Insights from ‘Business Stripped Bare’ from Sir Richard Branson

Everybody’s favorite billionaire gives advice on entrepreneurship in his book ‘Business Stripped Bare.’

In this third book, flamboyant Sir Richard Branson discusses everything from business models (Chaebol, Keiretsu, Equity Investment) to Branding and Customer satisfaction.

He breaks the book down into several chapters, with the title of each chapter an element that every entrepreneurs must try to inculcate:

Be Bold
Find Good People – and set them free
Fly the flag of a Brand
Deliver Well
Learn from Mistakes/Setbacks – and move on
Innovate (power drive for business)
Inculcate Entrepreneurial Spirit
Have Social Responsibility

Like his two earlier bestsellers – Losing My Virginity and Screw It, Let’s Do It, Branson encapsulates certain insights from his experiences throughout his whole life in business. Virgin Group is essentially a unique brand that unites a group of many venture capital companies. He jokingly wrote that this is something that the reader will not learn from a standard business school!

He included his reflections and afterthoughts on his starting of Virgin Records, and even reflected on Virgin Cola’s war with Coca Cola. This heartwarming, readable book is a page turner for the aspiring entrepreneur or venture capitalist.

Some gems from the book:

“If you are a late entrant to a market, you need to be radically different to win over customers”

“The secret to success in any new sector is watchfulness, usually over a period of many years”

“Let people know exactly what they are paying for – and reward those who stay with us”

Catch his book to get more insights from the founder of the Virgin Group!

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4/5

Out of the Silent Planet – C.S. Lewis

The famous and renown philosopher of religion, Alvin Plantinga, when being asked about the problem of evil, started his response with reference to C.S. Lewis’ famous trilogy – The Cosmic Trilogy. Plantinga’s whole thesis lies on the subliminal message of Lewis – that Lewis was trying to explain the depravity of mankind covertly and secretly through a well written, exciting and interesting science fiction thriller. Whatever the case, this book is a classic read and typical of the moralist that Lewis is known to be.

The Space or Cosmic Trilogy was written by Lewis before he wrote the famous Chronicles of Narnia. It consists of three different books listed in order:

~ Out of The Silent Planet ~

~ Perelandra ~

~ That Hideous Strength ~

This review would be based solely on the first episode of this stunning trilogy – Out of The Silent Planet. Lewis brings the reader into a setting in England, with the protagonist as the character of Dr Ransom. Dr Ransom, a philologist, was kidnapped by two devious persons and brought to another planet for what they (and the reader would think) thought would be ‘human sacrifice.’

Along the way, Lewis employs the latin names for the planets in our solar system (kindly refer to the picture included). Initially, it can be confusing for anyone who have no idea on the background of the story. The solar system is known as The Fields of Arbol. There seems to be a creator of the solar system – a deity of some kind, known as Maleldil. Maleldil governs the Field of Arbol through his agents known as Eldila (Eldil for singular). These Eldila are supposed to be something like multidimensional energy beings. Each planet has a principle agent governing it known as an Oyarsa – a somewhat higher form of Eldila – like an archangel.

Dr Ransom landed in Malacandra (Mars) and escaped from his two fellow companions. He later found out that the lifeforms on Malacandra – known as Malacandrians henceforth, have their own system of life and their own cultural practices. He later found out that Earth was known as Thulcandra, which means the Silent Planet. Dr Ransom learnt from the Malacandrians that in a distant time past, earth fell to an angelic being known as a Bent Oyarsa (bent meaning fallen). It was exiled from the Fields of Arbol to prevent contamination of the rest of the solar system. Earth thus became known as Thulcandra or the Silent Planet.

Read the book further to find out how Dr Ransom escaped from Malacandra!

Lewis brings the reader through Dr Ransom’s journey into the deep space, across the stars and through a journey of self discovery and philosophical reflection of mankind’s moral principles. A stunning sci-fi thriller, filled with beautiful and avid descriptive narratives, this book is a must read for any C.S. Lewis fan, armchair philosopher, fantasy reader or science fiction reader!

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4.5/5

My Adventure in Tolkien’s ‘Tales from the Perilous Realm’

 

The ‘Tales from the Perilous Realm’ is a compilation of brilliant and imaginative short stories written by JRR Tolkien. All five of the tales in this book have no connection with one another and they all take place in different fantasy worlds that Tolkien created in his lifetime. They are:

Roverandom

Farmer Giles of Ham

Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Smith of Wootton Major

Leaf by Niggle

Roverandom was said to be the bedtime story that Tolkien read to his son, Christopher Tolkien. It’s an absolutely imaginative and creative tale of a talking dog and its adventures in a realm where three wizards control the world. It is the longest of the five tales compiled but nevertheless the one with the most action and adventure. One cannot help but feel immense pity and adoration for Tolkien’s protagonist in this story – Rover / Roverandom.

I personally think that Farmer Giles of Ham is my personal favorite out of the five. Tolkien brings the reader into a world of knights and dragons where an unlikely hero, an old farmer, Giles, confronts a menacing dragon and becomes the hero of the tale. With his literary expression and distinctive command of the English language, this story is highly addictive and can be reread countless times!

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil documents the journies and travels of the legendary Tom Bombadil in Tolkien’s realm of Middle Earth. It is in poem form: flaunting Tolkien’s genius in poetry. This is a must read for any Middle Earth fan and it offers a glimpse into the early histories of Middle Earth.

However, Smith of Wootton Major and Leaf by Niggle are somewhat abstract by Tolkien’s standards. They both possess a high quality of literary expression; especially with the descriptive part of the tales, but I have to admit that it is not as easy to follow as the previous tales.

Fans of Tolkien will enjoy this volume greatly not only as a great add on to their collection, but by the high quality of literature and imagination that this book will guarantee. When it comes to fantasy, Tolkien still stands high and mighty.

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4/5

 

Review: A Gift to My Children – Jim Rogers

Legendary Investor Jim Rogers; bestselling author of Adventure Capitalist and Hot Commodities is back with his latest book titled: A Gift To My Children!

This book, according to Rogers, was originally intended as an article or a pamphlet for his daughters on advice for life and investing. Over the years, the essays that Rogers wrote were compiled and it formed an idea for a book.

Unlike his previous books where one either reads about his stunning adventures or business and investment advice, readers used to Rogers’ style of writing will find that this book is uncharacteristically different.

Firstly, the perspective taken this time is Rogers writing and addressing to his daughters. The style and format is simple, and at the same time heartwarming as a loving father writing a letter to his children.

Secondly, the chapters are kept short and succinct. Some things that Rogers expounded in the book include the importance of studying history and past trends, learning philosophy to train critical thinking ability and the importance of travelling to open one’s mind to new things and change.

Thirdly, the book represents a collection of his own experiences, his mistakes, his attitude toward life. It basically summarizes certain good or bad incidents that Rogers went through that could either or not be found in his previous books – but with a personal thought to them.

We all know that Jim Rogers stands out as a mighty shrewd investor and ranks as among the top few contrarians in the world along with his ex partner George Soros, Sir John Templeton and Marc Faber.

The book is filled with the ‘Indiana Jones of Finance’ investment philosophy, and this would certainly delight the reader interested in the Contrarian style of investing. Other than that, the book is a good and suitable read for all ages. It is packed with advice for dealing with life issues for the child or the adult, and it is indeed a great add to the entrepreneur and investor’s library collection.

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4.5/5

Review of Soros on Soros from George Soros, Byron Wien & Krisztina Koenen

The legendary investor George Soros stands high and mighty in the world of finance and philanthropy. I was very impressed by his first book The Alchemy of Finance and he ranks as one of my favorite investors and financiers in history. His intellectual works, philanthropic efforts, influence in political activity and his dedication to Sir Karl Popper’s Open Society concepts says a lot more of his character than just his famous reputation as a shrewd billionaire investor. These are also reasons why I like Soros over Warren Buffett.

This book is an easy read, and it puts the reader into an imaginative scenario alike to one having a cup of coffee with Soros himself. Wien and Koenen interviewed Soros and the book is formatted into a Question-And-Answer format. The book is split into two parts; the first part on his investing philosophy and practice, and the second part on his philanthropy and political activity. There is also an appendix included –  a collection of essays from Soros himself on Open Societies, European Disintegration (this book is a 1996 book mind you!) and on Hedge Funds and Dynamic Hedging.

The interviewers explored Soros’ concept of Reflexivity and his building of Open Society Foundations in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

It is useful for anyone who wants to understand the man and his works and thinking. Mark Tier in his book, The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros, recommended Soros on Soros for anyone interested in understanding Soros as his other books are generally quite tough to go through and understand for the average reader.

Personally, I feel that though this book is a good start, it is only a beginning. It is too brief on his concepts which he reiterates in his other books, and it certainly does not do justice to his theory of Reflexivity.

If you could understand what Soros is trying to say in The Alchemy of Finance you might not need to catch this. However, the second part of this book would be for the reader who wants to understand more of his philanthropy and political activities.

Ferdinand’s Rating: 3.5/5

Appraisal of The Black Swan from Nassim Nicholas Taleb

From the man who brought to us ‘Fooled by Randomness’ comes another epic, sweeping masterpiece that is guaranteed to change the way you think – The Black Swan! Nassim Taleb is back with this stunning intellectual work on probability theory, philosophy, psychology and epistemology!

This famous quant trader, financier, philosopher and pseudo-psychologist explores the Black Swans – the ‘highly improbable’ events that leads to massive consequences. Taleb begins the book with the story of mankind’s discovery of black swans on earth. Some time ago our not-so-distant ancestors thought that all swans are white, because it has been empirically observed in all known lands that the swans are all white. Until one fine day the discovery (from the perspective of the Europeans) of Australia led to the observation of a black swan. Surprise! The notion of all swans being white has to be discarded and all scientific records updated. This is the typical ‘Black Swan’ event that Taleb coins – an event thought to be highly improbable but with massive consequences.

Taleb brought up further examples of Black Swan events like the rise of Hitler, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism, the September 11 Attacks. All of them bearing massive consequences to the world and yet once deemed to be highly improbable. Taleb also leads a polemic against the Gaussian Theory (Bell Curve/Normal Distribution) and the use of it in risk management plans. He adopts an interesting approach based on what he calls himself: ‘an empirical skeptic’

Taleb also warns us with how we deal with our acquired knowledge. Have an antilibrary (library with books not read) and antiknowledge. We should be focused on what we do not know rather than what we know and what we specialize in. He talks about epistemic fallacies (ludic, narrative) and what he calls ‘tunneling’ and how these are unavoidable; being inherent in our human natures, and how these would lead to us being unaware of Black Swans.

An epic masterpiece that touches everything from Medicine to History, from Cicero to Bertrand Russell, from Mandelbrot and Gauss to Henri Poincaré. A book that would challenge your presumptions and academic assumptions, and a book that would help you remain a critical thinker in this society drowned with opinions popularized by the media. Read it!

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4.5/5

Michael Lewis: Boomerang

Renowned journalist and author of ‘The Big Short’, ‘Moneyball’ and ‘Liar’s Poker’ Michael Lewis is back with this short compelling tale of the sovereign debt crisis plaguing the Core nations! With his typical wit and fascinating storytelling skills, Lewis brings the reader on a journey through his experiences in the United States, Iceland, Greece, Ireland and Germany with his many interviews of people including Iceland’s ex prime minister Geir Haarde, hedge fund manager Kyle Bass and German deputy minister of finance, Jörg Asmussen.

Lewis follows the journey of cheap credit that rolled across the planet following the Dot Com bust and the NASDAQ crash all the way to the post Lehman Brothers’ collapse. He argues that this tsunami of cheap credit was more than a simple financial phenomenon. “It was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects of their characters they could not normally afford to indulge.”

‘Boomerang’ is a wonderful and easy read and it offers an insight into the governments handling their sovereign debt issues ever since they take on the support of the failed financial institutions in the aftermath of the 2008 Credit Crunch. Lewis is on the ground, and he explains succinctly and avidly for the layman on the street, offering all a chance to understand this issue as it is. One could also get a hint from Lewis on the increasing lack of confidence of the solvency of the PIGS that is manifested by investors’ sentiment in the financial markets. However, it might not be in depth enough for the serious reader of finance and economics who is seeking to understand these prevalent issues.

With cynical jokes, political incorrectness and his lucid style, this book would be enjoyed by anyone of any age. It is no wonder why it is a New York Times bestseller. Highly recommended!

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4/5

Review of ‘The Great Reset’ from Richard Florida

I first heard about Dr Richard Florida from my economic geography professor, who pointed to us about the evolving nature of business operations in the ever constantly changing landscape of the world brought about by phenomenal economic changes.

I decided to pick up Florida’s latest book ‘The Great Reset’ and to see what he has to offer. Unlike most recent economics books where there seems to be a great amount of pessimism spilled among the pages, Florida, while acknowledging the severe problems of the current economic situation that is plaguing the world, moves on to explain the positives and how we could be optimistic about it.

Florida’s main thesis rests on explaining the recessions/depressions and how they act as ‘Resets’ of the capitalist economic system. In fact, the entire book is dedicated to elucidating how great revolutionary changes to economic systems were made following the wake of any great recession. His predication follows Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter’s popularized term of ‘Creative Destruction.’

Florida brings the reader all the way back to the financial crisis of the 1870s following Otto Von Bismarck’s abandonment of the Silver Standard in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war. He argues that every recession would perhaps lead to a better, more efficient economy with more efficiently organized institutions. The reorganization of the settlements of peoples along railways and highways was one of the many examples he brought up. Without it, the United States would not have developed into a stronger industrialized global power that it was when the world entered the 20th century.

Florida then brings the reader to the era of the roaring 20s and through the aftermath of the Great Depression. He calls this the ‘Second Reset’ (the first reset being the crisis of the 1870). He argues that following the Great Depression; with reorganizations of the banking systems, financial institutions and government policies, the United States came out the greatest and most powerful country on earth. However, I personally think that the second world war also helped the United States to emerge from the Depression. Keynesian policies (government macroeconomic interventions) and the economic devastation of the old European colonial empires were factors that have to be considered.

Florida then explains how Americans were addicted on credit and leverage following the 1960s all the way to the subprime mortgage crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. He argues further, that the Third Reset would bring about phenomenal changes in how we would reorganize the world, and how the new generation of Americans; having seen how ownership of houses and automobiles brought down their parents, would be focused not so much on owning cars and houses: they would rather rent their homes to maximize their socio-economic mobility. The globalized world is changing so fast that by owning a home, it restricts your employment opportunities and social life.

Overall, this book is an extremely easy read, and it throws fresh light on an issue that is constantly associated with woes and panics. With a long term perspective of things, Florida’s optimism on the issue is refreshing and enlightening. Unlike most books on economics, this book could be read at a beach or a cafe. It would delight the serious economics reader, history buff or the enterprising entrepreneur.

Ferdinand’s Rating: 4/5