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The Week’s Best Reads – 01/26/18

Jan 26, 2018 | Fifteen on Friday

This week’s highlights: Crowd Theory, What Matters in Investing, and Being an Expert-Generalist.

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Fifteen on Friday – 01/26/18 – Issue 270

 

Food for Thought:

  1. NYT – In Larry Nassar’s Case, a Single Voice Eventually Raised an Army.  The sentencing of Larry Nassar has been headline news the past several weeks as over 150 courageous women stood to face their abuser.  Rachel Denhollander was the first to come forward about the abuse and was the last one to speak.  This NY Times piece tells a bit of her story, but I would encourage you to read her full statement, which is both disturbing, beautiful in its strength, and tragic as she forces us all to ask the question of How much is a little girl worth?
  2. VF – The 10-Minute Mecca Stampede That Made History.  Investigating the most lethal in a long history of Mecca disasters—in 2015, when some 2,400 pilgrims were crushed or trampled to death on their way to the holy city.
  3. Bloomberg – The Lawyer Who Beat Big Tobacco Takes On the Opioid Industry.  Mike Moore made cigarette companies pay for the high cost of treating smokers. Here he comes again.
  4. WashPo – Downsizing baby boomers face a key decision: Is it better to rent or to buy?  Baby boomers are joining their Millennial children in wanting an urban lifestyle in the center core of the city, bringing up some new complications around home ownership.
  5. WashPo – These kids started a book club for minority boys. It’s the most popular club in school.

Business/Economics:

  1. GrahamDuncan – The Playing Field.  A Must Read – “Over the last decade, I’ve interviewed and assessed more than 5,000 investment managers. One of the most important things I’ve learned in that process is what separates the great investors from the rest. The great ones view investing as a game, and they know exactly what game they’re playing.”
  2. HBS – Dismissed by Degrees – “Degree inflation” or job postings requiring a college degree for positions that may or may not actually need one is running rampant.  Harvard Business School looks at how this phenomena hurts business and the middle class.
  3. LinkedIn – Diary of an IPO.  Glenn Kelman is the CEO of Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage that recently went public.
  4. Bloomberg – Worthless Auto Trade-Ins Signal Riskier Loans.  One third of vehicles traded last year were upside-down on their loans.
  5. Wired – How to Win Friends and Influence Everybody, Margit Wennmachers, An operating partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Wennmachers is among the most skilled spin masters in Silicon Valley.

Culture/Tech/Science:

  1. WashPo – Fast track to stardom.  Fueled by joy, 17-year-old speedskater Maame Biney races from Ghana to Virginia to Utah and soon to PyeongChang.
  2. Departures – The Italian Job: Brooks Brothers’ New Era.  For 200 years, Brooks Brothers has created the classic American suit. With a renewed focus on made-to-measure, can a veteran of Milanese menswear bring sprezzatura to the heritage brand?
  3. WashPo – Grumpy Cat owner awarded over $700,000 in lawsuit. Cat still won’t smile.
  4. QZ – How Warren Buffett’s billionaire deputy became an “expert-generalist”
  5. NYT – There Is Nothing Virtual About Bitcoin’s Energy Appetite

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