Feature
The Gist
- News hyperbole. Overhyped claims often shape public perception, regardless of their veracity.
- Time-saving innovation. Wealthy individuals and businesses invest heavily in services that save time.
- Healthcare disruption. The US healthcare sector, especially women's health, is ripe for major tech-driven transformations.
AUSTIN, Texas — Scott Galloway is not a delicate man. The New York Times bestselling author and professor of marketing and NYU’s Stern School of Business describes himself as a “profane and vulgar” person, and his keynote session at the 2023 CMSWire CONNECT conference on Thursday, May 11, here at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas provided many strong, educated and fascinating observations.
Galloway painted a picture of the current world in which we operate, where the 24/7 news cycle relies on dramatic and catastrophic headlines to grab people's attention. Claims about the economy and updates about organizations across all sectors tend to be overhyped to get consumers interested in the news.
“Rage, anxiety and fear are the way to keep people engaged in their phones,” Galloway said.
Whether or not these overhyped claims are true, people will believe in the hype once they’ve heard it enough.
For example, “I have a difficult time imagining a more stupid industry than space tourism,” Galloway said. “Even more ridiculous — space exploration as a business,” he added. Some companies are putting billions of dollars into this sector rather than trying to make our current planet more habitable.
There are many areas of transportation that are underhyped, though, he added. For example, he predicts that space hauling will increase substantially in demand — an area in which SpaceX is currently doing very important work. Similarly, Galloway believes that supersonic travel will become a big, growing industry. People with enough money are willing to spend a lot to get from point A to point B in a shorter time, helping them save time — one of their most valuable assets.
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Billionaires Build 'Time Machines'
Galloway’s focus on time in his keynote was palpable. Rich people who want to travel long distances in fewer hours aren’t the only people who can put their money behind this goal.
Far more people can subscribe to streaming services where they don’t need to watch ads, saving them hours of ad time over months. More people can also subscribe to services like Amazon Prime or other delivery services, where they’re essentially paying to decrease their wait time to receive a package. Where there may be an opportunity, as well, is an innovation that decreases the time people wait in lines.
Where the Big Opportunities Are
Health care is an industry that’s ripe for innovation in the United States. “[It] is the next sector of chaos in the U.S. economy,” Galloway said. There’s a lot of room for improvement —and he’s not just talking about redecorating doctors’ offices that are stuck in the 1970s.
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Essentially, health care is expensive but bad in the United States, and Big Tech can come in and help the sector make major changes, he said. Remote health is a good example of this. The pandemic saw an increase in remote appointments. While there has been some return to in-person visits in the past year or so, one in five visits are still remote. This is another example of a “time machine” — patients can save a lot of valuable time with a remote visit. It’s the difference between logging on for a simple 30 minute appointment and needing to take time off work, drive to an office and sit in a waiting room before you can even see the doctor.
Women’s health is another area in health care where Galloway expects to see innovation. He gave the example of a health care company that researched and invested in preventing male hair loss years before even thinking about doing something about menopause treatment. Historically, men’s health has gotten more attention than women’s health in terms of how much time, energy and resources is given to research and solution development.
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Inside the 'Patagonia Vest Recession'
There are many areas in which Big Tech has opportunities to make a big difference, but that doesn’t mean that tech jobs have been safe. Galloway coined the term “Patagonia Vest Recession” — a phenomenon in which knowledge workers at tech companies have been especially impacted by poor economic conditions and layoffs recently. These companies are interested in making these workforce cuts while still increasing revenues.
Galloway believes that these workers can benefit by embracing the office rather than remote work. “The office is a feature, not a bug,” he said. The key to humanity is developing deep, rewarding relationships with people, and the workplace provides that environment, he said. Having these professional connections and friendships in a workplace can help employees have a higher chance of promotion and a lower chance of getting laid off, he added.
Hear More From Scott Galloway
Whether or not you agree with all of Galloway’s opinions, they bring up valuable discussions about the tech industry and its most important trends, debates, opportunities and challenges. He co-hosts the podcast “Pivot” with Recode’s Kara Swisher where you can listen to unfiltered conversations about these topics, as well. Learn more in the link below.