An Inspired Chat with Jeff Kagan

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jeff Kagan. Check out our conversation below.

Jeff, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have you ever been glad you didn’t act fast?
I don’t like to postpone decisions or choices. I say when it’s time to act, act.

That being said, while in today’s world we need to be able to act and choose quickly, we also need to be able to take a moment, pull the camera back, and act correctly using our longer-term, historical perspective.

Acting quickly often reflects a simple view of the world today. However, many decisions have long-lasting effects and require foresight. They require thought and perspective.

That’s why I always recommend using your power of choice correctly. Not every decision is important. However, for those who are and where a long-term perspective is important, don’t rush into something that sounds good today but makes less sense in the long term.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
This is the same question I always ask myself, year after year for decades. I do several different things, some more than others, as time goes by. As my practice has evolved over the past four decades, my views have undergone significant changes.

I am currently known as a top-tier Industry Analyst, tech columnist, tech influencer, brand ambassador, keynote speaker, consultant, and advisor. I work with and advise senior-level executives, companies, investors, customers, workers, politicians, the government, the Board of Directors, and the industry in general.

Starting out in the mid-1980s, I have followed and commented on the growth and changes in the telecommunications industry, watching it evolve over time.

Today, telecommunications and the larger technology industry have grown and changed and are part of many different industries, including wireless, AI, telecom, technology, cable TV, streaming, television, and so much more.

One of the biggest change agents we have to wrestle with today is AI.

Artificial Intelligence is suddenly front and center for companies, industries and governments. That being said, while we as a society are investing billions of dollars, it is in an industry that very few understand.

It’s like walking through a forest, at night, with a flashlight. We are asked to invest in and shape this new industry beyond what we can see. While that may not be responsible from one perspective, it’s a must from another.

With AI, there is more misinformation circulating, and few executives and investors really understand.

Additionally, there is no profitability. Not yet anyway. Today with AI, it is a time of preparation, so we don’t find ourselves left behind as the change wave moves forward without us.

This is my world. Staying on top of how this new technology like AI is transforming stable and long-term industries. Helping executives, companies, investors, government officials and more understand and make the right next moves.

While I do not have all the answers, the truth of the matter is, no one does. We are all moving forward in an area beyond the short distance our headlights can see. Yet we continue to move forward, as if we think we know what is coming next.

We must move forward with AI because our competitors are doing so, and we do not want to be left behind. At the same time, we need to keep our eyes wide open to protect ourselves and our users from the good and bad of both sides of AI,

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Earlier in my career, when no one knew who I was, I suddenly popped on the radar of a CEO in the industry. We met, and that set me on a new and exciting growth path which I have followed for decades. Sure, the path has changed, numerous times in fact, but that was what may be my first memory of feeling powerful.

After that, I wrote more columns, appeared on more newscasts, newspapers, and magazines, gave keynote speeches, shared my opinion of the changing world around us, and my influence grew.

To tell you the truth, I could see this happening, but didn’t understand what was happening.

I have determined there are two different tracks. One is becoming well-known as a thought leader. The other is creating an income stream.

Year after year, I got calls from more companies and senior-level executives. One by one, they found me and wanted to start a working relationship.

That means many companies, including every local and long-distance wireless carrier, cable TV and many tech companies including equipment and network companies, and the wider tech industry, became clients of mine.

While I could not fully understand what was happening, I believed there was a purpose. A reason. A cause. Something greater than what I could understand.

I had an urge to teach what I learned to my children, who were too young to grasp the lessons I had to teach them.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
My life story is full of good and bad. After spending years building my personal and professional brand and becoming one of the best-known Industry Analysts, columnists, and speakers in the industry, I had a major life-changing event…

I suffered a stroke.

Recovery took years. I was unable to think clearly. Unable to work. Unable to walk or drive or think or remember much of anything.

Fortunately, I had something inside that would not let me quit. I continued to work hard to rebuild my life. Step by step, I thank God for my hard fought, long, yet rewarding recovery.

Over time, brain healed and, well, rewired itself over time.

This was an experience that I truly want to share with everyone. I thoroughly enjoy discussing this miracle and inspiring others to reach new heights in their own lives.

If I can recover from a stroke, how far can you go?

While I do not know how the real world works, I have discovered there are secrets to success that are there for all of us.

Before my stroke, I thought my success came from me and my hard work. Now I understand that my success came from something greater. God combined with my burning desire to never quit.

This sounds funny to say, but God and I have a partnership of sorts. As long as I am willing to give it my all and share these secrets with the world, the possibilities seem to be limitless.

Today, I am still trying to make sense of life. But this is an honorable path.

So my kids would always have the secrets to success I learned, I wrote several books on my journey as a way to inspire others. They are available on Amazon.com.

While I still do not fully understand where my success comes from, I always come back to God as the answer. Knowing that, do I really have to understand any more?

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The industries I follow lie to themselves about so much. That means 5G, 6G, AI, wireless, telecom, pay TV, streaming, technology and more.

This is not meant in a bad way.

That being said, their claim to always know the direction the marketplace is heading is simply not true.

Did we know the iPhone, Android and wireless data were coming and would change the world? Not in the early years. In fact, Apple originally offered the iPhone to Verizon, which turned them down.

Or when AT&T and Verizon took wrong turns a decade ago, acquiring DirecTV, Time Warner, Warner Brothers Studios, CNN, AOL and Yahoo.

Both were a mistake. Now, a decade later, they are finally back on the right track, following 5G, 6G, and AI.

Every growth opportunity has a lifespan. A growth cycle. It rises, then crests, then falls. You need to have the next growth cycle in place before the one you are riding runs its course.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happens. Execs ride the growth wave up and down again, and only under pressure do they start trying things out and hoping for the best.

Executives falsely believe they are responsible. When the truth is, they took a shot. Sometimes it works. Other times it does not.

Of course, while some struggle, others continue to thrive. Consider Apple with iPhone and Google with Android.

The challenge is how to convince the current executives that the growth wave they are riding will not last forever. And they need to be creating the next growth wave before they need it.

This is part of what I do when I act as an advisor to these industries, companies, execs and investors.

This is something I believe every executive should already be aware of and actively working on.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
This is an interesting question. A question which is much broader than just my position as an Industry Analyst, columnist, influencer, and public speaker.

On the business side, I would like to be remembered as an honest and successful businessperson. A leader. An accurate analyst. Someone who always tells the truth from my perspective. Someone who guided many executives and companies through decades of ups and downs. Someone who made many friends in the industry. Friends he respects. Friends he has taught, and he has learned from.

On a personal level, I would like to be remembered as a good husband and life partner to my wife, as well as a good father who always loved his children and tried to impart the life lessons he had learned.

Who wrote about this in a book titled: Father Shares Secrets to Success and Happiness with His Children: You can be successful if you know the secret. Who speaks to groups on these topics to inspire people in their lives.

Then there is the stroke, which was one of my biggest life challenges. The lessons learned through a long recovery have convinced me there is a God. That’s a whole other conversation, but I wish that you can find the love, happiness and drive like I have found.

I hope you can find the lessons you’ve learned over your life are valuable to the next generation, as I have.

I want to be remembered as someone who stood up to adversity, fought day in and day out, and who ultimately won.

Life is not a one-time event. It is a long season.

As someone who set a good example for others to respect and as a guide to many others.

Remember, life is a game. So, play to win!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeffKAGAN.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-kagan/
• Twitter: https://x.com/jeffkagan