Mark: A Harvard study found that companies led by highly optimistic CEOs had 31% higher revenue growth. But here's the twist: that optimism had nothing to do with ignoring reality. In fact, it was about embracing failure. Michelle: Whoa, hold on. Thirty-one percent is a massive number, but the 'embracing failure' part is the real shocker. That sounds like a complete contradiction. How can you be optimistic while you're failing? Mark: That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? And it’s the core idea behind the book we're diving into today: What's Next Is Now, by Frederik G. Pferdt. Michelle: Frederik G. Pferdt. I'm not familiar with the name, but it sounds intriguing. Mark: Well, he's someone who knows a thing or two about this. Pferdt was Google's very first Chief Innovation Evangelist. His job was basically to teach one of the world's most powerful companies how to think about the future. He's taught at Stanford for over a decade and worked with everyone from NASA to the UN. The book itself was a "Next Big Idea Club" must-read, so it’s got some serious weight behind it. Michelle: Okay, so he's not just some motivational speaker. He's been in the trenches of innovation. But I have to be honest, Mark, the central idea of the book seems to be this concept of 'Radical Optimism,' and that phrase makes me cringe a little. It sounds a lot like toxic positivity. How is this different from just telling people to slap a smile on a terrible situation? Mark: That is the perfect place to start, because Pferdt argues it’s the complete opposite. It’s not about feeling good; it’s about doing something. It’s an active, deeply held belief that even when things are falling apart, you can find a path to a better outcome, not by ignoring the problem, but by treating it as an opportunity. Michelle: That's a big claim. Can you give me a real-world example of how that works? Because in theory it sounds nice, but in practice... Mark: I have the perfect one. It’s a story of spectacular, repeated, near-catastrophic failure. Let's talk about the early days of SpaceX.

Michelle: Oh, I love this. Everyone sees Elon Musk as this inevitable genius now, but I know the beginning was rough. Mark: Rough is an understatement. After Musk sold PayPal, he poured his fortune into this moonshot idea of colonizing Mars. The established aerospace industry, all these legacy giants, thought he was completely delusional. They were focused on tiny, incremental improvements, and here comes this tech guy talking about reusable rockets. Michelle: Right, which was considered impossible at the time. Mark: Exactly. So, they build their first rocket, the Falcon 1. March 2006, the first launch. Within seconds, there's a fuel leak, the engine catches fire, and the rocket plummets back to Earth and explodes. Total failure. Michelle: Ouch. That’s got to hurt. Mark: But here's where the radical optimism kicks in. They didn't say, "Oh well, we tried." They treated the explosion as a massive data-gathering exercise. They analyzed every millisecond of telemetry, found the flaw—a corroded aluminum nut—and they rebuilt. A year later, March 2007, they're ready for the second launch. Michelle: Okay, redemption time. Mark: The rocket takes off, it goes higher this time... and then the engine just malfunctions. The rocket starts to oscillate wildly, spins out of control, and fails to reach orbit. Another complete failure. At this point, critics are sharpening their knives. The media is calling it a vanity project. Michelle: I can't even imagine the pressure. They're burning through money with nothing to show for it. Mark: And it gets worse. August 2008, the third launch. This is their last shot. They are nearly bankrupt. If this one fails, SpaceX is done. The rocket lifts off... and this time, the first stage separation goes wrong. The new, upgraded engine collides with the first stage, and both pieces tumble back to Earth. Three launches, three explosions. The company is on the brink of collapse. Michelle: Wow. Three failures in a row? That's just brutal. At that point, any "normal" optimist would have given up. Mark: But this is where Pferdt’s idea of radical optimism becomes so clear. It wasn't a blind faith that "it'll work next time." It was a conviction that the problem was solvable. It was a belief in their ability to learn. They went back, analyzed the third failure, and just one month later, in September 2008, they launched the fourth Falcon 1. It performed flawlessly, becoming the first privately funded liquid-propellant rocket to reach orbit. Michelle: That gives me chills. So the optimism wasn't in the outcome, it was in the process. It was the belief that 'we can learn enough to make it work next time.' Mark: Precisely. It’s not about ignoring the fire. It’s about believing you can build a better, fireproof rocket from the ashes. That’s Radical Optimism. It’s gritty, it’s action-oriented, and it’s fueled by the belief in 'better,' not 'perfect.'

Michelle: That makes so much more sense. It’s not about positive thinking, it’s about positive doing. The learning part seems absolutely key. Mark: Exactly. And that relentless learning from failure is the perfect bridge to Pferdt's next big idea: that progress isn't about grand visions, but about constant, small-scale tinkering. He calls it Perpetual Experimentation. Michelle: Okay, but again, that sounds great for a rocket company with billions of dollars. How does a regular person, say, an accountant or a teacher, apply 'perpetual experimentation' without getting fired? Mark: This is my favorite part of the book, because he makes it so accessible. He says we need to reframe the goal. The objective of an experiment is not success, it’s learning. He quotes the Stanford d.school mantra: "Prototype as if you’re right, and test as if you’re wrong." Michelle: I like that. It takes the pressure off. Mark: It completely does. And the prototypes don't have to be complicated. He tells this fantastic story about Tom Chi, who was the Head of Experience for Google X, the company's moonshot factory. They were working on Google Glass. Michelle: Ah, Google Glass. The famous high-tech failure. Mark: A commercial failure, yes, but an incredible success in terms of experimentation and learning. The team was considering adding hand gesture controls to the glasses. Now, the old way of doing this would be to spend six months and millions of dollars building a working electronic prototype. Michelle: Right, a huge investment. Mark: But Tom Chi’s team did it in 45 minutes. They built a prototype using fishing line, hair bands, chopsticks, binder clips, and a whiteboard. They literally taped together this contraption to simulate the experience of swiping and tapping in the air. Michelle: That's hilarious. So what did they learn? Mark: They learned almost instantly that it felt ridiculous. People felt socially awkward and physically clumsy making these gestures in public. The experiment was a total success because it gave them a clear answer in under an hour: abandon this feature. They didn't fail fast; they learned fast. Michelle: Okay, so it's not about building a perfect product, it's about answering a single question with the cheapest, fastest test possible. I'm thinking of another story from the book—that student at Google who wanted to solve the meeting room shortage. Mark: Yes! A perfect example. The problem was that all the meeting rooms were booked, but lots of private offices were empty. Instead of writing a big proposal, she just prototyped a solution. She put plastic sign holders outside a few offices with a simple green card that said "FREE" and a red card that said "BUSY," and let people write in the times. Michelle: It's so simple! And she got her answer right away. People were happy to share their space. Mark: Exactly. She learned what she needed to know in a day, with a few cents' worth of materials. That’s perpetual experimentation in action. It’s driven by what Pferdt calls Compulsive Curiosity—constantly asking "What if?" and then running a tiny experiment to find out.

Michelle: I love these ideas. But I have to say, all this talk of optimism and experimentation can feel a bit cold and technical. It's all about process and data. Where do people fit into this future-ready mindset? Mark: That's the final and most important layer. Pferdt argues that what ties it all together is the human element. This comes in two forms: Expansive Empathy and discovering what he calls your 'Dimension X.' Michelle: Hold on, 'Dimension X'? That sounds like something out of a comic book. What does Pferdt actually mean by that? Mark: It's his term for your unique personal superpower. It's not a skill you learn, but a fundamental way you operate. It's the lens through which you see the world. For one person, it might be an innate ability to create order from chaos. For another, it might be grit and persistence. It's the force that drives your most natural and powerful responses. Michelle: So it’s about self-awareness? Recognizing your own default setting? Mark: Exactly. And he tells this wonderful story about Laura Jones, who is now the Chief Marketing Officer at Instacart. She studied economics and started her career in consulting, living in spreadsheets. But she felt unfulfilled. At night, she painted. She had this analytical side and this creative side, and they felt completely separate. Michelle: I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling. Mark: Absolutely. She eventually went to business school at Stanford and discovered the d.school, which was all about combining design, business, and creativity. It was a revelation. She realized her 'Dimension X'—her superpower—was making surprising connections between seemingly unrelated things. Michelle: So how did she use that? Mark: At every step in her career. At Visa, instead of a boring report, she created an immersive video that put executives in the shoes of their customers. At Google, she connected different teams. And then at Instacart, she was behind that famous ad campaign with the singer Lizzo. Michelle: The one where Lizzo is in a bathtub surrounded by groceries? I remember that, it was everywhere! Mark: That's the one. Think about the connections she made there. She connected a grocery delivery app with a globally beloved pop star, a message of self-care, and a visually stunning, almost surreal image. It was a surprising connection of data, brand strategy, and pure creative joy. That was her Dimension X in action. Michelle: I love that. It's not about finding a new skill, but about recognizing the unique way you already operate. And it seems like her 'Dimension X' was only powerful when she used it to connect with what an audience—what people—would love. That’s where the empathy comes in. Mark: That's the perfect insight, Michelle. Your Dimension X is your personal engine, but Expansive Empathy is the steering wheel. It’s about understanding the experiences, needs, and desires of others. When you combine your unique superpower with a deep understanding of people, you don't just create a future for yourself; you create a future that has a positive impact on others.

Michelle: It’s all starting to click together. It’s like a full toolkit for your mind. Mark: It really is. When you put it all together, you have this powerful engine for shaping your life. Radical Optimism gives you the fuel to start, to believe that a better future is possible. Compulsive Curiosity and Perpetual Experimentation are the gears that move you forward, turning ideas into learning through constant action. Michelle: And then the human element guides it. Mark: Exactly. Empathy and your Dimension X are the steering wheel, making sure you're heading in a direction that's both impactful for others and uniquely, authentically yours. Pferdt’s whole point is that the future isn't something that just happens to you. It's something you compose, note by note, choice by choice, every single day. Michelle: It really makes you ask yourself: what is my Dimension X? What's that one thing I do, almost without thinking, that connects different parts of my world? Mark: That's the perfect question to end on. It’s not always obvious, but it’s there. For some, it’s storytelling. For others, it’s simplifying complexity. It’s that signature move that makes you, you. Michelle: We'd love to hear from our listeners on this. What do you think your Dimension X is? It’s a fascinating thing to reflect on. Let us know what you discover. Mark: This is Aibrary, signing off.