The Man in the Arena
Once upon a time, when I worked as an equity research analyst, I used to meet company managers as part of my research process. I “grilled” them with my questions and cross-questions, doubted and criticized them, liked those performing well and condemned those that didn’t. Looking back, I reflect on those times with some wisdom that comes with …
The Fastest Path to a Better Life
Here is some stuff I am reading and thinking about this weekend… Book I’m Reading – On the Shortness of Life This is one book that stays by my bedside. In this, Seneca, the Stoic philosopher and playwright, offers us an urgent reminder on the non-renewability of our most important resource: our time. It is a required reading for anyone who …
The Hedonic Treadmill
Here are the best things I read and thought about today - Bloomberg carries this nice piece (Tip: If your Bloomberg free articles limit is over, you may try opening this article in an incognito browser) from Nir Kaissar and Barry Ritholtz, where the authors write to answer this question - How do you get rich? By earning a lot or saving a lot? …
An Unexamined Life
Despite being imaginary, some stories shake you up. They are unsettling because you wonder — what if this story is about me? This is one such story. The local goons were causing a nuisance for a shopkeeper. They would spray-paint abusive and derogatory graffiti all over his store window. So the shopkeeper hatched a plan. The next day, he …
All That Matters
Here are the best things I read and thought about today - Morgan Housel continues to amaze, and here is his latest post on the three sides of risk. In the post, Morgan takes us 20 years back to his late teens and shares a tragic skiing incident that took away the lives of two of his best friends and ski partners, and how he survived by way of a …
Are You Betting on a V-Shaped Recovery in Stock Market?
Here are the best things I read and thought about today - "Have the record number of investors in the stock market lost their minds?" asks The New Yorker, given how investors appear persuaded that the markets are headed for a “V”-shaped recovery even as history suggests a more complicated story - Stocks don’t always rebound in a “V” shape. …
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The “Rashomon Filter” to Make Good Investment Decisions
Heard of the Rashomon effect? It is a term related to the unreliability of eyewitnesses. It describes a situation in which an event is given contradictory interpretations or descriptions by the individuals involved. The effect is named after Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film by the same name ― Rashomon. The story revolves around a murder described …
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How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
Here is some stuff I am reading and thinking about this weekend… Book I’m Reading – How to Fail at Almost Everything and... If you don’t know who Scott Adams is, odds are high that you would give a pass to a book with such a cheesy and hackneyed title. But if you did that it would be a huge loss. Scott’s How to Fail at Almost Everything and …
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You Lost Your Job, Now What?
My cousin, age 40, married, with two kids, working with a Delhi-based start-up at a decent seven-digit salary, just lost his job! With no cash flow to sustain operations owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, the start-up is on the verge of closing shop. To say the least, my cousin was unprepared for this. We have been …
Oh, EBITDAC!
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