A load of crap from an idle brainPersonal, Movies, Music, IT, India, Singapore, Politics, Fun

Got a promotion at work and moving to a new department. Lots of handovers and takeovers.  Work is simply doubled.  Stressful. Am supposed to absorb something in 2 weeks what takes months for someone to understand.

Another phase in life.  Hope to pull through this period of transition successfully.

Meanwhile read so many books and iam yet to find any time to write their reviews.  In the past month have finished reading the following books

The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

Mobs, Messiahs and Markets – William Bonner & Lila Rajiva

Good to Great – Jim Collins

Cultures of the World – Austria

Moscow – Eyewitness Travel

Currently am reading  Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid.

Above picture courtesy: Neptune Library

+++

Easily one of the best biographies i have read, Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson is an easy read.  Not too complicated by the jargons of business, Branson writes in his own easy way about how he built a multi billion pound business after having started off life as a dyslexic child.

Yup, its tough to believe that a man who lives such a colourful life, flies over the pacific and atlantic oceans in a balloon, jumps off planes, does all kinds of wierd stunts to keep his business in news was dyslexic as a kid.  He had trouble reading, was one of the worst student in class.  But started off his life running a music store, which moved on to record label (Virgin music), music business to one of the most loved airlines in the world (Virgin Atlantic) to running a telecom company (Virgin telecom) to tens of other business.

The book starts off with his exploits on trying to cross the Atlantic in a balloon where he cheats death to his childhood life and then to his music business where his label published such world class music groups like the Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson etc.

The dirty tricks that British Airways use to discredit, defame and try to kill the small and fledging Virgin Atlantic is also described in vivid detail.  The end of which Branson sues the whole top brass of British Airways and gets not only monetary compensation, but also an unreserved apology from the British Ariways brass.

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson says one of his prime business criteria is “fun.” Fun made Branson a billionaire, and few business memoirs are one-billionth as fun as Branson’s, nor as niftily written. Not only does it relate his side of near-death corporate experiences, it tells how the chairman literally cheated death by gun, shipwreck, and balloon crash.

Branson’s empire–now encompassing interests in an airline, pop music, soda pop, e-commerce, and financial services–began when the dyslexic 16-year-old dropped out of school in 1968 to found the British magazine Student. His headmaster said, “I predict that you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.” Briefly imprisoned for dodging customs selling records, Branson got his first million by releasing Tubular Bells, a maverick recording all the stuffy executives rejected. (1998′s Tubular Bells III puts the series’ sales over 20 million.)

Despite wild tales of Branson’s wife-swapping and Keith Richards fleeing naked from Branson’s studio at gunpoint with another man’s woman, the most shocking parts of the memoir concern British Airways’ James Bond-like “dirty tricks” campaign against Virgin Atlantic, resulting in the biggest award for damages in English history.

Though it’s filled with famous names, witty quotes, and pulse-pounding accounts of lunatic balloon adventures, it is as a business thriller that the book really scores. His instinctive bet-the-ranch tactics could cost him all, or earn another billion. Either way, Branson will likely remain the most entertaining entrepreneur in Europe

-source: Amazon

Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
Author – Richard Branson
Pages – 416
Publisher – Crown Business

+++

December is here, but it doesnt look like the usual relaxed month.  Work is still at its peak.  Am busy as ever.

Linchpin is the first ever Seth Godin book that i have read.  Though am not really a fan of self-improvement books and generally stay away from it.  I had seen quite a few of his talk videos on TED and loved it.

Godin speaks about shunning doing things the regular way and trying to be an Linchpin at the place of work.  Someone who should become indispensable to the place you work in.

According to Godin, a Linchpin is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced—her role is just far too unique and valuable. And then he goes on to say, well, seriously folks, you need to be one of these people, you really do. To not be one is economic and career suicide.

Linchpin is a most unusual, well-organized, concise book about what it takes to become indispensable in the workplace – whether you work for someone else (at any level) or are self-employed. It’s about how business has rapidly changed and how treating employees like factory workers (or doing your job like one) doesn’t work any longer. We must make choices and take action to “chart our own paths” and add value that others do not. We cannot wait for a boss or a job description to tell us what to do, rather we must just take the initiative ourselves. Only then can we become indispensable “linchpins,” rather than replaceable “cogs.” There are so many fantastic quotes in the book too.

“You don’t become indispensable merely because you are different. But the only way to become indispensable is to be different. That’s because if you’re the same, so are plenty of other people.”

source: Amazon

I did find the book a tad repetitive.  Neverthless its a good read.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Author – Seth Godin
Pages – 256
Publisher – Portfolio Hardcover

Finally, managed to finish the book.  The biggest audio book i have ever listened to or read.  It took more than a month to finish listening to this audio book.  It was like a never ending read and just like the 80 odd year old Warren Buffett, the audio book went on and on and on.

Most surprisingly, it was engaging and i was never bored.  Considering the short attention span that i have and the trouble i have listening to a 5 minute talk without my mind wandering off;  I managed to hold my concentration well to listen to the whole book.

For starters, the book is not exclusively about the investments of Warren Buffett, its just a part of that.  The book is all about Buffett, the man, his family, friends, investors, rivals (if any), his fears, his interests, his integrity, his failings, his winnings.

If you are someone who idolises Warren Buffett, then stay away from this book.  It does present him in a not-so flattering way.  There are constant references to how Buffett shies away from confrontation with people, his little quirks, his almost complete dedication to his work that he almost ignores his wife who loves him unconditionally.  The ignorance leads to separation of Buffett and his wife (but they never divorce).

Its said that when the book released and Warren realised the not too flattering account of him in the book, he distanced himself from the author of this book, Alice Schroeder.

The book starts with a detailed background description of Warren’s parents, Warren’s growing up days. His almost obsessive pursuance of money from a young age.  At a age when youngsters of his age are busy playing, Warren distributes papers, chewing gums, pepsi, works as a caddy etc to earn his pocket money, file income taxes for the first time at the age of 14.  Warren’s interaction and working with his guru, Benjamin Graham is also mentioned in the book and also Graham’s influence on Buffett.

At the age of 11, he buys 3 shares of Cities Service Preferred for himself, and 3 for his sister Doris.  He sells the shares at a small profit and then looks on as the stock price goes up 10 times.  That’s when he learns his first lesson. And that is “If you really believe in the company, then the holding period for the stock is almost forever”

His investments in Coca cola, Geico Insurance, General Re, Borsehims Jewelry, Net Jets, Star Furniture etc is legendary. Not to mention the down to earth and modest nature of the man who stil stays in the same house he bought in 1957 for about $31,500.

Inspite of being the world’s richest person he doesnt indulge in the usual rich people’s intersts like yachts, jewellery, mansions, ranches etc.

For someone who was known as being tight fisted when it came to donating money to his own children, he decided to donate a significant amount of his assets to The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.  The following saying by him highlights his thoughts about wealth

I don’t have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It’s like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GDP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don’t do that though. I don’t use very many of those claim checks. There’s nothing material I want very much. And I’m going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die.

Some more quotes by the man which i have found interesting over the years i have read about him.

• It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently

• Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked

• You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong

• I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.

• I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.

• I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.

• If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.

• Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.

• Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

• Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.

and my most favourite one….

• Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
Author – Alice Schroeder
Pages – 832
Publisher – Bantam

+++

Happened to lay my hands on the audio file of this book and managed to finish the audio / book in 2 days flat. Its obviously an advantage getting the audio of books so that i can just transfer the files to my mp3 player and listen to them on my travels to work. Holding a book in hand; trying to read them during rush hour is a chore and these audio books are indeed coming handy for me.

Philip Arthur Fisher was an American stock investor who wrote this book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits way back in 1958.  Just like Benjamin Graham’s bible of investing, The Intelligent Investor, this book is also considered to be a must read for anyone planning to invest in the stock markets.

Philip Fisher is considered a pioneer in the field of growth investing. Morningstar has called him “one of the great investors of all time”. In Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, Fisher said that the best time to sell a stock was “almost never”. His most famous investment was his purchase of Motorola, a company he bought in 1955 when it was a radio manufacturer and held until his death in 2004.

Perhaps the best-known of Fisher’s followers is Warren Buffett who has said on some occasions that “he is 85% Graham and 15% Fisher”.  (source: Wikipedia)

Fisher goes on to give a lot of Do’s and Don’ts for investors.  A few of the Do’nts include

• Dont buy into promotional companies

• Dont ignore a good stock just because its traded over the counter

• Dont buy a stock just because you like the tone of its annual report

• Dont overstress diversification

• Dont be afraid to buying on a war scare

• Dont fail to consider time as well as price in buying a true growth stock

• Dont follow the crowd

Fisher also goes about sharing his ideas of how he goes about finding a growth stock.  Fisher talks about using the Scuttlebutt method to investing.  This means that the relative points of strength and weakness of each company in an industry can be obtained from a representative cross-section of the opinions of those who in one way or another are concerned with any particular company.  Also he talks about talking to the vendors, customers etc to find the correct information needed for your investment in that particular company.

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
Author – Philip Arthur Fisher
Pages – 271
Publisher – John Wiley & Sons

Above picture courtesy: Nickgogerty

+++