The Art of Quality hosts re-convene for a conversation about power laws: what they are, why they matter, where they show up, and how they help us understand quality itself.

Early in life John was struck by the notion that there is a fabric-pattern to reality, and we can learn some of it. That realization sparked a pursuit: to find the patterns that give rise to the good, the true, and the beautiful.

As he dug deeper, John began to recognize clear patterns of quality in the natural world – across organisms, species, and galaxies – and saw the same patterns reflected in the social world: in cities, companies, and people. These patterns, he realized, follow power laws. And wherever power laws appear, they serve as a kind of signal – a beacon – for impact.

In a world obsessed with averages – average performance, average experience, average outcomes – John saw that this framing was wrong. Power laws, not averages, rule the world. That insight reshaped the way he invests capital and led to a multi-year exploration of power laws: what they are, where they appear, and how we can act on them, which will be published as a book in 2026.

De Kock on retirement, taking the knee and unfinished business