I was really pleased when Mark Earls agreed to come and host a conversation at NESTA next week and I am even happier now having met him for a cup of tea this morning. He really embodies the Kipling aphorism 'who knows England who only England knows' in his thinking, research and writing drawing on ideas from all over the place. I love how he applies some of Steven Pinker's ideas in marketing and beyond. We mused on why most things fail, why book covers matter, the age of uncertainty and strategies for coping with it and perhaps the most exhilarating moment in the history of all sports - answers on a postcard please - and what it reveals about leadership, human nature and our delusions of control. Superb. Don't know exactly what line Mark will take next week but it will be worth waiting for....

Oh and he has a new book out too