A truly heartwarming story of riches to rags - I tore through it on a NY-LA flight. Highly recommended for anyone who works and wonders if they shouldA truly heartwarming story of riches to rags - I tore through it on a NY-LA flight. Highly recommended for anyone who works and wonders if they shouldn't be paying more attention to their personal happiness. Some great business anecdotes throw in from the authors experience in a top-tier advertising firm in NYC. But mostly this is a story that makes you question the sanity of giving your whole life to a corporation that can easily discard you when you get older. Definitely highlights the importance of doing what you love - even if its working at a coffee shop!
The other interesting bit was the culture of Starbucks. Instead of giving each other orders, employees are taught to ask each other to "do me a favor". They are taught to be 100% positive in everything they do, and to constantly positively reinforce their coworkers. Coworkers are actually called Partners, and patrons are Guests. The language we use is so key to setting the right tone!
A great book and worth the read, but like many Gladwellian books, it can be summed up easily. The basic point is that there is no such thing as a trueA great book and worth the read, but like many Gladwellian books, it can be summed up easily. The basic point is that there is no such thing as a true outlier. Success, it seems, is due primarily to hard work and circumstance - brains play little part.
Gladwell went through several (fascinating) examples proving his thesis - people such as Bill Gates, Joe Flom at Skadden, Oppenheimer, some failed genius named Chris Langan. All of them had two things in common: they spent over 10,000 hours doing what they did, and they had fortunate circumstances that let them get ahead of everyone else. Bill Gates was smart, but so were lots of other geeks. He had the advantage of being 16 when the computing age came about, and being possibly the only 16 year old in the country with access to a computer - and he spent all his time on it. By the time he hit college he had well over 10,000 hours of computer time and was arguably one of the foremost experts in the country.
One of my favorite bits was the music study on page 39 that compared musicians, and "couldn't find any 'naturals'" - the skill of each musician at comparable amounts of practice was equal. It's kind of validating to hear this, as many of us have this feeling that there are naturally smarter people out there than us. But apparently this isn't true - and I think my personal experience agrees with this. The harder you work, the better you can do.
One other big takeaway was how circumstance can change things. The hockey league study and elementary school studies were fascinating and relevant. Basically kids that are in the older third of their class (or hockey league) have a natural advantage when they're really little. They are the kids who make all-star, and get extra coaching, and because of that they practice more and thus do become better by the time they are older. I was held back in pre-school so I was one of the oldest in my class, and I definitely think it helped me. Hmmm now can I plan my kids to be born to be the oldest?
Absolutely loved this book and all the examples it gives of how we think we are making rational decisions, when in fact we aren't. The book concludes Absolutely loved this book and all the examples it gives of how we think we are making rational decisions, when in fact we aren't. The book concludes by saying many of these irrational decisions we make are entirely predictable (thus the title of the book), and thus we should as a society do better to factor them in. I would have loved more suggestions of how this could be done, but that was beyond the scope of the book.
This book seems to be a must for anyone studying or dealing with pricing. Which is all of us given we all buy things. For instance, the advice that "given three choices, most people will take the middle choice" is simultaneously obvious and also very useful.
I loved the chapter on social norms vs market norms. Also stuff that seems obvious, but I hadn't ever put it into that mental model, and seeing it that way is very interesting. Good reminder that money isn't the best motivator, but if you go with social norms, you have to keep it entirely that way (eg Burning Man barter economy).
Another gem was the study that showed that how when we are in an emotionally charged state, we make consistently worse decisions. It would be great if my smart devices (Garmon, Oura, Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc) could detect this and give me a warning somehow.
My safari guide gave this to me, saying the author was a friend who had lived a life similar to his own. It's a very well-written memoir style book ofMy safari guide gave this to me, saying the author was a friend who had lived a life similar to his own. It's a very well-written memoir style book of a man who is raised among a very proud people called the Maasai in East Africa. By modern standards they live very primitive lives: herding cattle, and living in dirt huts. But some of them are sent to school and enter the modern world, and the juxtaposition of the author's viewpoint on both worlds makes for a great read.
One interesting thing I noticed was that one reason the author was able to get so far in life was that as a safari guide back in the day, he met exclusively rich and powerful people as his clients. They were the only ones who could afford it back then! Just goes to show that its all about who you know!...more
I learned a lot about an area of the world I knew very little. The book was a journalistic nonfiction account of Sierra Leone, as opposed to the fictiI learned a lot about an area of the world I knew very little. The book was a journalistic nonfiction account of Sierra Leone, as opposed to the fictional movie (which I also enjoyed).
Key takeaways: - Human beings can be pretty indecent to each other when the economic incentives are right, and when there are no checks on those in charge. The RUF murdered and mutilated thousands. - There is *no* way to verify a diamond is not a conflict diamond. No matter what a diamond seller says, stones are untraceable and black market stones can be added in at any of a dozen of places on the way from the mine to the store. Only stores like DeBeers, who control their own mines and stores, can approach such a guarantee. - The guy who started DeBeers was impressive. He bought up as many mines as he could instead of mining them, and eventually controlled the market. DeBeers has had some shady practices as the worlds biggest diamond buyer and mine owner. - DeBeers has a monopoly on diamonds, and as such can't have more than 3 executives in the US at any time or they will be arrested for prosecution by the SEC. - DeBeers has a stockpile of diamonds in London worth billions. Selling it would flood the market. - In late 2001, a Washington Post reporter broke a story that Osama Bin Laden had been buying conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone for a the past year to convert his money to a liquid form. This was in preparation for Sept 11, as he knew the US would seize his funds after the attack. Its very likely the scheme worked, and conflict diamonds are what is funding him today. ...more
Great book. Quick read, and you learn about about psychology that you can apply to life or business.
A few notes: - All about first impressions. First iGreat book. Quick read, and you learn about about psychology that you can apply to life or business.
A few notes: - All about first impressions. First impressions can sway our opinion of something for years to come regardless of subsequent performance. - Labels matter. If you label someone as a higher performer, top of class, leader, having command potential, etc - it will translate into them actually having it. My high school motto was Principes Non Homines (leaders not men) - now I know why they thought that would work. - When we brand or label people they take on the characteristics of the diagnosis. - People are easily swayed when other people they deal with are decent or nice or fair to them. You enjoy a restaurant 10 times more if the waiter is really nice, regardless of the food (the product). Same goes for any service or business relationship. - Heightened adrenaline levels lead to higher levels of romantic interest - We have "two engines" running in our brain that don't operate simultaneously. So we usually approach things from either an altruistic perspective or a self-interested one. Money (self-interest) is not always the best motivator - sometimes pride (in your country, your city, what you do) will inspire people much more. ...more
Very fascinating take on how Leopold was able to obtain a colony many times bigger than Belgium with pure politics, and maintain it with forced slaverVery fascinating take on how Leopold was able to obtain a colony many times bigger than Belgium with pure politics, and maintain it with forced slavery and mercenaries.
There are lots of business lessons to be learned from Leopold:
- Perception is reality. The reality was forced slavery, and unspeakable cruelty by Leopold's agents. But in Europe Leopold told over and over the story that he was a humanitarian, and had the best interests of the Congo people in mind. - You can control reality. Leopold wined and dined, and even bribed anyone with the ability to hurt the perception he spun of the Congo. Harder to do today, but not impossible. For instance a web startup just has to get cozy with Arrington and funding is around the corner. Leopold wasn't a king - he was a master at PR. - History is written by the victors. Most published accounts of the era came from Leopold or his agents. Thus most people had no idea what was happening. I've seen this in current times: an authoritative article by a prominent newspaper that gets things wrong - then for people later researching the subject it becomes a source, and the myth builds. Thats what good PR can do! - Economic incentive without proper checks can result in just about anybody becoming corrupt. Lots of "good" people in the book did unspeakable things to the natives for the sake of meeting their quota of ivory or rubber, or because they were ordered to. Similar stories have been told of American soldiers in Vietnam. In my view this pretty much proves man is neither inherently good or evil, but is entirely motivated by peer pressure and/or money. Joseph Conrad captured this well in Heart of Darkness...more
I heard this book described as interesting but a little dry, so I was fully planning on just skimming a lot. But I ended up reading almost the whole tI heard this book described as interesting but a little dry, so I was fully planning on just skimming a lot. But I ended up reading almost the whole thing! I have two biases though: one was I was in Africa at the time I read it, and the other is my grandfather did a lot of hunting in Africa in the 1960's, so I could almost picture him hanging out with the wild characters in the book.
What I loved were all the stories of hunts and the pioneer type hunters that led them. Numerous maulings and close calls dealing with all sorts of animals. Surprisingly, the most dangerous animals in Africa are (in order): Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino. Unless you wound the Lion then he's #1. Don't mess with Simba.
That phrase was buried in my mind somewhere. It was familiar, yet I knew not how nor who this Livingstone person was. This"Dr Livingstone, I presume!"
That phrase was buried in my mind somewhere. It was familiar, yet I knew not how nor who this Livingstone person was. This book explained it, and was very entertaining in the process. Highly recommended if you ever travel to East Africa.
A friend recently wrote an interesting piece about how the types of creative people that rise to be famous have changed over the years. Livingstone was an explorer in the mid-1800's, and was a Michael Jordan of England. He explored much of Africa, often being the only white man in the expedition. He abhorred slavery, which was then rampant, and fought against it. His quest was to find the source of the Nile river, which evidently was a big thing back then (today we just keep looking for 'dark matter' and other such stuff).
But the most interesting part of the book to me was that the reason we know that famous phrase, is that its an early example of newspaper sensationalism. The New York Observer paid a reporter (Stanley) to take ridiculously large and expensive expedition into the middle of Africa that lasted for years, just to be able to have the exclusive on the story. But it was worth it: millions of Americans were entertained for years by the articles on Stanley's quest. And England wasn't happy its superstar was found by an American either, a fact not lost on the Observer....more
Highly recommended if you are curious about Manic-depressive disease. A fascinating and even very well written insight from a woman who is both a PsycHighly recommended if you are curious about Manic-depressive disease. A fascinating and even very well written insight from a woman who is both a Psychiatrist who treats it and suffers from it. She was very brave and very poetic in writing this book....more
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