From Aaron Sorkin to Steve Jobs to Meredith Perry and Elon Musk, "original" thinkers -- such as entrepreneurs -- do a lot of different things to move the world to their visions. And many of those things (and traits) are counterintuitive, such as ... Embracing procrastination. But there's a catch: It's about being the just-right amount of procrastinator, expert, or confident. There's a curvilinear relationship between too much and too little. There's also some surprising findings about why NOT to "start with the why" but with the how. Because sometimes the how is much more believable than the why. Especially when it comes to getting people to engineer things from ubeam to SpaceX. Or to really being able to tell the difference between communication vs. confidence vs. competence. Ultimately, it's all about being flexible, argues top Wharton management professor and New York Times columnist Adam Grant in his new book Originals. So how do we strike the just-right balance -- whether making an entrepreneur or just trying to raise more creative, productive kids? Is the answer perhaps to immerse them in sci-fi books and video games? Well, J.K. Rowling could be the most influential "original" alive, argues Grant in this podcast... but not for the reasons you think.

There are fewer and fewer parts of our lives that don't feel like an extension of our smartphones. Any song you might want to hear. Any place you might want to go. And a ride to get there. All served up simply, quickly, at the right price, and with an experience that is actually enjoyable. And then there is the world of banking. Taavet Hinrikus, CEO and co-founder of money transfer company TransferWise, and a16z's Angela Strange discuss why and how banking and finance -- from paying back a friend to refinancing a mortgage -- is about to catch up to the rest of our technology-enabled lives. The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.