Weekly Bookmarks
75th Edition – July 12, 2020
The best decision-makers are always armed with the best information and data.
Coach George Raveling
1. Never Forget Family
Dad: Kid, know what’s inexpensive?
Son: Tell me.
Dad: A bouquet of flowers. They cost next to nothing.
Son: Okay (and waiting for dad to say something else).
Dad: Know what’s really super expensive, son?
Son: I have no idea.
Dad: Divorce.
The above is adapted from The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz which I mentioned last week. Ben included this dialogue in the context of working far too many hours in his startup with Marc Andreessen and trying to maintain some balance in his life.
Overall, I couldn’t put this book down. My only gripe with the book is that there’s almost too much great content throughout each chapter.
2. The Politics Industry
I’m apolitical. The closest I’ll get to politics is talking about the 40-year diary of William Bradford in book form entitled, Of Plymouth Plantation.
Tomorrow, Bruce and I will be releasing out next podcast episode, and our guest will be Katherine Gehl, the co-author with Michael Porter of The Politics Industry.
Katherine applied Porter’s Five Forces framework to the current 2-party system we have in this country. Her concerns are that this system stymies innovation and competition, and the book addresses a solution to these issues.
3. Hexaco
This past week, I heard a CEO mention Wonderlic and Enneagram in the same sentence. Earlier, I heard three different CEOs mention the Culture Index, and another brought up MBTI.
Please forgive, I’m just not a believer. Instead, I want a test that will tell me that another person will never lie, steal, cheat, and will scale the highest mountain to get the job done without seeking praise.
Does such an assessment exist? There is one to consider which addresses some of these spiritual virtues. Do some homework on the Hexaco model created by Lee and Ashton in the early 2000s. You can find a quick cheat sheet in this brief article at Psychology Today or do a quick read of The H Factor of Personality.
4. I’m a George Raveling Fan
Are you a fan of Coach John Wooden and his teachings on leadership?
If so, you’ll be surfing for 20-plus minutes once you start reading Coach Reveling’s website content.
Coach Raveling is a reading machine logging about 7 books a month. My favorite post is 23 mindsets to Empower the Lifelong Learner in You. Here are a few that stick out:
- Ask questions more often than giving answers
- Learn something every day: be curious
- Cultivate an inner circle of people who believe in you
- Strive for constant improvement – think big, act small
5. The Escapist Summer Read
For a guy who loves non-fiction and is trying to read more classical literature, I still squeeze in light reading occasionally. For the beach or a long trip, I’m giving the nod to The Banker’s Wife (4.3 stars on 527 ratings) as it has a business spin to it, albeit unrealistic. If you have a steady diet of such reads like this one, you won’t like it. Otherwise, the plot is better than decent and there are multiple plot twists.
Looking for something a bit more thought-provoking? One of my favorite pop fiction books over the past 3 or 4 years has been Replay by Ken Grimwood (4.6 stars on 919 reviews). Jeff Winston keeps dying of a heart attack at the age of 43. But I can’t give more away.
Keep enjoying your summer.
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Title photo by Fortune Live Media under this creative commons license.
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