In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 85 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued with by challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. Last month (see here), I decided to up the pace so I can finish this project well before the holidays—and begin another one!

The backlog is finally gone. This past weekend was my twentieth and final weekend, and I added the last two books:

• Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
• Business Adventures by John Brooks

That’s the latest and final update for this weekend project. I’m glad I took this project on. It forced me to revisit tons of books, which jogged my memory.  I hope that sharing these books will add value to others.

This past week, I reread Expectations Investing by Michael Mauboussin and Alfred Rappaport. The book is an advanced value-investing framework that investors can apply to public companies to understand price relative to expected value. I read the book this summer. The framework made sense at a high level, but it had many moving parts that left me less confident that I could actually apply it and understand the expectations implied in a public company’s stock price. I wanted to try using the framework right after reading the book, but I never got around to it.

So, I reread the book this month, focusing heavily on my highlights and notes from the first reading. I then spent time building a model for a public company I follow. After several days of part-time effort, I finally finished it. After finishing the model and reviewing the output, I have a new appreciation for this book and the expectations-investing framework. It’s definitely something I’ll use going forward.

One of my big takeaways was that although the framework seemed daunting at first, after working through it (and getting stuck several times), I better understood its component parts. Lots of intertwining formulas. Required data from external sources. And several other moving parts. More importantly, I was able to simplify some of the more complex calculations, such as the Perpetuity with Inflation method for estimating continuing value. Said differently, going through the steps of building a model and applying the framework helped me understand it deeply and figure out ways to simplify it.

I’m glad I reread this book and applied the framework. It deepened my learning and took my understanding of this framework to the next level.

In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 84 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued by challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. Last month (see here), I decided to up the pace so I can finish this project well before the holidays—and begin another one!

This past weekend was my nineteenth weekend, and I added five more books:

• The Buy Side by Turney Duff
• Black Edge by Sheelah Kolhatkar
• Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
• The Luck Factor by Dr. Richard Wiseman
• Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will be of value.

In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 82 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued by challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. This month (see here), I decided to up the pace so I can finish this project well before the holidays—and begin another one!

This past weekend was my eighteenth weekend, and I added five more books:

• Principles by Ray Dalio
• Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart
• When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
• Margin of Safety by Seth A. Klarman
• King of Capital by David Carey and John E. Morris

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will be of value.

Last week I shared the 22 timeless principles of marketing that I learned from Al Ries and Jack Trout’s book (see here). I enjoyed that book and wanted to learn more, especially about positioning (i.e., perception), so I read their book Positioning, which focuses on how to get noticed and be perceived in the way you’re trying to be perceived.

This book came out in 1981. Ries and Trout argued that positioning was a new way of communicating that works well for advertising, politics, and other areas. “Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect,” they said. “That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect.” It’s a way for companies, products, or services to be heard and seen in a world full of ads.

My key takeaway is that positioning focuses on leveraging what’s already in someone’s mind (instead of trying to introduce a new idea). You begin by concentrating on people’s perceptions and work backward to figure out how to message in a way that aligns with what they already think (this is the opposite of how most people approach marketing). Positioning “manipulates what’s already up there in the mind, to retie the connections that already exist.” It leverages the fact that people are bombarded with so much information that they discard most of it unless it matches their existing knowledge or experience. Don’t try to jam something new into someone’s mind; reconfigure what’s already there.

The book went further, saying that oversimplifying is the key to being received and you should focus on being narrow and selective with your messaging.

The book has 23 chapters, each dedicated to a distinct aspect of the positioning strategy. Several case studies in each chapter support the concept being covered.

Marketing is foreign to me, but this book, combined with The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, was helpful. They lay out the principles and strategies of marketing, which I never understood. When I view certain marketing tactics through the lens of what’s in these books, things make a lot more sense.

If you want to learn how to get people to think about something in a certain way, consider reading Positioning.

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In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 81 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued by challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. This month (see here), I decided to up the pace so I can finish this project well before the holidays—and begin another one!

This past weekend was my seventeenth weekend, and I added four more books:

• The Big Short by Michael Lewis
• The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman
• The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham
• Declutter Your Mind by S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will be of value.

Last week, I read Invested, the autobiography of Charles Schwab, founder of the namesake firm. One of my big takeaways was how well Schwab understood marketing and leveraged it heavily to acquire customers. Marketing and technology were huge differentiators for the company and led to success.

Several months ago, I bought the book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout. I decided to read it after learning how critical the market was to Schwab. The book discusses 22 laws that distill marketing to its bare essence in a way non-marketers like me can understand.

Here are the 22 laws:

1. Laws of Leadership – It’s better to be first in a category than to have the best product in a category. “Marketing is a battle of perception, not products.”
2. Law of the Category – If you can’t be the first person in a category, find a new category you can be first in. Amelia Earhart was the third person to fly over the Atlantic Ocean solo, but she’s remembered as the first woman to accomplish this.
3. Law of Mind – It’s better to be first in the prospect’s mind than the first to market with your product. Being first to market with a product is important only because it allows you to be first in the mind of the prospect. “If marketing is a battle of perception, not product, then the mind takes precedence over the marketplace.”
4. Law of Perception – Marketing isn’t a battle of products or product quality; it’s a battle of perception. What matters most is the perception of your product in the minds of people. Studying how perceptions are formed in the mind is key.
5. Law of Focus – The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind. You can “burn” your way into a prospect’s mind by narrowing your focus to a single word or concept.
6. Law of Exclusivity – Two companies can’t own the same word in a prospect’s mind.
7. Law of the Ladder – The marketing strategy you use depends on where you rank on the ladder. If you’re not number one, that’s OK, but your marketing strategy can’t be to market as if you’re number 1. You must own your number 2 position and market accordingly.
8. Law of Duality – In the long run, most markets are dominated by two companies.
9. Law of Opposite – If you want to own the second rung on the ladder, study the number 1 company. Find its strength and present the customer with the opposite. Don’t try to beat it at its game; try a different angle, try to be different.
10. Law of Division – Large categories will, over time, split into subcategories.
11. Law of Perspective – The true effects of marketing take place over a long period of time. The short-term effect is often the opposite of the long-term effect. Discounting boosts revenue in the short term but decreases margins and long-term revenue by conditioning customers to buy only when there’s a sale.
12. Law of Line Extension – Line extension is taking the brand name of a successful product and applying it to a new product. This seems logical and is irresistible because it’s the easy way to jump-start a new product, but it often doesn’t work.
13. Law of Sacrifice – You have to give up something (i.e., you have to focus) to be successful. Being focused allows you to become known for something in the prospect’s mind.
14. Law of Attributes – You must have an idea or product attribute that you own and can focus your efforts on. Don’t emulate and try to own attributes that others own, especially the market leader.
15. Law of Candor – Admitting a negative about yourself is disarming to your prospect, and they automatically accept it as truth. It opens people’s minds and makes them more receptive to whatever you have to say.
16. Law of Singularity – One marketing effort will likely produce the vast majority of your results. This law is similar to the Pareto Principle (i.e., the 80/20 rule).
17. Law of Unpredictability – Marketing plans based on predictions about the future will usually fail. You can’t predict the future, so don’t try to predict how your competitors will react or what the future state of your market will be.
18. Law of Success – Successful people often become less objective. Success breeds arrogance, and arrogance can breed failure. Always focus on what the market wants, not what you think.
19. Law of Failure – Failure is inevitable and part of the journey. Expect it and accept it. Recognize when you’ve made a mistake or failed, and cut your losses early.
20. Law of Hype – “The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.” Things that are going well don’t need hype. “Revolutions don’t arrive at high noon with marching bands and coverage on the 6:00 P.M. news. Real revolutions arrive unannounced in the middle of the night and kind of sneak up on you.” “Forget the front page. If you’re looking for clues to the future, look in the back of the paper for those innocuous little stories.”
21. Law of Acceleration – Long-term success isn’t built on fads; it’s built on trends. If you think you’re in a fad, one way to keep long-term demand high is to never fully satisfy the demand.
22. Law of Resources – Marketing is a battle fought in the prospect’s mind. You need money to get into their mind and stay there. Marketers with money get more money because they have the resources to “drive their ideas into the mind.”

After reading this book, I thought about several marketing mistakes I’ve made. If I’d understood these laws, I would’ve made different decisions. If you’re like I was and could use a marketing-principles-for-dummies book, consider reading The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.

In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 80 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued by challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. Quite recently (see here), I decided to up the pace so I can finish this project well before the holidays—and begin another one!

This past weekend was my sixteenth weekend, and I added four more books:

• The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and Jeff Cox
• Red Notice by Bill Browder
• The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman
• The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will be of value.

Last week I shared that I read a biography of Joe Ricketts, founder of Ameritrade (see here). One of his main competitors—and the company that acquired Ameritrade in 2020, over a decade after Ricketts sold it—was Charles Schwab Corporation. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about the discount brokerage model and the era that birthed the model, so I read the autobiography of Charles Schwab.

Invested describes sixty or so years of Schwab’s journey in his own words. Interestingly, what eventually became Charles Schwab Corporation started in 1962 as a biweekly investing newsletter called Investment Indicators. Annual subscriptions were $60, and at its peak it had about 3,000 subscribers. No money management, just overviews of the economy, insights on select growth stocks, and hypothetical portfolios.

This newsletter catered to independent investors who were smart and capable of making their own decisions. The understanding gained from serving this demographic formed the foundation for what Schwab built over the next sixty years: a place for individual investors to manage their own investing.

Schwab’s journey to build his namesake firm and amass a personal fortune worth over $10 billion had its share of ups and downs. He does a great job of describing each segment of his journey and how he navigated its specific challenges in detail. He also describes what it’s like to navigate multiple stock market crashes when you run a brokerage that makes money from stock trades (spoiler: volume dries up, the brokerage business gets hit hard).

The most interesting aspect of his journey to me was his position in the early 1970s, when he was in his mid-30s. He described himself as “floundering.” He had zero assets and lots of debt. He was recently divorced, had young kids, and was living in a one-bedroom apartment while still trying to build his then floundering firm. Close to giving up, he began attending evening law school classes. But he pushed through and, with some lucky breaks in 1975, had a vision for a new model for individual investors, the discount brokerage.

I’m super interested in understanding the 1968–1982 era, and this book provided another great entrepreneurial perspective of the era and how to navigate challenging macro times.

If you’re interested in learning about Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab Corporation, the asset management industry, or how a nontechnical founder built what I consider a tech company, consider reading Invested.

In 2024, I challenged myself to accelerate my learning by reading a book (usually a biography) a week. To date, I’ve done it for 79 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I was reading and also keep track for myself, which was difficult (see here), so I created a Library section on this site. I added to it all the books I’ve read since my book-a-week habit began in March 2024, and I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday (see the latest here).

That left the books I’d read before 2024 unshared and untracked. I set a goal to add my old reading to the Library over time. It began with a Memorial Day Challenge to add five books (see here) and continued by challenging myself to add two books every weekend until my backlog is gone. This past weekend was my fifteenth weekend, and I added two more books:

• Billion Dollar Whale by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright
• Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom

That’s the latest update on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books will be of value.