Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.
Here are five links worth reading…
Understanding Jane Street by Byrne Hobart
Should the smartest students continue going into prop trading instead of trying to cure cancer? Everyone’s heard of Jane Street but do you understand what they really do?
Listen: Sheila Heen: How to Navigate Difficult Conversations
Difficult conversations are challenging and necessary. Life is filled with them, yet most people don’t know how to navigate them effectively. Here are tactics to get better at difficult conversations.
Status, Vulnerability, and Status Vulnerability by Erik Torenberg
Cancel culture, tall poppy syndrome, and a holistic look at how our personal motivations play out on a global scale as status games. Very useful advice for how to escape the status rat race.
Listen: Terry Kawaja: The Future of AdTech
The AdTech world changes every 18 months driven by new regulations and technology changes. But the current downturn may have a lasting impact on the landscape.
The Midwit Trap
Why are we so dismissive of simple solutions? Sometimes the smartest people are the first to complexify a solution when the simple solution is the best answer.
Bonus: The Inside Story of Carlos Ghosn’s Brazen Escape From Japan
The James Bond-esque lead-up to smuggling former Nissan exec Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a musical instrument case.
Bonus Listen: Founders podcast by David Senra
My new favorite podcast. Senra gives a good summary of biographies of entrepreneurs.
HT: Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Graph of the Month: The best founders are both Smart and Positive.
… but most smart people are negative
Books:
The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate (fiction) by Ted Chiang (must read)
I don’t normally read fiction but this short-story (18-pages) by Ted Chiang is amazing. Highly recommend.
HT: Tenzing Shaw
The Seven Sins of Memory by Daniel Schachter (really interesting)
HT: Sheila Heen
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
HT: Marissa Shandell
Build by Tony Fadell
HT: Tony Fadell
Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi
Bloodchild (fiction) by Octavia Butler
HT: Mary Therese Jackson
Tweet of the Month: