World-Renowned Historian: When Leaders Actually Change History | Jared Diamond - EP 815

What makes someone a great leader?

Is it talent? Timing? Character? Circumstance? Or simply being the right person in the right place at the right moment?

Today, John R. Miles sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author Jared Diamond to explore one of the biggest questions in his new book, Profits, Profits, Profits, Coaches and Kings: When Do Leaders Matter?

After spending decades studying civilizations, geography, human societies, and why nations succeed or collapse, Diamond has turned his attention to leadership.

And his answer challenges the way we usually think about great leaders. Some leaders genuinely change history. Others recognize an opportunity that history has already created. And some may be talented, successful, and famous—but would not have made much difference if someone else had been in their place.

In this conversation, Jared explains how he uses history as a series of “natural experiments” to separate the impact of a leader from the circumstances surrounding them.

You’ll learn:

• When leaders actually matter
• Why some leaders are uniquely qualified to change history—and most aren't
• How timing and circumstance can determine whether a leader succeeds
• The difference between creating an opportunity and recognizing one
• Why Churchill was a great wartime leader but far less effective in peacetime
• What Harry Truman can teach us about leadership and courage
• Why founders can have an outsized impact on the institutions they leave behind
• How the “Hamlet test” reveals whether someone was truly indispensable
• What Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and John Wooden reveal about distinctive leadership
• Why leaders should be judged partly by what happens after they leave
• Why leadership is about more than techniques—and why philosophy matters

And Jared shares one of his most important lessons for leaders: Stop looking for the one most important thing.

Great leadership, he argues, is about getting the many important things right. This is a conversation about leadership, history, circumstance, and legacy—but ultimately, it raises a question every leader should ask: If you disappeared tomorrow, what would actually be different because you were here?

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