Category: Insights
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The Meaning of Risk
If you think about the word ‘risk’ – what comes to mind? Throughout history, ‘risk’ has had slightly different connotations. Tracing the etymology, Michele Wucker provides a few clues into its various meanings, which could be summarized as: When I think about commercial settings, and the context in which risks are usually discussed, I think…
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A Timeless Mindset
It blew my mind to think that the lead casing for this machine was mined by Roman miners 2,000 years ago. I couldn’t help but daydream about previous eras for a while after that, wishing I was mining that lead with friends on some misty Welsh moor with a reassured and half-drunk vision of this…
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Joyfully feeding
This morning just as I was unlocking my bike from the bike racks, a gentleman came up and apologetically wanted to move his bike (which was next to mine) out of the way. On both handlebars of his bike, he had two heavy plastic bags. As he was moving the bikes out the way, I…
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Seeking Greatness and the Myth of Objectives
Let’s start with a riddle You’re lost in a labyrinth and you need to get out quickly. It’s a matter of survival. You chance upon two robots in this labyrinth. One robot has the algorithm: “I find novel spaces.” The other robot has the algorithm: “I seek the exit.” Which robot gives you the best…
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More useful as a shipwreck!
Evidently a lot of shipwrecks are being salvaged in order to reuse the metal for high specification technology. The metal in these wrecks are uncontaminated by the atmospheric radiation since 1945 so they’re highly prized and necessary. It blows my mind to think that this lead was mined by Romans. Incidentally a few days ago,…
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Clear Language is the Basis of Strategy – Talk
I recently gave a talk about the connection between language and strategy – effectively, how language is the technology that enables humans to strategise, and here are the slides.
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The Razor’s Edge
One of my favourite books is ‘The Razor’s Edge’ by Somerset Maugham. The opening epigraph is: The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over;thus the wise say the path to salvation is hard. It never made complete sense to me when I first read it in my twenties, and it still doesn’t.…
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The Joy of Sharing
Recently a colleague and shared a post about a book, The Timeless Way of Building’ that I had recommended to him. I was delighted to see him with the same joy I felt. I was prompted to write the following: I cannot think of anything more joyful than stumbling across something new and wonderful, then…
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The Last Frontier – A Sufi Journey
The Last Frontier – A Sufi Journey by Reshad Feild If thou wilt be observant and vigilant, thou wilt see at every moment the response to thy action. Be observant if thou wouldst have a pure heart, for something is born to thee in consequence of every action.– Mevlana Jelalu’ddin Rumi Like a lot of…
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Summary: Dhandho Investor – The Low Risk Method to High Returns
Mohnish Pabrai couldn’t figure out how on Earth the Patels – an small immigrant community that only arrived in the US a few decades ago with barely any assets to their name – managed to acquire $40bn worth of American motel and hotel assets. He came to realise that the answer is in their approach: low…