RESOURCES

There is way too much low value activity that takes away from high value activity, including thinking and learning. The better I can get at simplifying my workday and eliminating low value activities to focus on what really matters and do that extremely well, the more successful I will be, and I may even be able to spend less time working at it.

Most people find a conversation engaging if they are engaged in it, but this is backwards. We should seek for the other person to be engaged, which is only done when they are talking.

Reducing The Risk of Black Swans looks at how to go beyond just a stock/bond portfolio to reduce risk of major loss by taking exposure to other, uncorrelated risks. Investors would do well to gain exposure to time-tested risk-factors that are relatively uncorrelated to stocks such as value, small companies and momentum.

Clement seeks to simplify how we approach money. Money is confusing to many people, but at a basic level, building wealth is not complicated. “We save as much as we reasonably can, take on debt cautiously, limit our exposure to major financial risks, and try not to be too clever about our investing.” He gives five basic steps to make our money a source of satisfaction rather than an area of stress.

Key points: • Keep everything out of your head • Decide actions and outcomes when thing first emerge on your radar instead of later • Regularly review and update the complete inventory of open loops of your life and work

Prof. Adam Grant explores why people refuse to give up views that are incorrect and how we can do better. We cling to our familiar tools – assumptions, habits and instincts. Missing from our toolkit is an open mind.Thinking again takes humility, effort and training. It is not an easy mindset switch. It is worthwhile if we want to grow in wisdom and effectiveness. The appendix of the book gives action items for implementing the concepts discussed in the book.