What’s Missing?

This is my very first Substack newsletter! Every issue will help you make a difference and be remarkable.

We will write articles that tap the inspiration and information of 250 remarkable people on my podcast, Remarkable People. These guests include Jane Goodall, Steve Wozniak, Angela Duckworth, Carol Dweck, Bob Cialdini, and Margaret Atwood.

The other source for this newsletter is forty years of frontline experience at Apple, Canva, Mercedes-Benz, and Wikipedia, as well as several tech startups. And when I say “frontline,” I mean in-the-trenches shit work, not acting as a consultant or academic.

The format will be rich, varied, and peripatetic: how to do stuff, Q&A interviews, lessons learned, and, honestly, whatever strikes our fancy. Yes, we want to inform and inspire you, but we also want to entertain you and have fun too.

I am starting with what I considered the most important lesson I could communicate to new college graduates:

Why you should ask, “What‘s missing?”

The mechanism I am using is the text of my commencement address to the Crown College of UC Santa Cruz on June 14, 2024. I can’t recall a speech in the last twenty years and 1,000 appearances that I wrote out word-for-word and rehearsed multiple times.

Such is the gravity and importance of a commencement address, and giving a commencement address is one of the most prestigious honors.

The concept of asking, “What’s missing?” was introduced to me during an interview with Dan Simons of the University of Illinois, in order to give credit where it is due. It is remarkable advice for recent graduates and everyone else too.

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“Your speech was perfect and sure to be remembered.” – Cynthia K. Larive, Chancellor, University of California, Santa Cruz

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Greetings students, faculty, administration, parents, relatives, and friends. To write this speech, I went through three steps: First, I asked my kids, their partners, and recent college graduates if they remembered the key message of their commencement address. 

Not one said they did. Not one. Zero. Nadie. The best recollection any of them had was that “Sheryl Sandberg, former Facebook chief operating officer, talked about how her husband died.” I can’t remember what the topic was of the commencement addresses I attended too

And I went to two in the past month.

Second, I thought that maybe it’s because of the kind of kids I raised or who I hang out with at Pleasure Point, so I expanded my search further to a LinkedIn poll.

80,000 impressions. 864 votes. 77% could not remember the message at their commencement. How can this be? I can’t say I blame people because graduation day is one of the most exciting days in life. You don’t need me to tell you this.

Third, I did what any intelligent geek would do, I asked ChatGPT, “What does a good commencement speech do?”

It said: “A good commencement speech typically aims to:

1. Inspire and motivate graduates as they transition to the next phase of their lives.

2.  Reflect on the shared experiences and achievements of the graduating class.

3.  Impart wisdom, sharing valuable life lessons or personal insights.

4. Encourage graduates to pursue their passions and make a positive impact in the world.

5. Connect with the audience through personal stories, humor, and relatable content.

6. Leave the audience with memorable and thought-provoking messages.

That’s a lot of goals to accomplish in seven minutes, and I don’t believe any speaker can do all that.  

Just between you and me, I think the goal of most commencement speakers is to get a standing ovation. FYI, there are only two kinds of commencement speakers. One wants a standing ovation. The other is lying.

So here we are. I have two goals for my commencement speech. One is that five minutes, five hours, five days, five weeks, five months, five years, or five decades you remember just one thing.

And that thing is, always ask the question, “What’s missing?”

I learned this by interviewing over 200 remarkable people for my podcast. People like Jane Goodall, Olivia Julianna, Mark Rober, Steve Wozniak, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

They were curious–even skeptical. They questioned assumptions and “givens.” In some way, manner, or form, they asked the question: What’s missing?

This simple question will help you avoid mistakes, avoid getting bamboozled, and avoid risking your life and limb.

And it will help you make a difference.

Invoke it when something doesn’t pass the sniff test, doesn’t feel right, sounds too good or too bad to be true. 

Invoke it when you want to figure out what kind of product, service, or art to create. 

Invoke it when you want to make a difference.

And invoke it when you encounter failure and difficulty. That is, what are you missing? What are you not doing?

In fancy words, it is a way to preserve your individual autonomy because your individual autonomy is going to be assaulted like you won’t believe.

Let me provide three examples of how to use What’s Missing:

First, suppose someone you care about says they are not going to college because they read that Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs didn’t get college degrees. Clearly, you must not need a college degree to be successful. Right?

Ask what’s missing.

How about the percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs that do have college degrees? The answer is just about every one of them. How about the percentage of people without college degrees that went on to run large companies? 

Can you see how a tiny data set can lead you wrong? 

Second, I think that Steve Wozniak asked what’s missing when he created the Apple I and co-founded Apple. He asked why you had to work for NASA, the government, or go to Stanford to use a computer. What’s missing? 

A cheap, easy-to-use, personal computer. 

One more example. Recently, an NFL place kicker said in a commencement address that a woman’s most important role is to be a homemaker. 

Make me throw up. Ask what’s missing. 

What data did he base this on? What is his expertise in the subject of the achievement and happiness of women? Has he been tested for concussions? 

I may not be Taylor Swift, but I find his words unacceptable. I wonder if he got a standing ovation.

I’m sorry that I haven’t given you the typical rah rah, believe in yourself, you can do anything, pursue your passions, and be all you can be commencement speech. You are probably sick of hearing that. 

But you can go to YouTube and watch dozens of those right after you watch the latest episode of Mark Rober’s Squirrel Olympics and exploding shipping boxes.

But I am giving you the tip to help you lead an intelligent, informed, and remarkable life. 

So in five minutes, five days, five weeks, five months, five years, or five decades, when someone asks you what your commencement speaker said, I hope you say, “Ask what’s missing.” 

Now the only thing that’s missing is a standing ovation for me. 

If you want to watch the youtube video of my speech, you can find it here (fast-forward to the 8:35 minute mark!)

Tune into my latest episode of Remarkable People so you don’t have to wait until my next commencement speech to learn from my remarkable guests.

This week’s guest is Garret Wing, a highly respected figure in canine training and handling with over 17 years of law enforcement experience. He joins me to discuss the fascinating world of police dogs and shares insights into the rigorous selection and training process these remarkable animals undergo to serve alongside their human partners.

He also dives into dog behavior, psychology, and the importance of forging strong bonds between handlers and their canine companions.

Tune in here! https://bit.ly/gwspodiv

Mahalo!

Guy