to others the fundamental truths behind changing schools, how well do we intentionally speak to peoples’ heads and hearts?
Should heads of schools use YPO as a model for education and idea exchange?

Research

55 percent of product searches start on Amazon and 28 percent on Google
Grant Study (Harvard Medical School)- tracked 268 Harvard male sophomores from 1938-1944 for 75 years. Conclusion regarding “human flourishing” was that the depth and meaningfulness of a person’s relationships is the strongest indicator of level of happiness.
Time to reach:

    Medium
    Users
    Time to Acquire
  


    Telephone 
    50 million users
    75 years
  

    Television
    50 million users
    13 years
  

    Internet
    50 million users
    4 years
  

    Angry Birds
    50 million users
    35 days
  

    Microsoft Office
    1 Billion users
    22 years
  

    Gmail
    1 Billion users
    12 years
  

    Facebook
    1 Billion users
    9 years
  

Medium	Users	Time to Acquire
Telephone	50 million users	75 years
Television	50 million users	13 years
Internet	50 million users	4 years
Angry Birds	50 million users	35 days
Microsoft Office	1 Billion users	22 years
Gmail	1 Billion users	12 years
Facebook	1 Billion users	9 years

Of the Dow 100 today, only eleven are more than one hundred years old.
The riches of the future will flow to a smaller percentage of people.

    Company
    Value
    Number of Employees
  


    Unilever
    $156 Billion
    171,000
  

    Intel
    $165 Billion
    107,000
  

    Disney
    $181 Billion
    185,000
  

    Facebook
    $448 Billion
    17,000
  

Company	Value	Number of Employees
Unilever	$156 Billion	171,000
Intel	$165 Billion	107,000
Disney	$181 Billion	185,000
Facebook	$448 Billion	17,000

Concepts

In 1994, Jeff Bezos named his online shopfront Amazon- to indicate the scale of flow of merchandise he envisioned.
Alexa is named after the Library of Alexandria.
Amazon Go and Amazon Echo suggest that Amazon is headed towards zero-click ordering across its operations.
Students today will outlive almost all of the firms that exist today.

Quotes from the author

If Apple has managed to achieve a degree of immortality by converting itself into a luxury goods company, Google has accomplished the opposite: it has made itself into a public utility.
Nothing is more important than emotional maturity- especially for people in their twenties, in whom this quality can vary widely.
People who are comfortable taking direction and giving it, and who understand their role in a group, do better than their peers when lines of authority get murky and organizational structures are fluid.
Firms have figured out that, with 70 percent of high school valedictorian females, the future really is women.
In almost every professional environment, we are expected to use and master tools that did not exist a decade ago, or even last year.
For years, we believed the digital age would enable us to “work anywhere”- a utopia of people living in quiet mountain cabins, tapping away at their laptops through the magic of the information superhighway. In fact, the opposite has happened. Wealth, information, power, and opportunities have concentrated….
Progress is typically in person. Also, we are hunter-gatherers and are happiest and most productive when in the company of others and in motion.
External hires are paid nearly 20 percent more than company veterans at the same level, despite receiving lower performance evaluations and still being more likely to quit.
Don’t follow your passion, follow your talent. Determine what you are good at (early), and commit to becoming great at it.
… keep in mind people remember more about how you leave than what you did while there. No matter the situation, be gracious.
The trait most common in CEOs is a regular exercise regime.
If you keep physically fit, you’ll be less prone to depression, think more clearly, sleep better, and broaden your pool of potential mates.
Most successful people have the time to reflect on important questions, including “Why am I here and what mark do I want to leave?” The answer usually involves helping others. You need to ask for help if you plan on being successful. You also should get in the habit of helping people junior to you.