Sponsored by

🔼 Gold. Prices hit a 6 month high »»

🔽 Rolex and Patek prices. They both hit fresh 2 year lows »»

💬 “We are in for a very unpleasant era for actors and crew.” Not everyone in Hollywood is happy with the industry’s historic AI deal »»

🛫 Azabudai Hills, a new culural district in the heart of Tokyo, opened this week »» 

👗 The jumpsuit is getting a high-fashion makeover »»

💎 Villiers is Uber-for-private-jets, with 10,000 planes flying to 40,000 destinations. Pro tip: empty legs fly out of London, Zurich, Paris, and Geneva all the time »»

This apartment building is being 3D printed in Europe — and rent won't be more than US$530 a month for a 872-square-foot unit »»

An ancient technique can improve your attention span »»

The secret to getting a passport photo you’ll love for the next 10 years »»

Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain »»

Check out the new Palace x UGG slippers »»

The UK government is planning to scrap the need for planning permission for property owners who want to convert a house into two flats »»

The North Face's corduroy Nuptse puffers are textural genius »»

Uh oh: Users are reporting that their Google Drive files have disappeared »»

Shein confidentially filed for a US IPO »»

London’s Claridge’s Restaurant has had a 5-star resurrection »»

A Virgin Atlantic jet is flying from London to New York powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Aviation is seeking to showcase a low carbon future »»

Related: Flying taxi firm Lilium receives EU approval for its electric jets »»

More billionaires are renting homes instead of buying. Here’s why »»

Netflix gave an unproven director US$55m for a sci-fi series, and he blew it on Rolls-Royces, crypto, and dodgy stocks. (He also appears to have used Dogecoin to turn US$4m into US$27m) »»

The Standard will debut a new sub brand next year in Melbourne »»

LeBron James added another record to his NBA resume. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes played, including playoffs, in the history of the sport »»

CRM software is annoying. Less Annoying CRM is not. All fate v/ future readers can now get 60 days of this software free, twice as long as standard »»

Charisma is your secret AI contingency strategy

Everyone knows charisma when they see it, but people have a surprisingly hard time defining it, exactly.

Here’s the Cambridge Dictionary: “the ability to attract the attention and admiration of others.”

And here’s Wikipedia: “a personal quality of presence or charm that others find compelling.”

But those both feel a bit incomplete, in trying to describe a magnetic and enjoyable, charismatic person.

Charisma feels like much more than that, doesn’t it?

The best selling author and speaker Vanessa Van Edwards has a more nuanced —and more exact— definition for us, borne out of a scientific study that caught her attention.

This formula (charisma = warmth + competence) suggests that charismatic people not only possess enough skill and knowledge to be effective at what they do, but that they also radiate a welcoming, engaging energy that people just want to be around.

Sounds simple enough, right? Bringing it to life. Now, that’s the complicated part.

See, true charisma comes from a dynamic interplay of these elements —more calculus than arithmetic, if that makes sense.

WAIT, WHAT EVEN IS CALCULUS?

Sidebar: A lot of people (ie., me) throw the word calculus around when we mean complicated and fluid. But what even is calculus?

Well, calculus is a type of math that tries to make sense of the real world with numbers. Calculus, which has been credited to numerous inventors over the centuries, helps us understand things that we can’t see at first glance.

It’s used to calculate how much things grow by and shrink by (ie., speeds, or heights). That’s differential calculus. Integral calculus, by comparison, helps us measure things that are hard to measure in usual ways. Imagine breaking down really hard-to-measure things into lots of tiny, way-easier-to-measure pieces, in order to figure out that larger, total amount.

OK, sidebar over.

SO WHAT’S AI GOT TO DO WITH IT?

In our view, knowing your warmth x competence calculus will be increasingly important as AI takes over more of our collective cognitive load.

In the calculus of charisma, warmth and competence are not fixed quantities: Vanessa shows how we can ramp each one up or down depending on our natural predilections and contexts.

Seen this way, warmth and competence are more like functions, with each influencing the other, and evolving over time and context.

AI doing our busy work means that we humans now have more opportunity to focus on developing higher order skills. And this is more than just a nice to have. As AI rapidly evolves, understanding, cultivating, and displaying charisma will actually become about much more than mere personal development for you and me.

It will become a core strategic business advantage.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The exciting prospect here lies not just in understanding charisma as a formula but in embracing the deeper human components that give it life.

Your emotional depth, your adaptability, and your unique journey/personal growth are what will fuel your charisma.

This is important because, in a world where AI handles the facts and figures, your human qualities —your warmth, your empathy, and the trajectory of your personal and professional growth— will be your strategic advantage.

In a recent interview, the CEO of ChatGPT parent company OpenAI, said that he believes AI will rank as the single most important invention in the history of humanity, and suggests getting good at all kinds of AI tools, like, now.

In the coming weeks, months, and years, we will find out whether or not he is right about that.

But as you get good at AI tools, do not forget how your human charisma (warmth x competence) can multiply your influence, increase your connections, and boost your impact —as well as your income potential.

More:

What Makes Someone Charismatic? by Vanessa Van Edwards »»

'Hard Fork': An Interview With Sam Altman »»

Written by Jon Kallus. Thanks for reading.

Harness The Economist's approach to business writing

How do you write persuasively for business? Study the psychology, craft and purpose of writing with experts from The Economist.

The six-week Professional Communication: Business Writing and Storytelling online short course from The Economist is designed to help business professionals attract and address broad audiences across various written formats. 

On completion of this course, you’ll walk away with:

• Practical writing, editing and data-visualisation skills for creating clear and compelling business communications.

• A writer’s toolkit based on The Economist’s editorial approach, helping you to navigate questions of structure, word choice and style.

• The ability to source, structure and convey information in a way that is accurate, engaging and ethical.