Morning Advantage: You Are Not Special
HBR.org 2012-06-18
In case you missed it, we draw your attention to the going-viral commencement address by high school teacher David McCullough, Jr. Already deemed the "You Are Not Special" speech, it has been seized on by a mature population sick of the narcissism of "the kids today." But listen carefully; McCullough is not blaming kids for a world that's not of their making. Instead, he is equipping them with the advice they will need to keep their sanity in this world, in which "we have come to love accolades more than genuine achievement." It reminds me of another commencement speech: John Jay Chapman's address to the graduating class of Hobart College, delivered in 1900. It’s just as relevant now as it was then, and it is so tightly crafted that to excerpt it feels like a desecration. Yet the last line demands inclusion here: "Do what you will, but speak out always. Be shunned, be hated, be ridiculed, be scared, be in doubt, but don't be gagged. The time of trial is always. Now is the appointed time." Just as Chapman’s advice is as useful for 42-year olds as 22-year olds, so is McCullough’s closing argument: "Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages…Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things." Happy Monday. Now get to work.
The Five Myths of the Great Financial Meltdown (Fortune)
Allan Sloan splits hairs in this lengthy piece, and it's fantastic. After years in which memories have dulled and rhetoric has been ramped up, it's good to have a detailed, emphatic reminder of what precisely went wrong in 2008 — and how much still needs to be fixed. Two key takeaways: the mess isn't the government's fault, and the Volcker Rule won't save us.
How Africa Is Embracing "the Cloud" on its own Terms (Ars Technica)
Long plagued by the frustration of internet access that was both mind-numbingly slow and mind-bogglingly expensive, Africa turned to mobile. Now, mobile connectivity is opening the door to the cloud. But not through the traditional web — instead, Africans are using apps. "The rapid uptake of mobile phones and apps shows that the path into 'the cloud' may not only be post-PC, but post-Web as well," writes Sean Gallagher — and not just in Africa.
Fightin' Words
China is a Kleptocracy; Here's How it Works (Bronte Capital) Nailing the American Dream, with Polish (NPR) London's Olympics Won't Deliver Economic Gold (Time)