A museum of failures

A venture capitalist based in the heart of Silicon Valley is turning his home office into a monument to failure. Sean Jacobsohn’s Failure Museum might be the world’s largest collection dedicated to business fiascoes, corporate malfeasance and spectacular flops. There’s a WeWork thermos, pieces of Bernie Madoff’s stationery and, of course, several models of BlackBerry. There is somehow cologne from both Harley-Davidson and Burger King. And there is a Mattel doll, but it’s not Barbie or Ken — it’s Allan. Even the most successful companies in history have commemorative objects in the Failure Museum. Apple quickly pulled the plug on a personal computer called the Power Mac G4 Cube. Microsoft’s clunky attempt to clone the iPod resulted in the Zune. Google Glass existed. Jacobsohn believes there is a lesson to be drawn from every regrettable object in his collection. His main takeaway is that failure is an integral, too easily ignored element of success.

(Adapted from “The Man In Silicon Valley Who’s Completely Obsessed With Failure,” by Ben Cohen, published on July 19, 2024, by The Wall Street Journal)

Balancing home and work

Heady demand for employees combined with more opportunities for remote work and a surge in female entrepreneurs are sending a flood of women into the US labour market. Women now hold a record 79m jobs, and the share of women in their prime working years who are employed or seeking work now stands at 77.9pc, up from 75.8pc five years ago. However, the same work-from-home opportunities that have enabled many moms, in particular, to enter or rejoin the workforce are also shackling them with fresh responsibilities. Many say they are effectively working two full-time jobs: managing their households and their careers. Women in heterosexual partnerships still, on average, take on more of the child-raising bargain than do men. That means that work-from-home can exacerbate an existing gender divide. The ability to do many jobs remotely is altering the kids-versus-career math. Last year, a record 68.9pc of women with children under age 6 were in the labour force, up from 66.4pc in 2019.

(Adapted from “More Women Are Working Than Ever. But They’re Doing Two Jobs,” by Rachel Wolfe and Justin Lahart, published on July 13, 2024, by The Wall Street Journal)

Trillions in AI data centres

The sums involved in the AI supply chain are eye-popping. One firm estimates that Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft will together splurge $104bn on building AI data centres this year. Add in spending by smaller tech firms and other industries and the total AI data-centre binge between 2023 and 2027 could reach $1.4tr. The scale of this investment, and uncertainty over if and when it will pay off, is giving shareholders the jitters. For now, the tech giants show little inclination to pare back their investments. That is good news for the myriad suppliers that are benefiting from the boom. The AI supply chain spans hundreds of firms, from Taiwanese server manufacturers and Swiss engineering outfits to American power utilities. Many have seen a surge in demand since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, and are themselves investing accordingly.

(Adapted from “What Could Kill The $1trn Artificial-Intelligence Boon,” by The Economist, published on July 28, 2024)

Changing sports viewership

Mass media are evolving in a way that will reshape the sports business. A third of viewers of the Paris Olympics will watch not via broadcast but by online streaming. In some rich countries streaming will be the main way that young audiences tune in. Sport is the last big content category propping up viewership of broadcast and cable television, which still provide a large chunk of the profits of big media companies. Its shift to digital channels will complete a reshaping of the media industry. As this happens, what it means to be a sports fan is being redefined. Though young people are less likely than older viewers to watch full games, they are more likely to engage with sport in nearly every other way.

(Adapted from “A Shift In The Media Business Is Changing What It Is To Be A Sports Fan,” by The Economist, published on July 25, 2024)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 5th, 2024