Jim VandeHei

Never have humans talked, tweeted or texted more words — and found it more difficult to be heard. Veteran journalist Jim VandeHei, having come from traditional long-form journalism roots, created Axios to be an audience-first solution to today’s chaotic news and communication climate. The need for a new, effective, way to communicate isn’t confined to journalism, however, and any modern communicator can benefit from smart brevity. The more noise and distraction, the more precision and efficiency matter in being heard — and remembered. This talk shares the lessons VandeHei learned from running a media company that you can use to bust through the noise.

As the saying goes, less is more. The same goes for words. Listen as Politico and Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei shares what he's learned leading two media companies -- and how to radically rethink the way you write to keep people's attention in a distracted digital world.

You can't control the world — but you can control you. That's the mantra that took Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, a once "unremarkably unremarkable 20-year-old," all the way to launching companies and interviewing presidents. He breaks down a career's worth of observations into five deceptively simple things you can control, and explores why mastering them can change the trajectory of your life.