My learnings from The Fish That Ate The Whale about Sam Zemurray: Fire people who can’t get the job done, and replace them by people who can. Fast decisions. Don’t nibble. Get things done. Get your hands dirty. Work hard. Go out to the fields with the machete. “We are here, they are there.” Make…
Category: Wealth
The efficiency trap
Efficiency is often confused with effectiveness. It can be a trap. “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker You can be efficient in doing the wrong things. You can be efficient in doing things you shouldn’t even do. You can efficiently waste your time. Too often, I make the…
How to solve the email problem
Recently, a friend asked: “How do you deal with email? I get more than I can handle. Maybe I don’t invest enough time, focus or attention?” First of all, I don’t have a final solution. It’s a work in progress, as for most of you. Let’s use the principle of Inversion. How can we make…
AI in China
Here are some examples of how Chinese companies are applying machine learning: Chinese company Yongqianbao is using artificial intelligence to screen data to determine creditworthiness when issuing loans. No credit agents necessary! Watch this CNBC clip about them ByteDance (a private company, last valued at $78B) uses machine learning to source and push content to users. Their main…
Google is your friend
It’s an essential habit for the 21st century. A principle I have to learn and re-learn: No matter what challenge you have, anything. Google is your friend! Have a problem with your computer? Google it and find a solution. Don’t know how to disable the answering machine? Google the manual and get it done. Annoyed…
Give up your storefronts?
An increasing number of hairdressers and manicurists are giving up their studios in China. They get booked via app and do home visits instead. This is called Online-to-Offline (O2O), and it’s booming in China. (Link / Link). Tired of bathing your dog? Hire a dog bather that comes to your home. Too busy to pick…
China vs. Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is mission-driven, pure, about making a dent in the universe. Abundance mindset. Copying is shameful. China is market-driven, hyper-competitive, survival of the fittest. Scarcity mindset. Culture of copying. In Beijing entrepreneurs often joke that Facebook is the most Chinese company in Silicon Valley, for its willingness to copy and its fierce competitiveness. While…
The Power of Defaults
You can 9x your results by choosing the right default, as shown by organ donation statistics: If people need to check a box to not donate (“opt-out”), the consent rate is between 85% and 99%. If people need to check a box to donate (“opt-in”), the consent rate is between 4% and 27%. “Opt-in” vs….
The Lindy Effect
I love simple heuristics. Here is one: The Lindy effect is a concept that the future life expectancy of some non-perishable things like a technology or an idea is proportional to their current age, so that every additional period of survival implies a longer remaining life expectancy. In other words, the longer a product/company/idea already…
Don’t listen to what people say. Watch what they do.
Don’t ask your money manager for stock recommendations. Ask him which stocks he owns personally. Don’t listen to the theories of your business school professor. Ask him about his own industry experience. Don’t ask for advice. Ask for a demonstration of their methods. Don’t listen to what people say. Watch what they do. (I learned…