Pivot · Mar 19, 2021

Facebook makes a Substack competitor, Netflix's carbon footprint and the future of McKinsey

Automatic transcript of the end of the episode, from 41:35. Speakers are labeled by software and may contain errors. Highlighted passages are Scott’s predictions.

Scott Galloway · 41:35 Few people end up lifelong in consulting because you know what? It's a young woman's job because you're on planes and you're kissing other people's ass. And when the CMO of Audi calls you and says, hey. We have a meeting tomorrow. Can you be here? I say yes when I'm running a consulting firm and I fly to fucking Inglesstadt. It's really difficult on relationships, really difficult on relationships, hard to attach to a spouse or kids or friends when you're roaming the earth as a consultant. You get paid, I mean, this is going to sound strange, but basically the way I built profit into a brand strategy firm was by establishing a series of like father son relationships with powerful men such that they would hire my firm for 500,000 or million dollar engagements. I was good at what I did, but it's a very relationship driven business which quite frankly is exhausting. It's exhausting playing golf and being nice to people. I Kara Swisher · 42:22 would never be good at Scott Galloway · 42:23 this I got worse at it as I got older, but it's a fantastic way to get exposed to pontoon into different industries, develop fantastic schools, get another credential. You just don't... If you go to McKinsey or Bain or BCG for three years, you don't look back and think, wow, I really fucked up doing that for two or three years. It's like it's Kara Swisher · 42:40 Except you have a huge entrepreneurial bent that you really wanna make something. Right? Scott Galloway · 42:44 So just means you can raise more money. It's like having a second or a third MBA. It's a fantastic thing for a Kara Swisher · 42:50 young person. Yeah. It is interesting. What's interesting in McKinsey, you know, just last month, they they got... They... The partners voted out consulting firm's top executive, Kevin, I think, Sneeder, this... To... On the blowback over the opiate crisis. So 600 senior partners. Scott Galloway · 43:06 He got voted out because of his name. Doesn't he sound like a man? It's Kevin Sneeder. Kara Swisher · 43:09 Well, just so you know, McKinsey agreed to pay 49 states a historic settlement with almost $600,000,000 because of sales advice the company gave to drug makers. So it's really... You do have to protect... You're right. You do have to protect them just like anything else. Last question. Is schools stopping luxury brands as you've discussed it endlessly? How will young people differentiate themselves in the job market? Is this the kind of way you do it or what's the, you know, that it's not, you know, you don't get the job because you're Harvard, Princeton, Yale, whatever? Scott Galloway · 43:38 Love the shorthand of brands. We want, we used to, Europeans were famous for doing it based on your last name. Americans did it based on where you did go to college. Instinctively we do it based on the height of your cheekbones or the length of your legs or the size of your biceps. And that sounds sexist, it is, but we're sexist as a species. So we love the shorthand. In America, the brands or credentials are incredibly powerful and we will always, whether it's schools becoming less important in terms of credentialing, I actually think they're becoming more important. The applications to the top 50 schools have skyrocketed this year. But we will always fill that void or that need for shorthand with brands and certification. And it'll be, someone will step into that void and say, okay, I'll provide you with the certification or the screening. McKinsey is the, is a fantastic certification. Being a varsity athlete is a fantastic certification. Having been a journalist at the New York Times is an incredible certification. So that's not going anywhere. It may shift, but I actually think that the elite university branding is only getting stronger. I predicted that they would massively increase their enrollments partnering with Big Tech. I was wrong. They decided to double down on exclusivity. Kara Swisher · 44:49 Yeah, I just heard from someone telling me like, oh, our numbers were were up more than ever, and that means we're not gonna let as many people in. I was like, is that a good thing? I've become smart. I've become smart. I was like, that's wrong. What what... Who... What business says that? We decided to deny 98% of the people ice cream. What? Scott Galloway · 45:07 Oh my God. What? Is, and guess what? You know Kara Swisher · 45:12 what that means? I went like that. Scott Galloway · 45:13 Went, what? It means your daughter's not getting in. Yeah. Brag about it. Kara Swisher · 45:17 No, my daughter will get into everything. Scott Galloway · 45:18 There you go. Kara Swisher · 45:19 We just into a preschool that was very competitive. Well, how wide of you? Well, how wide of Scott Galloway · 45:24 you, Kara? Kara Swisher · 45:25 No, it was a lesbian. Scott Galloway · 45:25 What preschool is going to turn you down? You might Kara Swisher · 45:28 as was a lesbian. Scott Galloway · 45:29 The only way you could be better is if you showed up in a wheelchair. Stop. By the way, that's a horrible thing to say, but it's an episode of Modern Family, which means it's It's [Ad break] Scott Galloway · 45:39 means it's okay. Kara Swisher · 45:40 Was an episode. Let me just say, we do get this. Are shockers get into. Scott Galloway · 45:43 What are shockers? I'm sure they're not scared of you. Yeah. A very I Kara Swisher · 45:48 don't know. Scott Galloway · 45:49 A strong lesbian woman who happens to work at the New York Times. Yeah. Let's piss her off. Let's piss her off. Kara Swisher · 45:55 No. I'm just saying. I just... Anyway. And schools should be letting lots more people, and that's my... I'm talking... Not talking about nursery schools. I'm talking about big colleges. Show, I've moved to Scott Way. I've moved to the Scott Look Scott Galloway · 46:08 at the data. When I applied to UCLA, the admissions rate was 60% I didn't Kara Swisher · 46:12 That's get good rate. Scott Galloway · 46:13 I didn't get in. Had to apply again. Kara Swisher · 46:14 That's a good rate. That's a fair rate. Scott Galloway · 46:16 Half what past. It's going to be this year? What? Gonna be 9%. Kara Swisher · 46:21 God. Scott Galloway · 46:22 Be Kara Swisher · 46:22 That's nine It should 50. Say fiftyfifty. It's hard. Don't Don't you think fiftyfifty? Scott Galloway · 46:29 Yeah, no one has a birthright to get into a good school, but here's the bottom line. Wouldn't be here with you making jokes about Brad Pitt and my prostate and getting paid for it. We had decided that schools were the new enforcers of the caste system. And there's so many things that need to change here when people, I think I would like to see people when they make donations to school say, I need you to expand the number of seats. Need to fall back in love with the unremarkable Kara. Kara Swisher · 46:56 Unremarkable. Scott Galloway · 46:57 There's so many, well 99% of us are not in the top 1%. The test of a Kara Swisher · 47:03 society According to quitter, you're not unremarkable at this point apparently. I know she does. One more quick break. We'll be back. Need to be remarkable about predictions. We'll be back in a second. Scott Galloway · 47:16 Well, hold on. America is not about turning the 1% into billionaires. America is about taking the bottom 90% and putting them into the top 10%. We're no longer... We're being less and less American because of universities. Less and Kara Swisher · 47:26 less American. Alright, Scott. One more quick break. We're back for predictions. Chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more, can make me feel like a spectator in my own life. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 48:28 Why wait? Ask your doctor, visit botoxchronicmigraine.com, or call 4 to learn more. [Ad break] — Predictions segment begins — Kara Swisher · 49:00 Okay, Scott. Prediction time. Give me a prediction. You're very good. Amazon one was good. What's your next one? What's your next prediction? Scott Galloway · 49:07 We're finally going to demonstrate some leadership, but the most, I loved what I think are sort of underreported business stories that are going to have second order effects. So Walmart has announced that they are going to have a kind of a digital wallet around access to your healthcare records. Yes. But what's really important in that announcement is they said they're going to basically create a vaccine passport that says on your phone you'll be able to pull up confirmation you've been vaccinated. And we're going to decide to demonstrate some leadership here and say, okay, you need to prove before you get on a plane and have access to our transportation infrastructure, you need to prove that you do not have a gun on your person. Yeah. When you go to certain countries of return. Kara Swisher · 49:44 Do, we do. We get mad about things and not about other things, but go ahead. Scott Galloway · 49:48 And we are going to show some leadership here and decide companies, and I think ultimately the government, we're about to run, the problem so far has been we haven't had enough vaccine. About to run into a new problem. We're not, we're going to run out of arms. And that is twenty four percent Kara Swisher · 50:05 of Or inefficient systems to get to the arms, but go ahead. Scott Galloway · 50:08 But that's getting better. Kara Swisher · 50:09 Yeah. Scott Galloway · 50:09 I think in the next few weeks, we're literally going to pivot to a demand side problem instead of a supply side problem. And 24% of Americans say they either not gonna get it or won't get it unless their company demands it. And they tend to cluster around three groups. Young people who feel immune, people of color who have quite frankly been for legitimate reasons don't trust vaccines. And then third deeply conservative Republicans, specifically evangelicals. We're making a lot of progress around groups one and two. And I think we're going to show some leadership here and I think we're going to say, listen, you are as an asymptomatic carrier of this virus, Kara Swisher · 50:57 dangerous, Scott Galloway · 50:57 really dangerous. And if you want to access the trillions of dollars and the freedoms, we have decided in this country, we conflated liberty with selfishness. Oh, I've decided it's my right. I'm gonna exercise my liberty, by being incredibly selfish. Our community and sacrifice is what makes America great. Kara Swisher · 51:19 Sport. I don't... I have no problem with it. I agree with you. I think it's really irresponsible. I think it's... You know, it's interesting. Trump came out if you know... He was on whatever. What's her name? Show. I don't even know what's her name. She's She's terrible journalist. But he was... He talked... He said everybody should... All my people should take it. Like, he... You know, he That's important. Ran. All the Trumps ran and got it after all their all their nonsense over the past six months on this issue. They all ran as fast as possible to get it, and all of their people did. There's a really good story about how they all just like like rushed the door to get back Scott Galloway · 51:51 to It's a huge opportunity for him. Kara Swisher · 51:53 But he did say it. I have to say, he did say it, but it's like the fact that he... We had to like then beg him to do it was kind of ridiculous on some level. He should have been saying it loud and clear for a long time. Scott Galloway · 52:04 He's most important person around this right now. If he were to be really loud about it, it's really, I mean Kara Swisher · 52:11 It's a good brand thing for him. Scott Galloway · 52:12 Oh gosh, it have enormously positive impact, which would repair about 3% of the damage he's done. But if he's thinking about his legacy, absolute pain is removed from him. I agree with you, Kara Swisher · 52:25 but You know what? Because the thing he talked about was how it was his vaccine. I got the vaccine. Was like, he I invented was like, recall... I think it's this couple in Germany who invented this idea. He literally took all the credit as usual, but whatever. Scott Galloway · 52:37 Doctor. Swisher will weigh in on this? Kara Swisher · 52:39 Yes, Scott Galloway · 52:40 he There really is. I'm literally scared right now. There is, look, there is a race. There is a race between the viruses are so impressive. Every time someone gets this thing, the virus learns and the virus has got a heads up that the vaccines are here and you know it is working overtime unless, and the other thing I can't Can Kara Swisher · 53:03 you see what's happening in Europe and the delays and everything? Scott Galloway · 53:06 It Italy Kara Swisher · 53:07 closed down again? One of them. Scott Galloway · 53:09 But this whole I'm gonna wait or I'm not gonna take it, I call that the narcissist playbook. Kara Swisher · 53:13 That's bullshit people. Yeah. We don't like it. We're not gonna let you come on this way unless you have a vaccine passport. Scott Galloway · 53:19 Let's do that. Two million Americans could still die from this thing. The call has gone out to get two million American brothers and sisters off the beach. Get them off the beach, get a vaccine. It's not about fucking you. Get a vaccine. Anyways, think we're, the prediction is I think we're gonna have vaccine passports and I think slowly but surely corporations and States and governments are going to say, look Kara Swisher · 53:39 You can't come back to work unless Scott Galloway · 53:41 You want to work at Salesforce or you want to work at lemonade Kara Swisher · 53:44 or No, you you want want work. You can't come into work. Scott Galloway · 53:47 Or whatever it might be. Yeah. You can't come into an office. You can't get on a plane, an FAA same complaint. I think they should. And I think there's a decent chance they will. Kara Swisher · 53:57 We'll see. We'll see. That's a really good one. I like that one. I like it Interesting. Was Scott Galloway · 54:01 Kids to a public school, we forced them to get vaccinated now. Why wouldn't we force them Kara Swisher · 54:04 to improve from gay vampire making out handsome. Scott Galloway · 54:09 Very hard to do that. Very hard to do that. Kara Swisher · 54:11 That's a nice pivot as they say. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 54:13 Alright, Scott. That's a really good prediction. And that's the show. Scott Galloway · 54:16 Do you have any predictions? I Kara Swisher · 54:17 don't I don't predict things. I don't... You do. This is why I live in your in your... The glory... In the reflective No. Scott Galloway · 54:24 Bask in the light of I think Kara Swisher · 54:25 the stock market's really gonna go crazy. Scott Galloway · 54:29 Gonna go up? Kara Swisher · 54:30 Up, like crazy and up. Scott Galloway · 54:31 Because of the stimulus? Kara Swisher · 54:33 Just everything. Just, it feels like, feels like savings. Everyone's like, let's open the checkbooks, the ones that have money. Yeah. And I think you're you're gonna see enormous, stock market. Everything. It's gonna be like... It's gonna be roaring twenties happen. Scott Galloway · 54:47 Yeah. Roaring twenties. Alright. Kara Swisher · 54:49 That's the... I don't think that's a... That's... It's not the most smart, but it's it's the obvious one. Anyway, that's the show. We'll be back on Tuesday. Go to nymag.com/pivot to submit your question for the podcast. The link is also in our show notes. Scott, read us out. — Predictions segment ends — Scott Galloway · 55:04 Today's show was produced by Rebecca Sinanis and Camila Salazar. Ernie Entratod engineered this episode. Thanks also to Hannah Rosen and Drew Burrows. Make sure you subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. If you're an Android user, check us out on Spotify. If you like the show, please recommend it to a friend. Thanks for listening to Pivot from New York Magazine and Vox Media. We'll be back next week a breakdown of all things tech and business. Jane Lynch thinks I'm a force. I'm a force. Kara Swisher · 55:27 I'm having her text you. How about that? Scott Galloway · 55:30 Thanks. [Ad break] Scott Galloway · 56:34 online [Ad break]