Mentalmodels
David Brooks has a nice teaser article on the current and future economic “protocols”. His tip is to not just read the book he’s reviewing but another that complements what he feels are the first book’s weaknesses. Always a nice way to help readers better form opinions of their own, and it’s what we will always try to do here as well. Also includes links to other columns of his.
We have put together a small collection of links regarding competition and corporate strategy as defined by Harvard’s Michael Porter. As this blog will always remind readers, “take it with a grain of salt”! No matter how famous the expert, how “make-sense” his arguments, always check, search for contradictions and weaknesses and then make up your own mind.
Reading the book Empires of the Word – A Language History of the World, by Nicholas Ostler, is a great reminder that learning languages is a relevant part of the process that Charlie Munger defines as “make sure you go to bed at night a little wiser than you were when you woke up”. From [...]
They took questions from Columbia grad students and the event was broadcast live by CNBC. It has an eerie feel to it – with the whole “must keep spirits high” approach. That said, both men think in the long term (15+ years) and it’s always interesting to be reminded of some basic concepts.
Part 2 of the excerpts from our Q4 2008 report. In Part 1, we introduced and exemplified the theme of the structural fragility of incentive systems via two texts, “Own Goal” and “Dolus Bonus”. In this text, we present the core of our reflection on the subject in order to highlight the importance of raising our moral critical standards.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol. 4: Moral diligence (part 2)
Post 1 of 2 posts with excerpts from one of our most-commented reports. We look back at a highly unusual year – a period of seemingly definitive change which proved, definitively, that some things never change. 2008 was one of those years that tested our mettle and reaffirmed old principles, the most cherished of which is our moral diligence. We kick off with two introductory texts, “Own Goal” and “Dolus Bonus”.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol. 4: Moral diligence (part 1)
In these excerpts of our Q3 2008 report, we discuss our use of the tried and true “roadmap” that our investment philosophy provides during even such periods of turmoil. In a nutshell, “In extreme situations, it makes all the difference to have very clear principles coupled with a simple, hands-on philosophy executed with discipline.”
We’ll hold our judgement on “behavioral finance funds”. The point here is that these funds are ultimately offered to human clients, and as this quote notes, “It would be really kind of ironic if you invested in a fund based on behavioral finance and you sold it after the fund had a big loss or added to it after it was up 50 percent.” (…) “It’s hard not to be human.”
In this second post looking back to memorable moments in IP’s own letters to its shareholders, we continue to discuss our company’s “inner workings”. Again, the idea is to reveal as much as we can about the processes that should, over time, generate favorable outcomes for our investment ideas.
We’re looking back to our recent letters to our shareholders and every now and then we’ll post some quotes we’d like to share with you. Since this is the first installment in this series, we’ll dwell a little bit longer in one specific subject – risk management.