Video Of The Week: How To Cope With A New Reality

This panel conversation about coping with the new reality took place earlier this week in Munich at the DLD Conference.

#policy#Politics

Comments (Archived):

  1. William Mougayar

    Funny, that was the only DLD panel I watched live in its entirety this week. It had its share of passionate rants from either side, not the least being Kara who was walking a fine line between being a moderator and voicing her own opinion. It had the semblance of an episode of The View.

    1. Twain Twain

      Can’t wait for an AI panel that’s all women after an AI Frontiers conference and an AWS AI day that had 0 female speakers.https://uploads.disquscdn.c

      1. Michael Elling

        If we continue to perpetuate the “winner takes all” silo-ed thinking that pervades SV investments and thinking (and USV’s network effects thinking) the digital future will turn on humanity.

        1. Twain Twain

          Of and in itself, network effects can be useful and powerful because it allows for quick dissemination of opinions.Where it’s missing some checks and balances is that, right now, it’s weighted according to binary popularity counts (votes).Quadratic voting as a proposed alternative (as deployed by Steemit on block chain) is less flawed but still fundamentally flawed, imo.It’s a hard problem but there is a way forward.Game theory is all about zero-sum wins so it’s actually not helpful for VCs to invest in AI that’s based on game theory — if their hope is to democratize healthcare and aim for win-win.

    2. LE

      Kara started out on the wrong foot (which I quoted but then deleted) and then followed up with a few doozies. I couldn’t stand to watch anymore. There is a difference between stating your opinion and making fun of someone (whether they deserve it or not isn’t the issue).In particular:”I’m thrilled that we have an all woman panel””Largely because these are the most intelligent people that I know typically are woman, sorry dudes””We had an election where we elected a reality tv star as our President we are thrilled as you may imagine by this””People were considering him a circus act”(all within the first minute).And most importantly this from someone whose life is actually pretty good from what I can tell. She has money, power, a nice spouse, a secure job (or even if not many plan b options) and from outward appearances a wonderful life. No ability (it’s clear) to understand anyone else at all. You know not everyone is like that. I have a pretty good life and security but I can certainly understand and empathize with those who do not.I honestly wish I could stomach more of this I had to stop watching at around 12 minutes or so.

      1. Adam Sher

        Megan Murphy and Hilary Rosen were great. It’s worth it to hear them analyze and debate.

        1. William Mougayar

          I agree, and will admit they were both quite articulate and passionate.

      2. William Mougayar

        Well, Kara was being Kara. She does take jabs where she wants to.

      3. PhilipSugar

        “I’m thrilled that we have an all woman panel””Largely because these are the most intelligent people that I know typically are woman, sorry dudes”If you want respect you have to give respect. If you think you can say it and mean it then don’t take offense when the ass kicking boot is on the other foot.

    3. onowahoo

      Kara Swisher is the worst. I tried to listen to her interview with Bill Gurley a while back and she kept speaking over him. Let the man speak, he’s one of the most insightful people out there and he can’t even finish a sentence.

    4. JamesHRH

      I watched the first 15 mins. Here is what I heard:- Kara Swisher hates Donald Trump- Kara and every panelist listing a fairly long list of things he did really wellMy fave is Megan Murphy saying basically ‘he is actually going to do the things he said he was going to do’ in a tone that makes it sound like a revolution. Or Megan also saying how he is ‘totally disrupting the global political process’. Kara ‘he is a Twitter genius’.I think what is most head shaking about anti-Trumpers is their defiant unwillingness to honestly accept Donald Trump’s CV. He’s a 3 time All Impossible Business Disruption Champion:- went from apartments in the borough to Big Time Manhattan RE (I am not an expert on the topic, but I believe that there were strong cultural hurdles for him to overcome there…..perhaps ;-)- built a global brand in commercial real estate (name anyone else who gets license income from condo projects – there isn’t anyone – every commercial real estate person I know has said to me that the accepted wisdom was simple: cannot be done)- is exec producer and star of one of network TV’s most profitable shows, with no discernible talent (people like to deride him as a reality TV star, but he isn’t Snooki, he’s Simon Cowell)People hate him so much, they are blind.

  2. LE

    At about 10 minutes 30 seconds in one of the people speaking proves a very important point that many are missing with respect to the next 4 years and dealing with a personality like Trump. [1]There is a saying from The Godfather which is ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’.In essence what that means is stop battling your enemies (Trump and his Cabinet) and get as close as you can. Some people have already done that. Most have not. Stop taking a defeatist attitude while you are at it. Stop worrying about the downside and focus on the upside. Everything (medicine that you take, relationships with people, business, politics) has a downside. Get used to it. Work around it.Point is, constantly attacking Trump gives you no proximity or ability to get his ear (or the ear of anyone around him) to get anything done or to limit what you see as damage. Instead of trying to defeat entirely (which quite frankly is not going to happen) you should be trying to get your opinion heard in a nice way so that he or his advisers at least take into account what you are trying to say and considers it. (Lobbying is about this). Simply repeating how much of a clown he is and how much you hate him is going to get you absolutely 100% nowhere. Especially with a personality like Trump and it won’t work with most politicians or ordinary citizens. Who has more influence over him now? Kelly Ann Conway or Peter Thiel (who for sure doesn’t agree with everything about him or what he has said or done) or Chris Matthews who trashes him every single night (as do other talking heads, even after the election is over)? Deal making is compromise. You are not going to get 100% of everything you want. You have to accept that. The other person has the gold. Figure it out and get the best deal that you can.When you want something from someone you have to be nice as much as it hurts you to do so or goes against your beliefs or whatever. You have to suck up. Telling them how wrong they are and calling them a clown (which is what everyone by the way also was telling Trump supporters) is not going to work. [2] In fact it has the opposite impact. This is really very basic psychology and anyone who has experience with working with people (and negotiating or sales) knows this lesson very well. Some are born with it.Noting the high road that both Obama and Hillary took as well as many others who attended the inauguration who understand this principle and put keeping the country in as good shape as it can be for the next term rather than their own personal interests.[1] If you watch any part of this at all listen to what that woman has to say.[2] I think someone made an analogy to kids doing exactly what their parents tell them not to do in defiance.

    1. onowahoo

      Thought you were going in the direction of how Trump is treating Russia with the Godfather quote

      1. LE

        Sure but that one is obvious!Putin and even North Korea seem easy in the sense that their leaders are clearly acting in their own self interest. That’s much better to have than someone who is acting in the interest of their people or has to answer to voters and get re-elected.In negotiating the best thing to often have (there are exceptions) is to deal directly with a defacto decision maker. The worst thing is often to have someone who hides behind others or needs approval it’s much harder to manipulate in that case. Can be done but a great deal more work because you aren’t as close to the personality and how they think.

    2. creative group

      LE:We were at a point of as an #UnequivocallyUnapologeticallyIndependent going to give an upvote based upon the sound reasoning until remembering the FrontLine story this morning of the rise of DJT and how he ascended. It wasn’t by any Kumbaya. The cry for unity by conservatives is empty based upon the eight years of obstructionism.The prize for obstructionism is the Office of POTUS. Progressives and the Popular vote need to be heard and shouldn’t stand on the sideline while the old Reagan era good ole boys club of Millionaires and Billionaire’s are reinstalled. A total slap in the face to the core angry less educated and underemployed white men that embraced the populous rants and hoodwicks.

      1. Adam Sher

        The panelists discussed this and thought that regular people like really rich people because the regular people are of the opinion that if you are a billionaire, then you will be a politically independent operator as opposed to owing favors to various constituencies. Installing a cabinet of extremely wealthy people sees that view all the way through. This was one of Trump’s biggest campaign points, and he is abiding by his word – not slapping his voters in the face.

        1. PhilipSugar

          There is factor at play. Working people don’t dislike rich people like some people like to think. They mind rich people that look down on them or don’t even see them (see my bowling alley post yesterday), or think they know better than them.But in general they think that person is successful good for them. They don’t mind people legitimately making money. They really mind it when it is not, like when you sell influence for money.

  3. Richard

    Let’s be clear on on the economy, but for the “bipartisan” agreement of TARP months before obama took office there would have been no recovery. Truth is obama did very little after that to promote growth and wages. The panelist Megan Murphy’s analysis is spot on. The dems got disconnected with the cities that haven’t participated in wage gains. The dems had no empathy for the male 40-60 year old worker without wage gains but they forget that most of those workers had a wife who was in the same boat.”It’s the economy, stupid” best line to every come out of politicsAs to the protests today, how much more effective would it be if people “volunteered in protest” (get every homeless woman off the street, fund every women immigrant to get a green card) vs marching the streets.

    1. Vendita Auto

      What did you do?

      1. Richard

        I helped one hopeless women in the streets of LA.

        1. Vendita Auto

          Over the last few months I have been thinking (Gandhi) about peaceful protest. Think the time is coming where this will happen in some national/international form, in the UK the catalyst is funding the NHS/social services as this is very high priority across UK public concerns, one wonders if openly taking a single band-aid from a retailer would overwhelm the justice system in protest. The power of media ? I like this thought.

  4. Twain Twain

    The 2008 financial crisis had longer term consequences which haven’t been dealt with yet and needs to be.The Bloomberg Washington bureau chief is astute.

  5. Twain Twain

    THIS. Kara Swisher at 39.30: “There is no such thing as objectivity. It just doesn’t exist.”We’ve boxed ourselves into Rational Science and economics ideas that we need to measure human expressions, behaviors and experiences as purely objective — when, in fact, there’s subjectivity in everything.But we can’t see it or pattern recognize it because we haven’t ever collected, measured, analyzed or modelled subjectivity in synch with objectivity.And that’s why and how the polls, surveys and social media all missed the Trump phenomenon.

    1. LE

      Thanks for pointing that clip out. I re-engaged and honestly wonder how she can be so clueless for not understanding why the tech leaders did what they did. She really has little understanding of human nature and people it’s actually scary. And what someone in business has to do. Must be nice to be a journalist with a secure job thinking you are way more important than you really are because of the people that are surrounding you.

      1. Twain Twain

        In business, there are times when punches have to be pulled, times to call out if something is really wrong, times to eat humble pie, times to get your butt kicked, times to go “Woo-yeah! because you moved one more step forward, times to park aside politics+ego to get stuff done and mostly times to learn from other people.Business people have to be adaptable by nature. So many things are beyond our control that adaptability is a necessary quality to have.

  6. jason wright

    the world continues to turn. i can cope with that.

  7. Adam Sher

    At around 18 minutes, Hilary Rosen made the point of how to effective legislation may be accomplished via triangulation. Trump stated he wants things that the Dems want (e.g. infrastructure investment) that the GOP was against, and the Dems will work this angle to accomplish those goals. Kara snidely comment, “that’s how he’ll get re-elected,” but that does not make Rosen’s comments incorrect.

    1. LE

      Politics and deal making is compromise and strategy. Trump is a master of playing the game I think most people don’t even understand this type of chess game positioning (I don’t play that game but I think it’s ok to say that). You often have various things you want but you don’t always play as if you want them. In other cases there is something you agree to but might not give in unless you get something else in exchange. There is no doubt that Trump will play this well and almost certainly come out on top. To repeat. It’s a game.I am reminded (told this one before) of the time I was on some committee and opposed something that I agreed with. The idea was to get one of the other members to call me up to try and convince me of his point of view which of course I did. In exchange for agreement on something either then or in the future. Wasn’t spoken that way of course. Much more subtle. People who play games play games all the time. Just because you are not good at a particular game don’t assume you aren’t being played or that others operate differently.

      1. PhilipSugar

        You are on fire today. All of your comments are spot on. It is actually funny watching people that have no clue try and win a battle that they seem to not know what the board even is much less the rules.

        1. awaldstein

          Curious–Who are these ‘people’ you are referring to?The tens of millions of women marching?

          1. PhilipSugar

            Nope. Peaceful protest, your right.Again I am not for Trump. See my comments. I know of three women that held parties for the inauguration.Throw a rock? You should get five years in the slammer. Hard time. 12 hours a day of hard labor. I know a MD State Trooper that lost an ear.There are many that are throwing “rocks” (not a real rock) that do not understand how many people were angry and their rhetoric is like throwing gas on a fire.Poll figures about Obama’s approval rating, from those that said he had no chance? Mocked. Mocked.I think he wants it. It helps him. It’s like throwing fuel on a fire.

          2. awaldstein

            Understand little of this honestly. Especially the Obama part.People who break the law should be punished I agree.That includes and will include Trump.The rest I’m lost.

          3. PhilipSugar

            If you oppose Trump focus on his weaknesses not his strengths. Not just blindly oppose anything he does.When he says AirForce1 costs way too much or that Ford needs to keep jobs in the U.S. at the very least say nothing. Not yell he is bullying companies. His base loved this.Don’t try and convince people with poll numbers that he is unpopular after one of the most epic failure of poll numbers ever.Focus on the woman issue. The marches did that. In my opinion you could get rid of the hats and some of the ridiculous signs and make it a really serious march.Don’t try and convince people that they were wrong, give them a better choice. If you want a female President get somebody like Sheryl Sandberg or Melissa Mayer to run.Just having elites and celebrates ranting about him convinces he base they were right. Mark Wahlberg had that spot on.

          4. awaldstein

            Good thoughts and thanks for the resply.I agree with some, not others.Yup, election is over and this is reality. For now.My personal thoughts on whether he is an aberration of nature or not and what if anything I am doing or supporting are not of relevance nor appropriate here.I believe at my core that networks and communities are natural forces that self heal.There is no women’s issue, there is a cultural one with him as I see it.And like the basic premise of biodiversity in nature. Like the communities caused by interlocking roots in forests (amazing btw). Like how our body itself deals with its circulatory system (much like Uber!) is to self heal and purge.Yesterday was an example of this getting started in an organic way.

          5. PhilipSugar

            Yes it’s not just a woman issue, but that is a big one. You don’t say what he said and not have done it. It just doesn’t ever come out of your mouth.Compound that with saying it to somebody you don’t know, in a place you should know is being taped, and then saying it’s locker room talkBut let me provide feedback from the bowling alley and diner. People were saying those elites that have time to march and not work care about that but they wear hats depicting the very thing they are upset about, this coming from mostly women. (and believe me that is a very sanitized version of it I would not repeat some of the jokes, that probably would get me rightfully banned from the board)I couldn’t help but think about this when the Steelers Facebook Live happened this week that incensed the coach: He says we spotted those a-holes a day and a half (talking about the bitter rival Patriots they place this week to get in the Superbowl), we aren’t getting home until f’ing four in the morning. Two of the players are dancing around with no shirts on. That’s Locker Room talk. The coach apologized.

          6. LE

            If you want a female President get somebody like Sheryl Sandberg or Melissa MayerSee that’s the problem. Two women who the press would take seriously and the tech people would think is great. But honestly why them? Two people who essentially cut their teeth in a ‘rising tide floats all boats’ environment? And Mayer as I had predicted (in the journal of “i was right”) failed when she had a non low hanging fruit opportunity. To much of a halo that made them think she could do that and had some magic touch.Sandberg et al hasn’t dealt with the class of people that work in the federal government at all. I don’t think she knows how the mediocre think and act. This isn’t the type of people who end up getting jobs at Facebook or Google or any high falutin tech company.You and I know a bit about those people. Think one of those tech woman has ever shot the shit with ordinary workers or the UPS delivery guy or the union guy fixing the cables outside? (Like we have?). Of course not. This is why they don’t get Trump’s appeal.

          7. LE

            Sheryl Sandberg or Melissa MayerAlso (not that you are doing this) but I think it’s a bad idea to draft people or encourage them to run. You end up with people who are potentially doing it for the wrong reason. I think you have to be 100% self motivated to pull off a run for office and driven in a crazy way. Or you will get mowed over. Like low energy Jeb did. Like Biden couldn’t make up his mind. I think the Beau thing wasn’t the entire reason. If he wanted it and if he thought he could help his country he would have gotten over the death. Besides I don’t want such a sensitive person in the office anyway. I think you need to be cold and hard to get that job done.

          8. pointsnfigures

            just remember, 53% of white women voted for Trump. They have husbands and….sons. Protest if you want-but you have to know what you are fighting for and identity politics will only cause the protesters numbers to get smaller not larger.

  8. Adam Sher

    At about 33 minutes Hilary Rosen said that the resistance needs to stay in it. Trump has the thickest skin in the room and that you need to hang in. It reminds me of an early lesson in b-school and in business when you negotiate a contract. Make your list of wants, include things that you do not care about and will concede so that it looks like you are reasonable. Trump probably had this in mind as he ran and made appointments.

  9. awaldstein

    You cope with this reality by changing it.Today is a good start.

    1. JamesHRH

      Its tomorrow. Marches led to …….So much symbolism, so few tangible results.

      1. awaldstein

        I so disagree.Please share your experience in creating large scale social change and how community forming is not the first piece.

        1. JamesHRH

          You’re allowed to disagree.The DLD video from Saturday perfectly encapsulates everything that the Women’s Marches seems to want to promote – we hate the President b/c he offends us ( I think I saw This Pussy Grabs Back signs in coverage of every march).President Trump could never t be a better anti-PC poster boy: amazing accomplishments done with a repugnant personal style. This, he’s perfectly polarizing. What’s more Important to you, results / reals or style / feels?As for your nasty attempt to invalidate my opinion and silence me, what major social change have you led?I thought the behaviour police was patrolllling AVC . Or is that just for people who say things the core community disagrees with?

  10. Salt Shaker

    A tale of two America’s is our new reality. More now than ever, our America has become a metaphorical sandwich with those in the center feeling more like spam than a good cut of brisket. What’s changed is we now have a President who likes to squirt hot, spicy mustard on everything and anything, and believes his responsibility is to disrupt the status quo with temerity.I have no problem w/ fresh ideas and new thinking. I do have a problem w/ a leader who functions in a vacuum w/ out proper due diligence, consensus building and consideration for the people and institutions that preceded him. To dismiss with almost outright contempt those who held the highest office before him, as Trump did yesterday, and stating he’s “for the people” while pandering primarily to his base w/ an underlying theme of isolationism, only contributes to the divisiveness he fueled like an accelerant from the very first day of his campaign.The electoral college system got Trump elected, and America def needs to come to terms with that, but he too, if he’s even capable of doing so, needs to recognize that a greater number of American voters were not, and still aren’t, advocates. Trump will never be a respected leader without an understanding of the needs of all–blue and red, urban and rural. Let’s also be perfectly clear about one thing, America is and always has been great, with or without a narcissist with Messiah like tendencies at its helm.I pitied before yesterday poor Chuck Schumer’s uphill climb, but if Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell think the GOP faces a smooth ride w/ DJT in charge, then they too need to redefine their own reality. We’re ALL dealing w/ unchartered territory here, and just like in life and biz, big unknowns are always inherently quite unsettling.

    1. LE

      I’d like to ask you a serious question. In particular what, that Trump says he will do, will impact you personally and most importantly in a major way? I am not talking about things you don’t like that impact others that you may care about. I am not talking about hypothetical ‘decline of the roman empire things’. Or that he has a foul mouth and doesn’t act Presidential all of that. I am not talking about the fact that people in other countries may think less of the US. But in particular policies or actions that you think will impact you or your family directly and will cause you problems. [1]By way of explanation I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that many supporters are not twice removed from bad things (they now have bad economic conditions, no job, can’t pay for daily life or rent) and are way past the ‘may be a problem’ or ‘hypothetically’. They might not care about global warming or what happens in 30 or 70 or 200 years because they are worried about what is happening to them right now which is pretty bad. It’s kind of like life triage. Say if someone is choking you get them an airway you don’t worry about infection and what can be dealt with later.[1] Which is not to say that others don’t matter but that is not what I am trying to get to the bottom of.

      1. Salt Shaker

        Healthcare for one. Other social services, including social security. The Supreme Court appointment, which could impact a whole bunch of stuff, including Roe vs. Wade, which could have generational implications. May sound like a bit of a cliche, but my choices in elected officials aren’t just about how it impacts me and my family personally. I am very, very fortunate and frankly can likely overcome personally any and all of the above whatever the consequences, but for me, w/ respect to choosing gov’t leadership, it’s never just about me and my family.

  11. jason wright

    Was this discussion held in Munchen, and did all four participants fly from the US to engage in it?

  12. pointsnfigures

    missed all of the fireworks yesterday. I was at a Memorial Service for my good friend Entrepreneurship Professor Paul Magelli of the University of Illinois. https://business.illinois.edu/ If you could have seen the service, it was made up of everything and everyone. Paul utilized his network to focus on students and creating opportunities for them. He focused on finding diamonds in the rough-and people that didn’t have resources. He was Give Before You Get way before anyone knew what it was. That’s why I love entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. It’s about giving people choice and giving them opportunity where the upside is determined by you. http://static.news-gazette…. Instead of fighting, be like Paul.

  13. Ann Wick

    There were many many women that voted for Bernie Sanders, then Supported Bernie, NOT Hillary. These same women & yes there men, too that still stayed behind him, Even when He Lost to Hillary. In the end, a lot of these same women & men Did Not vote for Hillary. Many filled in the blank with Bernie’s name OR stayed home on election day. That simple. However, the women talking today have Missed what actually happened to help sway this election. The Russians interfered in Our Election which was verified by the CIA & FBI. By the way, that connection is still being Investigated. Still, Very disappointed in the “Democrats” that chose the Independent to support.

  14. Salt Shaker

    I’m sure that would chart quite well, especially if released on the “Make America Great Again” label, Donald’s new line extension.

  15. pointsnfigures

    We differ in our opinion. Trump not my fav at all but I like many of his cabinet picks. Certainly a probability that he can blow it, but hope he doesn’t.If people want to become a victim class, they cede power for outcomes to someone else. I’d much rather make sure everyone has freedom of choice, and the power to make the choice. Then the responsibility for outcome is on them.

  16. awaldstein

    Disagreeing is healthy. We do on much in this realm and I consider you a true friend.I don’t understand the implication of your second para at all though.

  17. pointsnfigures

    If I outsource my failings to someone else because of race or gender, I don’t look inward. It makes the outcome dependent on someone else making a decision about my fate. If I have choice-and take responsibility for my own outcome-I will find less incidences of racism or discrimination.I have run into one person that out right discriminated against me purely because I was a Republican. It stung. Whenever else I have failed-it’s generally because of me and not them. You can’t win em all. If you run into true racism or discrimination-nothing you really can do about it except make em pay.I disagree with the premise that there is institutionalized racism or that a majority of people in the US are racist. It’s just not my experience anywhere I have gone.People didn’t vote against Hillary because she was a female. They just didn’t like her or her message. Obama (and anyone that knows me knows my opinion of his policies) was totally a likable person.

  18. awaldstein

    you are a good person with a strong moral compass in my opinion.but If the only discrimination you have every experienced is that you are a Republican you are a seriously lucky man.if you in your life have never fought and got beaten back on fights to combat racism. bigotry and preference, then i see why you look at yesterday and see a horde of women protesting women’s rights.i look forward to history broadening your perspective of this in the next few years.maybe not but i certainly hope so.

  19. pointsnfigures

    Uh, I played hoops. Used to go to playgrounds in Chicago where I’d be the only white guy. I get it.

  20. awaldstein

    We need a dinner. You and William need to come visit and eat and drink with me.

  21. pointsnfigures

    i would love that. Thinking I will be in LA 2/24-3/1.

  22. awaldstein

    i’ll check my schedule.Feb is crazy busy but I need to be in LA sometime for a few days.