Strands of Genius: Justin "JB" Bolognino + The Wellbeing Economy
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
For the past century, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the standard measure of a country's health, but this has often come at a cost to people and the planet. The Wellbeing Economy framework prioritizes social, health, cultural, equity, and environmental outcomes over GDP. This survey explores what "wellbeing" means to US consumers, their current wellbeing, and their expectations of brands.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
JUSTIN “JB” BOLOGNINO, CEO, META
>> Justin "JB" Bolognino guest curated Strands on August 8th, 2024. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
Under it all is Music… vibrating strings, all the way up to the Cosmic, and all the way down to the quantum. Music is behind physics. Working to reveal these hidden geometries is what got me here today and keeps me going into tomorrow.
I've been obsessed with metaphysics since my college professor and mentor at Northeastern, Kerry Dugan, first undrilled my ego-screws during my sophomore year in 1999. A good blend of Heidegger and Plato may have this effect on the unsuspecting young student. From then on, I've dedicated my life to "making the meta, physical," or bringing the realm one can see only with their Mind's eye here into the material, manifest world. First and always with Music, then design, technology, and storytelling.
What excites you most about what you do?
Seeing the joyful and emotional reactions of the people experiencing our work. Anywhere you look, people will tell you how profoundly a music festival or experience changed their life. So if we can open you up, the Information can pour in.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
My go-to reality framework is the “Integral” model, starting with German philosopher Jean Gebser, who wrote The Ever-Present Origin in 1946, Clare Grave’s “Spiral Dynamics”, and Ken Wilber’s AQAL system, which combines his Four Quadrants with his nine-stage model of developmental psychology and spirituality. It's the most clear, comprehensive, and actionable framework I've come across, and it has only become more relevant since I first encountered it over twenty years ago. While, like any model, it and its founder have their controversies, I’ve yet to find anything as comprehensive and actionable for how to understand this beautiful, precious shit sandwich that is life on planet Earth in 2024.
My leadership style can best be described as "Seriously Playful." I strive to be an over-communicator with highly efficient templates and actionable frameworks while still keeping it fun and playful. Understanding human nature, psychology, ego, and interpersonal chemistry is fundamental to being a good leader. I'm still figuring this out, to say the least.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
Tough one; I love all my children equally! It's a tie between the Flatland immersive dome film I directed that premiered at Coachella in 2018 and my first year directing Spirt Lake at Hulaween last year in 2023.
Flatland because it was the most high-profile project of my career, with St. Vincent doing the score and an incredible team of animators with a simply fantastic result that feels both timely and timeless. I also got to write a “Part 2” to one of Dugan’s go-to books, Flatland by Edwin Abbott, then bring it to life some so incredibly cool artists.
Spirit Lake was my first big project after my (still ongoing as of writing) lawsuit against Facebook, and working with such complex, tactile, heart-centered craftspeople in the swampy dirt was incredibly fulfilling. I’m deep into 2024 now, and it's getting fascinating as it all comes together. We’re designing a new stage, and deep into curating the show. Shoutout to Michael Berg who brought me into the mix.
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
I first and foremost focus on the diversity of skill sets, personalities, and value systems above all else, starting specifically with the work quality. There have been a couple of times in my career when I've forced positions based on external physical factors, and every time they have blown up in my face spectacularly. As Miles Davis said, "I don't care if they have green skin and purple breath as long as they can swing."
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
I found nothing resembling a “work-life balance” until the pandemic foisted it upon me. I was doing 12-hour days 6 days a week for about 17 years, grinding so hard until it all just suddenly stopped, especially on the live side of my business, but it gave us more time to work on our digital products.
Having a dedicated workstation/desktop, and making this "where I work" and not really allowing for work on my laptop, which was once permanently on my lap, has been instrumental to this. It's made it harder to be productive on a laptop when needed, though. Losing my office and travel demand with Covid also helped find a balance, though I miss the interactive benefits of being with a team in an office. I have three kids, so I really need to find this balance as much as possible, lest it all collapse. I could undoubtedly write an entire piece about this… but most fundamental of all has been consistently finding a good night’s sleep. I really think sleep is the cornerstone of all sought-after balance.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
Podcasts do a lot of the work. I adore Sam Harris's ability to achieve clarity of expression and sophistication, he sets the bar for me. Its remarkable to me how controversial he is, but I’m sure folks reading this will think its remarkable I think its remarkable. I don’t miss ?uestlove’s show for the musical guests and nerdy banter.
I love what All Sides and Straight Arrow News are doing, rather, are attempting to do. Is anybody listening? I read NYT and Fox News regularly mostly so I can understand what most people are reading. I load my Apple News up with things I disagree with (in an often feeble attempt) to understand other perspectives so I can better speak to them (see: Integral + Rhetoric degree).
And for this same reason, I never miss Bill Maher's show, which has somehow become controversial, which is insane to me. Most people say something like, "I don't agree with him anymore". If your media diet is limited to "who you agree with," you're in trouble. It's the only show that has spirited debates among differing perspectives. I fear losing this show so much, as there will literally be ZERO open debate left on MSM. So much so that I recently bought the domain kindlydisagree.com -- which was, but also not surprisingly, available as a dot com! I majored in Rhetoric and Communication in college, which is both a blessing and a curse.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
Again have to cite my greatest teacher, Kerry Dugan. Dugan was a round little man with a ginger mustache and a pocket protector full of pens, and a hint of ink stain. He had the form of Dilbert and the mind of a Zen Warrior.
He had a bag of existential tricks, sayings, and chalkboard exercises designed to tear you to pieces, if you wanted it. He gave me Plato, Heidegger, Sufism, the Tao, Zen, and on and on. I was so hungry and lapped it all up and stole from all of it. He also had the three-tiered capitalization system that I've stolen and made into my core writing system. "There are four types of Nothing: nothing, Nothing, NOTHING... and 'NOTHING WITH AN X THROUGH IT." Wow... he was a real motherfucker and changed my world more than any other human has, by far. Here is that stolen idea in action. RIP Dugan.
You can keep in touch with Justin on LinkedIn.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)
Let's just admit it now: people are so enthralled by this interview, they're silenced in the comments! :)