Inspiration
We see because we stand on the shoulders of giants. These are the books and people that inspire us. A virtual bookshelf that we will keep adding to over time.
Business
7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
An important book, which if you genuinely sit with, you might realize that very few businesses truly have power, i.e. the ingredients that might allow it to scale, be great, and earn super-normal profits. And if you do find a business that has those ingredients, and is early in its growth curve, you have the makings of something truly meaningful.
Good Strategy Bad Strategy
A book which made me realize that growth is not a strategy – and that the term strategy is quite often used frivolously. Strategy is fundamentally about tradeoffs, and about accurately identifying the fundamental issue that the business is grappling with. It is highly contextual, and what matters above all else is clarity and focus. What you choose not to do is just as important as what you choose to do.
Investing
The Investor's Anthology
An out-of-print and under-rated book. A collection of over fifty articles from Adam Smith to Peter Bernstein to PT Barnum. Timeless perspectives on business, money, and investing.
Buffett and Munger Unscripted
As a philosophy, we prefer to move forward rather than live in regret, but if there is a regret that I might mention, it’s that I wish I had started going to Omaha earlier in my investing career. For some reason or the other, the trip kept getting put off, but I finally found my way there in 2022 – and it was a revelation. The people you met, the genuine connections and conversations that you had, and the clarity and groundedness that seemed to permeate the air – it was a felt sense in the best possible way. The Q&A at the AGM was clearly the highlight, and this book captures some of the magic of that interaction – Alex has gone through years of AGMs, hundreds of questions, and has curated the most impactful material, all organized by topic. A great book that distills the essence of decades of wisdom from Buffett and Munger.
Biographies
Made in America
The quintessential American success story. Part retail masterclass, part memoir of one of the most competitive entrepreneurs who walked the earth. A satisfying read as he takes you from the first store to the national enterprise that Walmart is today. Built on the simple insight of putting the customer value-proposition first, and engaging and rewarding your employees.
Performance
The Art of Learning
One of the most influential books I've read. As Josh realized that he could connect the disparate arts of chess and Tai Chi Chuan, I realized perhaps I could lean on my background as an engineer as I navigated the world of investing. And the purity of craft, and all-in mindset with which he pursues whatever he takes on is a genuine source of inspiration.
Philosophy
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
A book I wish I had read earlier in life. But perhaps I might not have been ready to receive it then. The takeaway for me from this book was that perhaps the quality of the journey is just as important as getting to the destination. That the means matter just as much as the end. And perhaps even more so.