Hey Everyone,
Welcome back to The Chomp—your weekly dose of the best content from the internet and beyond, designed to expand your mind and get you thinking. I’m currently in Costa Rica for a long weekend surfing and enjoying the beach, so keeping things a bit brief this week. With that, let’s dive into it.
Quick Bites
Obsession Is Natural: Like millions of others across the world this past week, I mourned the loss of my childhood idol, Kobe Bryant. Kobe was the rare type of individual who is able to have a profound impact on someone without ever meeting them. I know that certainly holds true for me, as much of my drive and ambition is built on lessons I’ve learned from following his career on and off the court. Following his retirement, Kobe became an investor in The Players Tribune and frequently contributed articles. This piece he penned for them in 2017 has stuck with me since I first read it and perfectly encapsulates the Mamba Mentality. (2 min)
Silicon Valley Abandons the Culture That Made It the Envy of the World: In recent decades, Silicon Valley has been the envy of the world in regards to innovation and disruption. This was largely due to young, scrappy companies hustling to build the next great thing. That has changed in recent years as big tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook have become the nexus of power in the region. This recent piece in The Atlantic highlights the cultural shift that has lead to these changes. (7 min)
Deeper Dives
Disruption Theory is Real, but Wrong: Last week, the world lost the father of disruption theory, Clayton Christensen. Christensen became a giant on the subject of innovation and has left a legacy that’s inspired countless founders and executives alike over the past two decades. Christensen is best known for his book The Innovator’s Dilemma, which outlines his theory on disruption and has become required reading across tech and management consulting circles. While there is much to be learned from this theory, many of Christensen’s ideas and predictions haven’t had the best track record in coming true. This insightful article from Alex Danco sheds light on how some of Christensen’s views have missed the mark but can still be incredibly useful in understanding disruption. (12 min)
Media
Here’s a picture of the beach in Playa Grande, Costa Rica, where I’ve been spending the weekend.
Tweet of the Week
Song of the Week
Apple Music Link
Books
Currently Reading
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Robert A. Caro)
This is a 1,344 page behemoth that I’m steadily making my way through. Excited to share my thoughts when I eventually finish in the next month or so.
Dark Age: Red Rising #5 (Pierce Brown)
Parting Thoughts
This Week in History
On January 27th, 2010, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad to the world. The device was kept under wraps by Apple up until the event, and nobody really had any clue what it would be or what it might do. In the decade following its launch the iPad ignited the tablet market and forced nearly every one of Apple’s competitors to create their own device. (Source)
“When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure,’ I think that is worse, that is almost worse than death.” – Kobe Bryant
If you found something that piqued your interest this week, please help me out in expanding the reach of The Chomp by forwarding it along to a friend or sharing it with others in your network. Until next week.
-Cody