Elevate with Robert Glazer Weekend Conversations: Nothing Is Unprecedented
Mar 28, 2026
A lively chat about why calling things "unprecedented" is often misleading and how history offers useful parallels. They explore historical examples from wartime propaganda to economic crises and show how past playbooks can guide leaders today. Conversation covers technological revolutions, career cycles, and practical ways to use precedent for smarter planning.
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Editing My Son's WWI Paper Triggered The Thought
- Mick Sloan recounts reviewing his son's World War I paper and realizing much of today's outrage mirrors historical propaganda.
- The paper prompted discussion of Woodrow Wilson's media manipulation to sell U.S. entry into World War I.
Most Things Aren't Truly Unprecedented
- People often call events "unprecedented" because they forget or haven't studied history.
- Robert Glazer and Mick Sloan cite Woodrow Wilson's propaganda and suppression of dissent around World War I as a clear historical parallel.
Technology Disruption Always Has Historical Echoes
- Technological shifts always have precedents in earlier disruptive inventions and economic transformations.
- Examples discussed include the stirrup enabling feudalism, the Industrial Revolution, electricity, railroads, personal computing, and globalization.
