Exponent

In this episode we first defend surge pricing before continuing our debate from last week: is society better off when corporations try to innovate, or would we be better off if we left the innovation to startups? Your answer to this question may change your opinion of Silicon Valley. Nick Kokonas: Tickets for Restaurants – Alinea Restaurant James Allworth: Heavy Rain and Black Cars – Medium Note: In the podcast Ben talks about owning a lot of Microsoft stock; to be clear that was while he was an employee. As a matter of policy he does not hold any individual … Continue reading Episode 009: The Societal Perspective

In this episode we take on the validity of Disruption Theory in three parts: A discussion of Jill Lepore’s New Yorker article attacking disruption, as well as the debate that surrounded the article Ben’s article from last fall “What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong” A deeper discussion about whether or not managers can really do anything about true disruption, and whether or not they should even try The quote referenced at the ending from Jill Lepore’s article on political polarization is as follows: “But intellectuals, as Bruno Latour once pointed out, are nearly always one critique too late: “entire Ph.D. programs … Continue reading Episode 008: Debating Disruption

There’s a bit of a consensus building post WWDC: Apple has grown up, and it’s great. But is it great? Is it possible that something essential has been lost? After all, a lot of the praise being heaped on Apple and Tim Cook was once used for another company – Microsoft. In this episode we examine what it is that makes Apple unique, and why things might turn out different this time – and why they might not. In addition, we discuss the end of privacy and what might be done about it. Also! We would love it if you … Continue reading Episode 007: “Growing Up” v “Hungry and Foolish”

In this episode we discuss why James was less excited by WWDC than was Ben, why the Beats acquisition may actually be a textbook response to the Innovator’s Dilemma, whether Apple has every truly faced disruption, as well as James’ review of Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys Links Ben Thompson: Growing Apple at WWDC – Stratechery James Allworth: Steve Jobs Solved the Innovator’s Dilemma – Harvard Business Review Max Wessel and Clay Christensen: Surviving Disruption – Harvard Business Review James Allworth: High Frequency Trading and Finance’s Race to Irrelevance Harvard Business Review Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard … Continue reading Episode 006: Product versus Profit

This episode surprised us; through a discussion of who is at fault in the latest series of new vs old-world spats, we realized that not only has the Internet fundamentally changed winners-and-losers, but also the very nature of economic competition and the type of regulation that is required. Topics & Links Mathew Ingram: Giants Behaving Badly – GigaOm Google v MetaFilter Matt Haughey: On the Future of MetaFilter – Medium Journalism v Facebook Mike Hudack: A Rant About the State of Media – Facebook Ben Thompson: Newspapers are Dead; Long Live Journalism – Stratechery Amazon v Publishers Ben Thompson: Publishers’ … Continue reading Episode 005: The World Has Changed

Are the recent debates on net neutrality, the protests of Google buses, even SOPA a sign of things to come? Building on Ben’s article The Net Neutrality Wake-up Call Ben and James discuss the intersection of technology and politics. Why do people in technology tend to dislike politics? Is net neutrality really that important and understanding open loop unbundling The tech industry and creative destruction: is it good for society when companies go out of business? The impact of money on politics Why tech and politics are on a collision course What we can do to effect change on an … Continue reading Episode 004 – Technology and Politics

This episode is all about the (alleged) Apple Beats acquisition. While it may make a certain amount of business sense, does it signify a small but significant change in Apple’s priorities, and is it a cause for concern? Topics covered include: The rationale for the acquisition The difference between making and recognizing market opportunities What makes Apple uniquely capable of building revolutionary products Apple’s previous responses when threatened in music How to think about mergers and acquisitions How to best motivate employees Links: Why Apple is Buying Beats – Ben Thompson The New M&A Playbook – Clayton Christensen One More … Continue reading Episode 003: Valiantly Defending Jobs

This episode was actually recorded on February 18; however, due to circumstances, we had to hibernate Exponent and the episode was never actually edited and posted. Now that the show is back – for good this time – we wanted to post the “missing episode” plenty of folks have asked us about. There are a couple of dated references, but the content is still very applicable. In this episode we talk about privilege and whether Silicon Valley is solving the right problems. It’s certainly not a new question, but has it become more pressing in the last few months? Links: … Continue reading Episode 002: The Missing Episode

In this, the first episode of the Exponent podcast, we talk about our background, Microsoft and disruption, and the meaning of culture. We also explore our goals for this podcast, and just a bit about Taiwanese garbage trucks. Show Notes: If Steve Ballmer Ran Apple link The Halo Effect:…and Eight Other Business Delusions that Deceive Managers link Skating Towards the Goal link Bill Gates’ Steve Jobs Moment link Friction link Note: The Internet Explorer rendering engine is called Trident, not Triton