Lessons from a Quarterback, Technologist & Treasury Secretary

He spends time going out to dinner with his teammates and taking some of them to special events like the Kentucky Derby. “A well-connected team off the field is going to show up at the right time on the field,” Rodgers said. “Chemistry and leadership often get you over the humps you face.”

The quarterback does try to relate to younger teammates via technology, as well. “You’ve got to find out what apps they use and follow them on Instagram,” he said. It’s about learning “what makes them tick and what they are into, so you can figure out how to motivate them — what buttons to push on … to see how people are inspired.”

Further Thoughts

When asked about the current trend in kids sports to give out trophies to all players and teams, rather than trophies just to the winners, Rodgers said he sees participation trophies “as garbage,” adding “I never had one.”

While he pointed to other sports legends as role models, the quarterback also described the impact of his fourth-grade teacher. “He challenged me academically and personally to be a better person,” Rodgers explained. “He opened us up to ideas about life, very interesting ideas … like how your heart and your life intersect … and the importance of being a well-rounded individual.”

Other topics on the quarterback’s mind these days include managing off-the-field issues. “I want to be in control of my narrative,” he said, rather than letting others speak for him. “I challenge you to take back the narrative of your life, one, and, two, to live presently.”

In seeking to sharpen his focus and be more present “in the moment” — in conversations and overall in his life — Rodgers has turned to meditation. “For me, it’s about … living in the present, which is not a cliché, … and putting down [phones and other devices] to enjoy being with people, nature and just being,” he explained.

In other words, he aims to find the time to be authentic. “I just love these opportunities to share who I am,” the quarterback said. “Don’t let special moments pass you by [which can happen] when you’re looking at something that is stealing your attention.”

Privacy is ‘Currency’

At a session on June 15, technologist and Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar shared his view that privacy “is a currency” and not a convenience. He also explained the value in taking time away from technology, which for some might mean feeling bored.

“When you are bored is when you think, ‘What do I do next and what is there to do?’ Being bored is a trigger of creativity,” said Salazar.

Kids today have easy access to the games they like, and entertainment is available 24/7. “When I grew up, you had to wait for your favorite shows!” he said. And though he helped build a global business after getting tired of waiting for a cab in the rain, “Patience is important for the future,” he explained.

When it comes to decision making, however, we need to accept our limits, Salazar said. “I love humans, but at the end of day it’s about … limiting human decisions. We have emotional, cultural and confirmation biases, and with so many data sources … how you feel … influences your decisions,” he explained. With technology, humans should be able to make better decisions. “It gives humans superpowers, I say,” Salazar said. “For certain decisions, we are not the best; humans can do better.”

Former Treasury secretary Jack Lew believes humans have an edge. At INSITE, Lew said that while decision making “is all in the data,” we “cannot trust formulas and machines.”

Speaking as a lawyer who works with economists, Lew argued, “Common sense means that analysis works or doesn’t work.” Humans can look at information critically, and this common sense “is the thing that technology will not replace.”

At the same time, Lew acknowledged that the American people “are not in the place where we used to be” due to globalization, technology and other factors. “Where things are going for our kids and grandkids, the key to the economy of the future is to be flexible, if you are working in services or industrial professions,” he explained.

“It’s no longer likely that the precise thing you trained for is going to be the same for the next 10, 20 or 30 years,” Lew said. “Our post-secondary schools are not doing as well they used to at [teaching] critical thinking and at giving today’s students a technical background for math and [computer] science. It’s all about flexibility,” the former Treasury secretary said.