This week’s highlights:  The PolyMath Mindset, CEO Pay, and Tom Brady’s Stylist.

Fifteen on Friday – 03/16/18 – Issue 277

Public Service Announcement – A large portion of Nashville heads out on Spring Break next week – so Fifteen on Friday will be taking the 23rd off.  We will see you back on Good Friday.

Enjoy and have a great weekend,

David

Food for Thought:

1. NYT – Tracy Morgan Is a Survivor. And ‘a Better Man Now.’  Just a few years after a car crash left him with a severe brain injury, Mr. Morgan is back with “The Last O.G.,” a new comedy about second chances.
2. Medium – The Polymath Mindset  The art of making something out of something else.
3. Curbed – Are home renovations necessary? “Renovations have become a national pastime, but there is nothing wrong with your house.” Dare we poke the HGTV bear?
4. NYT – How Low Will Market for Antiques Actually Go?  Compared with the heyday of antiques collecting, prices for average pieces are now “80 percent off,” said Colin Stair, the owner of Stair Galleries auction house in Hudson, N.Y. “
5. TheAtlantic – The Perfect Man Who Wasn’t.  For years he used fake identities to charm women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then his victims banded together to take him down.

Business/Economics:

1. Crains – How firms pad CEO pay  Dividend payments on unvested stocks can increase an executive’s annual salary by 25%
2. NYT – Silicon Valley Is Over, Says Silicon Valley
3. Economist – Inside Warren Buffett’s deal machine.  Berkshire Hathaway has evolved into an acquisition engine. The returns look pedestrian.
4. BI – THE TAKEDOWN OF TRAVIS KALANICK: The untold story of Uber’s infighting, backstabbing, and multimillion-dollar exit packages
5. Adventure.Es – The Micro PE Reality Check.  A nice synopsis of what actually occurs in smaller private equity deals.

Culture/Tech/Science:

1. NewYorker – The Man Who’s Helped Elon Musk, Tom Brady and Ari Emanuel Get Dressed  Andrew Weitz spruces up Hollywood’s reluctant Zoolanders.
2. ESPN – Cricket – What does a batsman see? – Credit Farnam Street – More importantly, how does he see? Unlocking one of the great secrets of run-scoring
3. Vulture – Taylor Swift Now Welcomes Your Disgust
4. VF – Russell Crowe to Host a Celebratory Divorce Auction. When regular people get divorces, they hold yard sales. When celebrities get divorced, they hold international auctions at Sotheby’s.
5. WashPo – Stephen Hawking’s secret to surviving his terrible condition? A sense of humor.