From Tulips to Bitcoins: A History of Fortunes Made and Lost in Commodity Markets

 

Tulips story is no stranger to all financial guys like me. However, with bitcoins, the story tends to be different...

This book is interesting. It recorded all financial bubbles on commodities from earlier tulips till the latest bitcoins. So, reading this book is like reading a history book (except main focus is on financial cases). Readers tend to learn a lot from the cases presented and the author did so well to present it with clear and precise details. 

However, I found some of the cases presented seems not significant. For trader like me, some cases are just norms of the volatility and does not qualify to be "bubbles". Secondly, it will be good if this book includes all indexes bubbles apart from commodities. After all, commodities, indices, currencies, etc. are correlated in nature. Finally, I expected to see some comments or insight thoughts from the author at the end of every presented cases. However, it is more like a dull history book at the end. Unfortunately, the only wisdom I can found throughout this book is the quote as below:

The discovery of gold triggered a true story global gold rush. However, it was the merchants who generally became rich selling equipment and services.

For a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 6/10. Well, I appreciate the hard-work from author in providing us such a detailed history on the so called "bubbles". However, the whole experience is like a drop in the ocean. I would not said it is a bad book... but simply not enough! As financial bubbles would not stop from now and then, this book will have a revise version sooner or later. Let us hope for a better version in the future... 

Marketing Warfare: How to Use Military Principles to Develop Marketing Strategies

 

I read the Chinese version of this book around 20 years ago... Those days, I was too young, too naïve and too innocent to embrace the cruel reality of the business world. Now, I am in the age of mid 40's... So, I thought it will be nice to revisit this book with older, less naivety and zero innocent brain. Here we go... 

Relatively, I found the Chinese version is much better. First of all, the wording in this original version tends to be confusing at times. I remember I do not have this problem when I read the Chinese version 20 years back. Secondly, although it was a direct translation, surprisingly, the translator did so well in the Chinese version. Usually, the original version tends to be better. This time around, it is the opposite! Finally, the design and structure of this book did not impress me. 20 years back, I do not seem to complain on this if I am not mistaken. So, the conclusion is... an old man is twice the child: tends to demand higher, haha!

Ok, enough of complains! Now, let us look at the bright side. This book overall is so awesome! This is a book with plenty of insightful facts which accompany by tons of real life examples. I do not really study the background of the said authors. But, both really put efforts in writing this book! In this book, there are plenty of theories presented, supported by real facts and real examples to help readers apply in real world. Unfortunately, this book does not have the latest revision. Otherwise, we can have more amazing ideas from authors regarding to the competition in internet and cyber world. 

For a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 9/10. As mentioned above, I do have troubles with wording and structure of this book. The whole book just not smooth in terms of reading despite the contents were prefect even in today's world. The amazing part, after more than 20 years, I still manage to find some nice quotes extracted from the book as below. So, it tells the whole story. This book is simply awesome and first class! Thumbs up!!!

How many times have your heard company people say it's easier to get to the top rather than to stay there? Forget it, that's a myth created by people who are more interested in the study of sociology than they are in recognizing the realities of business competition. It's far easier to stay on top than to get there. The leader, the king of hill can take advantage of the principle of force. 

A general tries to fire up his troops by telling them what good soldiers they are and what great equipment they have. Many marketing generals do the same thing and fall victim to their own rhetoric. They talk themselves into the "better people" or "better product" fallacies. At the end, it is the superior strategy that counts. 

Why fight an offensive war if defense is so attractive? If you can win a marketing battle and become the leading brand, you can enjoy that victory for a long time. Simply because you can now play defense, the stronger form of warfare.

Defensive principles:
1. Only the market leader should consider playing defense.

2. The best defensive strategy is the courage to attack yourself.

3. Strong competitive moves should always be blocked.

4. Be prepared to strike back

5. Keeping something in reserve

6. Reduce your legal exposure

7. Marketing peace

Offensive principles:

1. The main consideration is the strength of the leader's position: How do we decrease their share of the market?

2. Find a weakness in the leader's strength and attack at that point.

3. Launch the attack on as narrow as possible.

Flanking principles:

1. A good flanking move must be made into an uncontested area but close to the leader's position.

2. Tactical surprise ought to be  an important element of the plan.

3. The pursuit is just as critical as the attack itself: Cut your losses and let your winners ride.

4. Flanking with low price, high price, small size, large size, distribution, product form

Guerrilla principles:

1. Find a segment of the market small enough to defend. It could be small geographically, or in volume or in some other aspect difficult for a larger company to attack: Niche and pick a small enough segment so that you can become a leader: example, local store. 

- you seldom read about companies that went under because the market they were concentrating on was too small. On the other hand, you often read about companies torn apart by overexpansion, companies that launch too many markets in too large a geographic area.

2. No matter how successful you become, never act like the leader: The essence of guerrilla strategy and tactics is the opposite of what's right for the Fortune 500 crowd.

- resist temptation to make up formal organization charts, job descriptions, career path and so on. 

3. Be prepared to bug out at a moment's notice: Don't hesitate to abandon a position or product if the battle turn against you. A guerrilla does not have resources to waste. 

- Geographic, demographic, industry, product, high-end (commodities only).

Line extension long term effect is clearly the opposite of the short term effect. In the short term, line extension is almost always a success (diet coke as example). But in long term, line extension is usually a loser's strategy.

Don't spend your money to change uniforms (Burger King vs McDonald). Spend your money to give your troops better weapons.

Marketing myths create false illusions. If we could only develop a better product... and the dreaming goes on and on. You shouldn’t think in terms of betterness, only in terms of differentness.

Every marketers has 3 kinds of products: to advertise, to sell and to make money on. It's wasteful to advertise a product just because you can sell it and make money on it. Would a motion picture theatre advertise the popcorns it sells? No, you advertise the movie and you make money on the popcorns and drinks. Advertise the same items might be a mistake if it undermines your position. 

Defenders can sometimes profit by fielding a full line of products. It's always a mistake for an attacker to do so. 

If the strategy is good, the battle can be won with indifferent tactics. If superb strategies are needed to win the battle, then the strategy is not sound. The marketing general that depends on superior tactics to win the war is usually quick to blame the arm that didn’t work. In today's battleground, that arm is usually the advertising.

My Life in Red and White

 

Arsene Wenger... a man who changed my life 25 years ago...

I was originally a Magpie fan... Arsenal football came into my life in 1996 when the flying Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp arrived in North London from Inter Milan. This was then followed by the arrival of Le Boss. I was diverted to North London football since then. The beauty of non-restricted "Wengerball" really caught my attention those days and Arsene Wenger was my hero for almost 20 years...

As such, this book meant so much to me despite the legacy of Arsene Wenger almost tarnish at the end of his Arsenal era. This autobiography is a full story of Le Boss from his childhood all the way to the present situation. After this book is published, the media seems to focus on why Jose Mourinho was not mentioned in the book. To me, it is not only The Special One. The others like Sir Alex Ferguson (at least a bit), the late Gerard Houllier, Big Sam and many others was not featured in this book too. This may sound like a little flaw to readers. However, come to think about that, I think this biography is quite special compared to the others. At least Mr. Wenger focused on himself, and it makes this biography so unique and not so "gossiping" like others.  

For a full rating of 10, I am going to rate it at 10/10. Yes, I admit that I am so much bias to this Arsenal legend as he is the one who made me fall in love in football for over 20 years. Secondly, although the gossip content is below par, at least I can concentrate on the man I admire so much. Finally, there are some quotes from the book as below which enlighten my mind after reading this book:

A coach tends to over-estimate the effectiveness of his communication. So, there are some rules that need to be taken into account: 

1. On average two thirds of people would do more if their qualities were better recognized. 

2. Less than 30% of people apply the recommendations they've been given owing to a lack of confidence, a lack of respect for the coach or a lack of clarity or of practical recommendations. It's important to be clear in one's recommendations in order to boost confidence and improve performance. 

3. When expressing a negative point, one should put forward three positive points when speaking to somebody who needs to develop.

4. One should not aim for multiple objectives: just one or two are enough.

5. Never forget that time and place are very important.

The coach should promote collective expression by creating the conditions to allow the team to take risks, and encourage them to do so. And when faced defeat, he should stay firm, believe in his convictions, above all not blame the players. When he is preparing for a match, the coach's challenge is to succeed in destroying the opponent's strong points without preventing his own team from expressing themselves. If you exaggerate the opposition's qualities, you increase your players' fear and the risk they will hide away. At Monaco, our strength, was that they did not hide: they weren't afraid of anybody.

Putting the bias and favoritism aside, actually I learn more from the other legend (which I hate him so much those days, LOL). Relatively, I think the book "Leading" is much better. However, due to my utmost love to Arsenal, this book brings a lot of sweet memories to me, and I am so nostalgic while reading this book. As a conclusion, thank you so much to Le Boss for bringing us every hard-fought matches, awesome players throughout his time at Arsenal and ultimately, the memories on Arsenal journey which Mikel Arteta is building on it. As mentioned by current gaffer ~~~ "Trust the Process" and all the best to the club I love so much! 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

 

This book suddenly crossed my mind after reading a lousy book in "Atomic Habits". "Atomic Habits" really disappointed me. As such, I felt there is a need to revisit a book I read 20 years ago. Main thing is, I need to find out whether I really hate "Atomic Habits" that much or simply because this sort of books no more sounds appealing to me...

At the end, this is still the same "amazing" book I read 20 years ago. A reread after 20 years is an incredible journey. After all, when I can re-quote some of the nice quotes below, it clearly showed that this book is still applicable after years. Further to that, although the said 7 habits were practiced over the years, the revision on this book did trigger some new ideas on me particularly as well as my interdependent relationship. 

Relatively, "Atomic Habits" do not have this sort of attraction. Well, credit must be given to the author of 7 habits. "Atomic Habits" may not be that bad. Perhaps, the presenting styles and the practical part is not as good as 7 habits. 

Out of 10, I have no reason to revise my full rating 20 years ago. This book is still one of my bibles in life and amazingly, it is still perfectly good to maintain all the 7 habits for the rest of my life. Thumbs up and thumbs up to the late Stephen R. Covey!

My experience has been that there are times to teach and times not to teach. When relationship are strained and the air charged with emotions, an attempt to teach is often perceived as a form of judgment and rejection.

A sense of possessing needs to come before a sense of genuine sharing.

Knowledge is the theoretical paradigm. Skill is the how to do and desire is the motivation. In order to make something a habit, we have to have all three.

Effectiveness lies in the balance. Excessive focus on P results in ruined health, worn-out machines, depleted bank accounts and broken relationship. Too much focus on PC is like a person who runs 3/4 hours a day, bragging about the extra 10 years of life it creates, unaware he's spending them running. 

There are 3 social maps: Genetic determinism, Psychic determination, Environmental determination to explain the nature of man. 

Look at the word responsibility - "response-ability" - the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility.

Proactive people are still influenced by external stimuli. But, their response to the stimuli is a value-based choice or response. It is our willing permission, our consent to what happens to us, that hurts us far more than what happens to us in the first place. It's not what happen to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us. 

It is our willingness permission, our consent to what happens to us, that hurts us far more than what happens to us in the first place.

In the great literature of all progressive societies, love is a verb. Reactive people make it a feeling.

Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their Circle of Influence to increase. Reactive people on the other hand, focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern.

Whether a problem is direct, indirect, or no control, we have in our hands to the first step to the solution. Changing our habits, changing our methods of influence and changing the way we see our no control problems are within our Circle of Influence.

Habit 1 says "You are the programmer." Habit 2, then, says "Write the program." Until your accept the idea that you are responsible, that you are the programmer, you won't really invest in writing the program.

Almost all of the world class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; the fell it; they experience it before they actually do it. They begin with the end in mind.

Before a performance, a sales presentation, a difficult confrontation, or the daily challenge of meeting a goal, see it clearly, vividly, relentlessly, over and over again. Create an internal "comfort zone." Then, when you get into the situation, it isn't foreign. It doesn't scare you.

My maxim of personal effectiveness: Manage from the left; lead from the right.

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. And this can be done in the context of the week.

The focus in steward delegation is on effectiveness, not efficiency. Certainly you can do it better by yourself, but the key is to empower someone else to do it. It takes time. You have to get involved in the training and development. It takes time, but how valuable that time is downstream! It saves you so much in long run. 

The steward relatively compares to gofer focused on results instead of methods. The steward becomes his own boss, governed by a conscience that contains the commitment to agreed upon desired results. But it also releases his creative energies to achieve those desired results.

Real self-respect comes from dominion over self, from true independence. And that's the focus of Habits 1,2,3. Independence is an achievement. Interdependence is a choice only independent people can make. Unless we are willing to achieve real independence, it's foolish to try to develop human relations skills. 

I suggest that in an interdependent situation, every P problem is a PC opportunity - a chance to build the Emotional Bank Accounts that significantly affect interdependent production.  

Seek first to understand involves a very deep shift in paradigm. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to reply. They're filtering everything through their own paradigms. 

As long as the response it logical, can effectively ask questions and give counsel. But the moment the response becomes emotional, one needs to go back to emphatic listening.

The more proactive you are (Habit 1), the more effectively you can exercise personal leadership (Habit 2) and management (Habit 3) in your life. The more effectively you manage your life (Habit 3), the more Quadrant II renewing activities you can do (Habit 7). The more you seek first to understand (Habit 5), the more effectively you can go for synergetic Win/Win situation (Habits 4 & 6). The more you improve in any of the habits that lead to independence (Habits 1,2,3), the more effective you will be in interdependent situations (Habits 4,5,6). And renewal (Habit 7) is the process of renewing all the habits.

There is a gap or space between stimulus and response, and that they key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space. 

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

 

This book was highly recommended by a few friends. In fact, the topic itself was very attractive to me in the first place. The only question is, this book was written a long time ago. So, are the theories still applicable in today's world? Well, if Jeff Bezos also reading this book, there is no excuse for us to avoid this book... 

Let's start the whole journey with something interesting: the myth of building a successful company:

Myth 1: It takes a great idea to start a great company

Myth 2: Visionary companies require great and charismatic visionary leaders.

Myth 3: The most successful companies exist first and foremost to maximize profits.

Myth 4: Visionary companies share a common subset of "correct" core values. (Reality: There is no "right" set of core values for being a visionary company. Indeed, two companies can have radically different ideologies, yet both visionary.

Myth 5: The only constant is change. 

Myth 6: Blue-chip companies play it safe. (Visionary companies may appear conservative to outsides, but they are not afraid to make bold commitments to "Big Hairy Audacious Goals".

Myth 7: Visionary companies are great places to work, for everyone.

Myth 8: Highly successful companies make their best moves by brilliant and complex strategic planning. (What looks in retrospect and preplanning was of the result of "Let's just try a lot of stuff and keep what works.")

Myth 9: Companies should hire outside CEOs to stimulate fundamental changes.

Myth 10: The most successful companies focus on beating the competitors (Visionary companies focus primary on beating themselves)

Myth 11: You can't have your cake and eat it too (Visionary companies do not brutalize themselves with the "Tyranny of the OR")

Myth 12: Companies becomes visionary primarily through "vision statements". 

With the listed myths, I have no hesitation to continue this book. In fact, these myths are the issues that bother entrepreneurs now and then. So, this book unlocked and dug into details on the myth with proven data and analysis. Thumbs up!!!

Next, the best part... how the author choose and filter companies to study:

1. What companies should we study?

2. Avoiding the "Discover Buildings" Trap.

3. History and Evolution

4. Crates of Data, Months of Coding, and "Tortoise Hunting"

5. Harvesting the Fruits of our Labor

6. Field Testing & Application in the Real World

With the series of myth and filtering in choosing the company, this book itself already showed its value. The main thing about visionary companies is all about core ideology. This ideology itself is the combination of core values (not to be confused with specific cultural or operating practices and not to be compromised for financial gain or short term expediency) + purpose (not to be confused with specific goals or business strategy). After finishing the whole book, you and I will know how fragile our company is: Core value was not set and not initiated despite running business for several years! So audacious! LOL...

With this new edition, the author adds on a new chapter on conceptual framework that defines vision, adds clarity and gives practical guidance for articulating a coherent vision within an organization. For those who have read this book or better still, for those who are new to this book, kindly get this latest version. This chapter is so valuable and gives plenty of insights to readers. Although a bit repetitive, a final reminder with all sorts of examples will further clarify the core ideas of this whole book.

For a full rating of 10, I have no hesitation to rate this book at 10/10. There is nothing to complain about this book. The author and the team of researchers really put in enormous efforts to provide an insightful and detailed perspective on how to build a visionary company. Well, as mentioned above, is this book still applicable in today's high technology world? The answer is yes! The theory of "stimulating progress while preserving core" will be there regardless of how the world changes. Full thumbs up to this book!!! 

Last but not least, I tried to excerpt some nice quotes from this book. In the end, I found too much info that I needed for future references. As such, unlike the usual quotes, I will categorize below as some valuable notes:

The core value need no rational or external justification. Nor do they sway with the trends and fads of the day. Nor even they shift in response to changing market conditions.

In the early stages, most visionary companies just tried to get off the ground and make a go of it and their ideology became clear only as the company evolved.

Specific methods of preserving the core and stimulating progress:

1. Big Hairy Audacious Goals

2. Cult-like Culture

3. Try a Lot of Stuff and Keep What Works!

4. Home-grown Management

5. Good Enough Never Is

Framework for diagnosing your own organization:

1. Has it made the shift in perspective from time telling to clock building?

2. Does it reject the "Tyranny of the OR" and embrace the "Genius of the AND"?

3. Does it have a core ideology - core values and purpose beyond just making money?

4. Does it have a drive for progress - not part of the core ideology?

5. Does it preserve the core and stimulate progress?

6. Is the organization in alignment, so that people receive a consistent set of signals to reinforce behavior that supports the core ideology and achieves desired progress?

Few points as you consider BHAGs:

1. Clear and requires little or no explanation. A BHAG is a goal- like climbing a mountain or going to moon - not a "statement." If it doesn't get people's juices going, then it's just not a BHAGs.

2. A BHAG should fall well outside the comfort zone: it should require heroic effort and perhaps even a little luck.

3. A BHAG should be bold and exciting in its own right that it would continue to stimulate progress even if the organization's leaders disappeared.

4. A BHAG has the inherent danger that, once achieved, an organization can stall and drift in the "we've arrived!" syndrome. A company should be prepared to prevent this by having follow-on BHAGs.

5. A BHAG should be consistent with a company's core value.

"Visionary" does not mean soft and undisciplined. They tend not to have much room for people unwilling or unsuited to their demanding standards.

An analysis of the visionary versus comparison companies:

1. 11/18 pairs, the evidence shows stronger indoctrination into a core ideology through the history of the visionary companies.

2. 13/18 pairs, people tend to either fit well with the company and its ideology or tend to not fit  at all.

3. 13/18 pairs, the evidence shows a sense of belonging to something special and superior.

We found that the visionary companies were significantly more decentralized and granted greater operational autonomy than the comparison companies.

Evolutionary progress differs from BHAG progress in two key ways. First, BHAG progress involves clear and unambiguous goals, evolutionary progress involves ambiguity (by trying lots of different approaches to stumble onto something that works). Second, BHAG involves bold discontinues leaps, evolution progress usually begins with small incremental steps or mutations, often in the form of quickly seizing unexpected opportunities that eventually grow into major and often unanticipated strategic shifts.

It might be far more satisfactory to look at well-adapted visionary companies not primarily as the result of brilliant foresight and strategic planning, but largely as consequences of a basic process - namely, try a lot of experiments, seize opportunities, keep those that work well (consistent with the core ideology) and discard those that don't.

We're not saying that evolutionary progress equals to wanton diversification, or even that a focused business strategy is necessarily bad. Wal-Mart for example remain resolutely focused on one industry- discount retailing - while simultaneously stimulating evolution within that narrow focus. Nor are we saying that the concept of "stick to the knitting" makes no sense. The real question is: What is the "knitting" in a visionary company? Our answer: Core ideology.

Across seventeen hundred years of combined history in the visionary companies, we found only four individual cases of and outsider coming directly into the role of chief executive.

It is not the quality of leadership that most separates the visionary companies from the comparison companies. It is the continuity of quality leadership that matters - continuity that preserves the core.

If you're involved with an organization that feels it must go outside for a top manager, then look for candidates who are highly compatible with the core ideology. They can be different in managerial style, but they should share the core values at a gut level.

P&G already had the best people, the best products, the best marketing muscle. So, why not pit the best of P&G against the best of P&G? If the marketplace doesn't provide enough competition, why not create a system of internal competition that makes it virtually impossible for any brand to rest on its laurels?

Managers at visionary companies simply do not accept the proposition that they must choose between short-term performance or long-term success. They build first and foremost for the long term while simultaneously holding themselves to highly demanding short-term standards. 

If you are involved in building and managing the company, we urge you to consider the following questions:

- What "mechanisms of discontent" can you create that would obliterate complacency and bring about change and improvement from within, yet are consistent with your core ideology? How can you give these mechanism sharp teeth?

- What are you doing to invest for the future while doing well today? Does your company adopt innovative new methods and technologies before the rest of the industry?

- How do you respond to downturns? Does your company continue to build for the long term even during difficult times?

- Do people in your company understand that comfort is not the objective - that life in a visionary company is not supposed to be easy?

Bill Hewlett, "marketing people must play a secondary role in the question of product definition."

A particular revealing example of HP following its own vision and not falling into prey to management fads and fashions of the day came in the 1970s, when the "learning-curve/market-share" theory of corporate strategy swept American business.

Keep in mind that the only sacred cow in a visionary company is its core ideology. Anything else can be changed or eliminated.

After you drafted a preliminary list of the core values, ask this questions: "If the circumstances changed and penalized us for holding this core value, would we still keep it?" If you can't honestly answer yes, then it's not core and should be dropped. 

Suppose in 10 years quality doesn't make a difference and the only thing that matters is sheer speed and horsepower, but not quality. Quality stay off the list as core value. Quality stayed in the current strategy and remained in place as mechanism for stimulating progress, but it did not make the list of core values. Remember, strategies change as market conditions change, but core values remain intact. 

A company should not change its core values in response to market changes, it should change markets- if necessary in order to remain true to its core values. 

Can you envision these core values being equally valid for you 100 years from now as they are today? Would you want to hold these core values, even if at some point one or more of them became a competitive disadvantage? If you were to start a new organization tomorrow in a different line of work, what cores values would you build into the new organization regardless of its industry? The last three questions are particularly important, as they make the crucial distinction between enduring core values that should not change and practices and strategies that should be changing all the time.

Whereas you might achieve a goal or complete a strategy, you cannot fulfill a purpose; it is like a guiding star on the horizon - forever pursued, but never reached. Yet while purpose itself does not change, it does inspire change. The very fact that purpose can never be fully realized means that an organization can never stop stimulating change and progress in order to live more fully to its purpose.

One powerful method for getting at purpose is the "Five Whys." Start with the descriptive statement, "We make X products" or "we deliver X services," and then ask "why is that important?" five times.

None of the core purposes discussed in this chapter fall into the category "maximize shareholder wealth." A key role of core purpose is to guide and inspire.

One way to get at the purpose that lies beyond just maximizing shareholder wealth is to play the "Random Corporate Serial Killer" game.

If you woke up tomorrow morning with enough money in the bank that you would never need to work again, how could we frame the purpose of this organization such that you would want to continue working anyway? What deeper sense of purpose would motivate you to continue to dedicate your precious creative energies to this company's efforts?

As Peter Drucker has pointed out, the best and most dedicated people are ultimately volunteers, for they have the opportunity to do something else with their lives.

You do not "create" or "set" core ideology. You discover core technology. It is not derived by looking to the external environment; you get at it by looking inside. It has to be authentic. You can't fake an ideology. Nor can you just "intellectualize" it. Do not ask, "What core value should we hold?"

Core ideology need only be meaningful and inspirational to people inside the organization, it need not be exciting to all outsiders. 

The task is to find people who already have a predisposition to share your core values and purpose, attract and retain these peoples, and let those who aren't disposed to share your core values go elsewhere.

Core competence is a strategic concept that captures your organization's capabilities - what you are particularly good at - whereas core ideology captures what you stand for and why you exist.

A BHAG should not be a sure bet - perhaps only 50-70% probabilities of success - but the organization must believe "we can do it anyway." It should require extraordinary effort, and perhaps a little luck. Four targets in creating BHAG: target, common enemy, role model, internal transformation.

Purpose is the organization's fundamental reason for existence, which like a star on the horizon can never be reached; it guides and inspires forever. A BHAG, on the other hand, is a specific goal which, like a specific mountain to climb, has a specific time frame and can be achieved. Whereas identifying core ideology is a discovery process, setting the envisioned future is a creative process.

In thinking about envisioned future, beware the "we've arrived syndrome" - complacent lethargy that arises once an organization has achieved a BHAG and fails to replace it with another.

Creating alignment, which is a key part of our ongoing work to help companies transform themselves into visionary companies, requires two key processes: 1. developing new alignments to preserve the core and stimulate progress, and 2. eliminating misalignments - those that drive the company away from the core ideology and those that impede progress toward the envisioned future.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

 

Since "7 habits", I think I never found a book as good as the theory mentioned in 7 Habits. The said 7 habits served me well for the past 20 years to becomes the highly effective people as claimed by the late Stephen Covey. Now, I am into this atomic habits. The topic itself sounds appealing in the first place. Secondly, I was in a forum on books and this book keep on bombarding my fb wall in the said forum. So, here I am with a book that usually would not appear in my book shelf. 

At the end... I did not finish this book. This is a boring and dull book. Basically, the four concepts are too simple to practice and I humbly think that this is how I practice my life for the past 20 years. As such, this book does not deliver what I want and I ended up gave up half way. 

My expectation on this book was high in the first place. After all, it was highly recommended by all friends in my forum. The so called "atomic" habits are nothing new under the sun. We had this sort of ideas everywhere and perhaps the author only did his best to use the right words to "upgrade" the whole concept. For example, I hate the repeating words of "Laws" being highlighted throughout the book. To me, it is a "principle" at most! Law??? No way... 

Finally, this book could have been written in less than 100 pages. There are a lot of repetition and the author mumbling the same stuff over and over again. In fact, this book can easily be sum up by reading the chapter summaries. So, for a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 1. The idea is good (nothing special though), but it is just too wordy to finish it up... 

Unknown Market Wizards: The best traders you've never heard of

 

There is no way for any traders to miss out on Jack D. Schwager's book. This latest edition from my favorite author attracted me a lot since it is about "unknown" market wizards like me, LOL... so, the topic itself sounds really appealing to me!

As usual, Jack D. Schwager never disappointed us. This book is full of insights and numerous live trading experiences from the so called "unknown". As expected, the author with his usual excellent interviewing style did his best to dig out informative side from traders. We as readers and traders surely benefited by reading this book.

There are few that featured in this book really caught my attention. First, Jason Shapiro. I love his contrarian way... a way that I had been practicing for so long without realized that it is a contradict way of life! His contrarian ways are best explained in the book on the topic of bubble. When everyone is talking about a bubble and nobody actually owes it, the bubble is there to stay. When somehow everybody started to owe the bubble, the bubble will burst without a hint. (Splendid idea on contrarian!) So, it is not the price that makes the market bottom on bearish or vice versa. It is all about participation. Make sense!!!

Reading Jack D. Schwager's books is always a nice thing to do. However, we as traders tend to have problem reading it. The main thing is we are sort of bias in our own way. Everything that moves along with our existing strategy tends to stay favor while we reading this book. In opposite, we will find hard to those ideas that never sounds appealing since day one. As such, a reader for Market Wizard series must stay focus and read this book with neutral state of mind. Having said that, the author as usual did well in his interviews. At times, the question asked can be some good point to be taken by readers. A good example is this: I actually find trendline breakout to be one of the most unreliable signals. But that perception is a consequence of knowing where to draw the trendline with the benefit of hindsight. Another good point from this book (which the previous series of market wizards also pointed out same perspective) is there are some opposite techniques being used by two different traders. Yet, it proved to work since the trades presented in this book are all successful traders. A good example is the contradict approach on  trendline by Peter Brandt (use only horizontal breakout and never use trendline breakout) versus Jeffery Neumann (use only trendline breakout). End of the day, both methods work. That is the best part of trading. There is simply no single correct trading method!

Having read all market wizards by this author, I actually prefer all previous version compared to this. As usual, I will list out some good points below which are extracted from the book. However, this time around, I omitted few traders for the first time. This never happened when I read other market wizards. Well, there are two reasons. First, I simply do not agree with some of the idea presented. Secondly, I am in my 18 years into trading. So, perhaps I evolved along the way (I hope I am, haha) and there is nothing new under the sun. In view of that, I am going to rate this book at 6/10. Well, this book still served as one of the book that traders must read. However, one round of reading is adequate and there are not much surprises. Last but not least, listed below are some nice quotes from the book: 

Peter Brandt:

He took much smaller positions than he could. If your could protect your capital, you would always have another shot.

A popcorn trade is what I call a trade that you have profit on and then ride it all the way back down to where you got in. I try to avoid popcorn trades now. 

I used to trade patterns like symmetrical triangles and trendlines, which I no longer do. I only trade patterns where the breakout is through a horizontal boundary.

I don't want to know my open trade equity. So, I graph my equity based on closed trades only.

Optimizing your trading approach for the last series of trades is not a solution. I try to keep trading the same way. That's the only way I'll come out of a drawdown and get back on track. 

Strong opinions, weakly hold. Have a strong reason for taking a trade, but once you are in a trade, be quick to cut if it doesn't behave as expected.

Jason Shapiro:

To make a contrarian trading approach work, a method for timing entry into the markets:

1. Taking positions counter to the extremes of speculator market positioning.

2. Timing the entry into such positions based on market action.

Watching financial TV programs can be useful in your trading - as a contrarian indicator!

Have stop loss on every positions.

Managing increased risk of higher correlation markets by reducing overall positions size and by seeking inversely correlated trades to add to the portfolio.

You know you can identify traders or commentators who are reliably wrong - a task far easier than finding those who are reliably right - then their opinions could well be useful in a contrarian sense. 

Richard Bargh:

I used to have a habit that whenever I lost money in the market, I would spend less money. That type of attitude only causes your mindset and body to get tight, which stop you from trading well because you don't want to take any risk. A counterintuitive concept is to spend more when losing.

You don't have to exit a profitable trade all at once. Even if a trade reaches your target, it may make sense to keep a small portion of the positions, so you get some additional profit if the market keeps moving in the direction of original trade. 

Missed trades can be more painful and more expensive than trading losses.

The damage from a bad trade often extends well beyond the loss on the trade itself. By shaking up a trader's confidence, such trades can lead to missing winning trades the trader would otherwise taken. The resulting missed profits can often exceeded the loss on the original trade.

Amrit Sall:

I now know that 90% of the time, the market is not going to provide any opportunities, and 10% of the time, I will make 90% of my profits.

In the past, I have tended to implement trading ideas in a single market. I now try to execute trade ideas in multiple correlated markets.

Traders have to ask themselves whether they can handle being right only 30% of the time, or do they feel they have to be right day after day? 

Daljit Dhaliwal:

The reward/ risk ratio of a trade is dynamic and can change dramatically as the trade is held. Consider that you implement a trade, looking for a 300 point gain and risking in 100 point loss. If the market then moves 200 points in favor of the trade, the reward/ risk is now drastically different than when the positions was implemented. Dhaliwal manages the dynamic nature by taking partial profits. He argues that holding the entire position until it is exited is an attempt to be 100% right, at the risk of being 100% wrong. Taking partial profits as a trade moves in your favor not only responds to the fact that the reward/ risk of the trade is changing, but it is also another risk management tool. Another way of adjusting to the changing reward/ risk of a trade is to tighten the protective stop.

John Netto:

I want to be focus and still feel some anxiety when adding positions. In contrast, if I exhale in relief after a positions has gone my way and feel too relaxed, that is a warning sign of a possible impending market reversal. 

When you lose money in the market, let it go. Be on guard against the urge to make money back by taking previously unplanned trades. 

Jeffrey Neumann

Neumann enters his trade at the very point of breakouts from long downtrend lines - the earliest possible technical signal of a trend transition. Of course, this type of entry point often results in buying multiple false breakouts before a valid breakout occurs. But, Neumann gets out immediately if the breakout doesn't follow through.

Super Trader: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets

This is my 4th visit on this book. Amazing, till today, I still have the urge to reread this book. My last read was in year 2017. Three years back, I rated this book at 10/10. Let us see whether this book still attracts me after three long years... 

This time around, I felt quite bored especially the front part of this book. I may had improved over the years. I may had stop learning over the years. Basically, there are a lot of possibilities behind that. However, when I flip into Part 3 on developing the system, my mood immediately swung back. Yes, I got the answer. The part 1 and part 2 did not sounds appealing to me anymore as I had been doing the same routine task for almost 17 years!!! Unfortunately, Part 3 still sounds good to me as it seems I am still learning on the trading path. One of the main reason was on the changes of trend over the years. As we all know, trend following no more serves as a holy grain to traders for some time. The advance technology not only made the world faster. In fact, it was on rapid speed every year in the world of trading. As such, the theory in this book especially on playing around with R stuff (the initial risk) becomes more and more important these days. 

Overall... after finished this book, the fourth visit still seems to be a worth visit. This is a book that needs to revise and refresh every now and then. End of the day, the pace on the market obviously changed. However, the price is still the price. We traders are evolving each year as according to the market's evolvement. In view of that, for a full rating of 10; I am going to rate this book at 7/10. I hope that I have the chance to rate this book at 1/10 in the future. If I keep on coming back and rerated this book at high, it means I actually stop learning. Finger cross that the day of 1/10 will come soon... 

The Complete Guide to Spread Trading

I had been searching for books about spread trading since day one. Finally, I found this book. Unfortunately, this book was written many years ago. So, I am a bit skeptical to get it in the first place. Just wondering... how can I miss out this book after reading tons of trading books for the past 20 years? Perhaps... spread was not my favourite those days...

Ended up... to be frank... I am quite disappointed with this book. First of all, this book is quite dull. I would have no hesitation to term it as dry reading. Well, it is similar to a book where we hated so much during those days in university, haha. Perhaps, the spread trading itself is boring (relatively compares to outright trading). So, it might not be the problem with the author. Secondly, I would have anticipated series of technique or fundamentally stuff that can help in spread trading. Ended up, there is nothing new under the sun. The information in this book can easily obtained from google. Finally, I do not agree that this book can helps to "earn a consistent flow of positive returns with less risk", as claimed by the author. By using "info" provided in this book, at most readers understand the fundamentally and logic behind the spread stuff. Apart from that, nothing much can be gain from this book.

Rating wise, I am going to rate this book at 4/10. Well, this is a good book for reference purpose. However, it does not provide much needed "skill" for spread trading. Having said that, I think traders should have this book on the shelf. After all, every trader needs a reference book on spread trading. I wish I could find some other and better books on spread trading in the future. 

The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution

Wow... what a book! Jim Simons... an idol for every trader. So far, I think this is the only book in the market about the mighty Quant. I read a Chinese version book about Jim Simons before. However, I remain suspicious on the contents of the book. Hence, when this book was introduced by Michael Covel, I have no hesitation to buy it.

Finally, we have a book that tells the whole story about Jim Simons. Well, I believe this book presented the real Jim Simons compares to those rumors and articles being circulated on the internet. The author did well in presented the whole chronology on how Jim Simons and co started till the latest. Along the way, there are newcomers as well as those who gave up. Hence, we can see how this quant revolution being made. Amazingly, it was an exciting but real tough journey.

You do not have to equipped yourself with great mathematical skill to read this book. The author did so well by presenting simple ideas that every reader shall be able to understand. After all, even if those coding was revealed, we might not understand at all. Basically, finance experts may not understand coding. Same thing applies to coder who may never understand the games of finance. So, again, what Jim Simons achieved, by combining both is really a remarkable stuff.

I believe some readers may be disappointed with this book. After all, this book does not reveal the real secret behind the success of Renaissance. However, like I mentioned above, unless you are a coder, otherwise, there is no point to show you the code. To me, this book is good enough. In fact, I rate it as excellent, 10/10! First of all, it is so hard to get the information on the mighty Jim Simons. Secondly, I am eager to know the history on how Renaissance being established. So, this book revealed what I want. This book is definately well worth reading. It is well written and surely a must read for those who works in financial market like me.

Last but not least... as listed below, I pick out certain points from the book which I found interesting. Thumbs up to the author in writing this book.

Simon quoted: "God gave me a tail to keep off the flies. But I rather have no tail and no flies. That's kind of the way I feel about publicity."

"The lesson was: Do what you like in life, not what you feel you 'should' do," Simon says. "It's something I never forgot."

Lenny Baum developed a saying that became the group's credo: "Bad ideas is good, good idea is terrific, no ideas is terrible."

Markov chains, which are sequences of events in which the probability of what happens next depends only on the current state, not past events.

In a Markov chain, it is impossible to predict future steps with certainty, yet one can observe the chain to make educated guesses about possible outcomes. Baseball can be seen as a Markov game.

A hidden Markov process is one in which the chain of events is governed by unknown, underlying parameters or variables.

"I don't want to have to worry about the market every minute. I want models that will make money while I sleep," Simons said. "A pure system without human interfering."

Stochastic equations, the broader family of equations to which Markov chains belong. Stochastic equations model dynamic processes that evolve over time and can involve a high level of uncertainty.

I strongly believe, for all babies and a significant number of grownups, curiosity is a bigger motivation than money. ~~~ Elwyn Berlekamp

Berlekamp argued that buying and selling infrequently magnifies the consequences of each move. Mess up a couple times, and your portfolio could be doomed. Make a lot of trades, and each individual move is less important, reducing portfolio's overall risk.

Berlekamp and others developed a thesis that locals, or floor traders who buy or sell, like to go home at the end of trading week holding few or no future contracts. Similarly, brokers on the floors of commodity exchanges seemed to trim future positions ahead of the economic reports. Medallion's system would buy when these brokers sold, and sell the investments back to them as they became more comfortable with the risk.

Certain trading bands from Friday morning's action had the uncanny ability to predict bands later that same afternoon, nearer to the close of trading. If market moved higher late in the day, it often paid to buy futures contracts just before the close of trading and dump them at the market's opening the next day.

"I don't know why planets orbit the sun," Simons told a colleague suggesting one needn't spend too much time figuring out why the market's patterns existed. "That doesn't mean I can't predict them."

Simons, too, became nervous when his fund went through rocky times. On the whole, though, Simons maintained faith in his trading models, recalling how difficult it had been for him to invest using his instincts. He made commitment to refrain from overriding the model, hoping to ensure that neither Medallion's returns, nor the emotions of his employees at Renaissance, influenced the fund's moves.

It continued to identify enough winning trades to make serious money, usually by wagering on reversions after stocks got out of whack. Over the years, Renaissance would add twists to this bedrock strategy, but, those would just be second order complements to the firm's core reversion to the mean predictive signals. 

Never place too much trust in trading models. Yes, the firm's system seemed to work, but all formulas are fallible. This conclusion reinforced the fund's approach to managing risk. If a strategy wasn't working, or when market volatility surged, Renaissance's system tended to automatically reduce positions and risk. 

Simons often emphasized the importance of not overriding their trading system. But, in market crisis, he tended to pull back on the reliance on certain signals, to the chagrin of researchers who didn't believe in ever adjusting their computer programs. 

Medallion made between 150,000 and 300,000 trades a day, but much of that activity entailed buying or selling in small chunks to avoid impacting the market prices, rather than profiting by stepping in front of other investors. What Simons and his team were doing wasn't quite investing, but they also weren't flash boys. 

Medallion still held thousands of lonf and short positions at any time, and its holding period ranged from one or two days to one or two weeks. The fund did even faster trades, described by some as high frequency, but many of those were for hedging purposes or to gradually build its positions. "I am not sure we're the best at all aspects of trading, but we're the best at estimating the cost of a trade, " Simons said. 

Medallion still did bond, commodity and currencies trades, and it made money from trending and reversion-predicting signals. The gain on each trade were never huge, and the fund only got it right a bit more than half the time, but that was more than enough. 

How the firm wagered was at least as important as what it wagered on. If they found a profitable signal, the wouldn't buy when the clock struck nine, potentially signalling to others that a move happened each day at that time. Instead, it spread its buying out throughout the hour in unpredictable ways, to preserve its trading signals. 

Instead of the hit-and-miss strategy of trying to find signals using creativity and thought, now you can just throw a class of formulas at machine learning engine and test our millions of different possibilities.

Phantom of the Pits

Finally.... I found the English version of this book. Three years ago, I read the Chinese version. I was so impressed with it. Yet, I found it hard to find the original version be it at Amazon, Kindle and anywhere. Finally, a friend of mine sends this ebook to me. Thank you so much, mate. You are the man always.

This time around, I found it better. First of all, it is due to the original language and no flaws on the translation. Those technical items are surely easier to understand compares to the Chinese version. Secondly, I felt it smooth while reading this version. Having said that, the Chinese version actually did remarkably well in terms of translation. However, readers will definitely prefer the original version. This is the power being a Malaysian since we are trilingual in nature.

As times goes by... trading world had changed dramatically thanks to the introduction of algorithm and robotic trading over the years. As such, certain point are not so relevant today. For example, we are no more in the situation where slippage easily occurred unless a trader is still a "manual" trader. Secondly, due to the fast moving speed in internet, market trending seems get crowded and as a result, we see shorter trend these days. Hence, what the author mentioned on the day trader's edge over the position traders may not be relevant giving current market situation. Come to think about that... it will be nice if "Phantom of the Pits" can come out with the revised version of this book. Well... provided the so called "Phantom of the Pits" really exist in the first place, LOL!

This time around, I spend quite a lot of time in digesting this book. First of all... since there is no revise version to counter current market's situation, I need to brainstorm the idea of this book in response to the current trend less market. As we all know, market trending is not as great as last time. David Herding mentioned umpteen times that the market is simply overcrowded with trend following method. Hence, this book actually provided some limelight and alternative to the old school trend following style. For a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 9. On the Chinese version, I rated it at 10/10. This time around, I reduced 1 point due to two reasons. Firstly, I found it quite annoying when the book ended with tons of articles by the author (not "Phantom of the Pits") which is not related to trading. Secondly, as I moved into old and bold trader (compares to 3 years ago), this book is not so inspiring. The quotes below tell the whole story. In the Chinese version, I managed to list out tons of quotes. This time around, the quotes selected not so much. Having said that, this book is still one of the best trading books I read. Thumbs up!!!

You must be larger when correct on a position than when your position is wrong. Each add onto the original position should be done in smaller and smaller steps. 

It all depends on your trading plan. One correct way for a day-trader is to see that the position is proven correct and then add at a proper retracement. This will not be the case for trend trader. Trend trader would most likely have at least one add at a breakout or breakaway gap. Your method of adding must be validated by your trade plan. 

Day traders will have problem with Rule 2 unless they position properly and understand that their adds must only be made correctly. Day traders are in for quick profit so it is hard to have a good add plan. Their best trader is to put all positions on at once and use Rule 1 to take them off unless or until proven correct. This is the proper probability in a loser's game like trading.

Trend traders will get larger when they are correct, but day traders will start larger and get smaller when they are wrong. Day traders can be large when they are wrong, but trend traders will never be large when they they are wrong. This is due to the nature of a loser's game for day traders. By reducing your positions when wrong, your exposure is not extreme for a day trader. 

Rule 2 must be used if you expect to make money in long run. Your validation of how you add is according to your trading plan. 

Day trading plan is certainly going to be geared for the quick profit, so why shouldn't you have your biggest position to work with from the start? Right or wrong, you are going to use Rule 1 to protect all cost. 

This is your enemy... to love to be right. You will become the best trader you can be by being wrong small, not right small. 

Most of your trades that don't confirm within a logical time frame are usually going to look bad sooner or later. Why not take the sooner? 

Most traders look to remove their positions just as soon as they prove them right. They forget what their true purpose in trading really is. It is not only to make as much money as possible, but to make it in the least amount of time. 

You could use day traders to your advantage in trading by knowing that they would have to get out by close. 

You expect to be wrong if you are thinking and trading correctly.

Our thinking must become adult in trading. As a child, we often don't need a reason but just the rule. As an adult, to be effective in trading, it is important to know why and not just the rule. 

The most critical time of a trade is immediately after you have just entered the position. This is the time you must be most sensitive to news and events. 

If you using point and figure charts, you can see the 45-degree line of support and resistance. 

Look for a system that back-tests data currently. What I mean by this is that it must be current in the last six month or so. What good is the system if it takes the last 50 years into consideration but not the current six months that reflects current market conditions best. 

Compare both the long term and six month sets of data. If they conflict, you must refine the system somewhat to a better signal generator. If your can't refine it better, then use both set of signals and throw them out when conflict. 

Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World

The man who fooled Wall Street, Hollywood? I would say he's the man who fooled the whole universe too, LOL.

This is a book that every Malaysian are so familiar with.... after all, we had been exposed to the details of 1MDB scandal since many years ago.  Being a Malaysian, I thought I know enough on the whole scandal. However, this book opened my eyes to more details that I wish to know. Credit must be given to the authors. You guys have put on hard work in collecting all the information. Well done!

I spend almost a month to finish this book. The story is so fascinating that I just cannot put it down. Perhaps this is due to the facts that the said scandal happened in Malaysia. If it happened elsewhere, I may not be so keen to explore further. The story begins in Penang and crosses the globe through Abu Dhabi, New York, Vegas towards Bangkok and China, where the mighty Low could be hiding right now. I am so amazed by the details analysis by WSJ reporters. Imagine, the brand of champagne was mentioned even though I do not give a damn on what they drank, haha! Further to this, tons of interview with dozens of peoples involved are presented in this book. So, it strengthen the facts that this scandal really happened such a way even though many will find it hard to believe. So, to sum it up, the authors did their part and it is a great effort in producing this book.

The flaw side... First of all, I thought many details on financial fraud were not explained. The whole "trick" was more like a story telling. Being in the finance industry myself, I found it hard to explain on the due diligence side. Well, some might argue that there are always some loopholes behind the rules and regulation. However, the facts that many mighty banks were involved and the said banks are all being "deceived" easily? Hard to believe... Secondly, this story is actually a super complex story to follow. We in Malaysia are exposed to the details almost daily. So, for us to understand the whole story is not difficult. However, a friend of mine in Australia found it messy. According to him, he lost interest after flipping for few chapters. So, the structure of this book may have some problems for those who are not familiar with the whole scandal.

For a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 8. Well, there are some unanswered doubts especially on the tricky banking side. However, I do get more details as what I wish for. There are rumors there is a movie coming up on this book. Wow... really looking forward to see the movie!

Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road and in the Markets

While arranging my old books, i found this book. Damn, I forgot that I bought this book and I never read it before, hahaha...

This book is interesting. First of all, Jim Rogers's books are always interesting due to his very indifferent life and exciting way of leading his life. Secondly, this book is interesting as the author pointed out a lot of future progress in the world. As I am reading it late (after few years, oh my god!), some predictions by Jim Rogers either becomes reality or becomes irrelevant at the moment. Thirdly, this book is interesting to me as the whole book is not bored at all. After all, every human beings dream to have life like Jim Rogers. Hence, since we cannot make it, why not envy him? Haha... Finally, we got a book that travels all around the world. There is a Chinese idiom that says: A book holds a house of gold (书中自有黄金屋). Well, this book certainly meets that.

I read every book by Jim Rogers. Surprisingly, this book rates as one of my favorites. Perhaps, I am in the age of getting old. As such, I am no more the guy who is searching high and low for investment holy grain. I appreciate more on Jim Rogers's life journey. From there, I found the wisdom I want and I hope it will help to shape my entire life.

The small flaw in this book perhaps lies with the facts that there are some repetitions from his past book. Hence, a new reader may find this book perfect. But, old timers who had follows Jim Rogers for the past few years might get bored with the repetitions.

This book offered a lot of wisdom and interesting insights. To me, this is a book of Jim Rogers's life journey. The title itself tells the whole story. It is not only about how to be street smarts in the market. It is also about how to be street smarts as human beings. I highly recommend this book despite the small flaw as mentioned above. For a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 8.

Last but not least... we just could not ignore the street smarts quotes from the book. Here we are:

Do not worry about failure. Do not worry about making mistakes in life. It is good to lose money, to go broke at least once, and preferably twice. But if you are going to do it, do it early in your career.

You can diversify, and you will be safe, but you are not going to be rich. Stay with what you know, do not jump around.

There are plenty of ways to make money on Wall Street, and just as in any endeavor, whether it is a music, art, or finance, you have to find your own way. 

The fact is that these politicians and bureaucrats, including the secretary of the Treasury, know little about currencies. They speak out of both sides of their mouths, often at the same time, and will say whatever is most politically expedient at the moment.

Plato, in The Republic, says that the way societies evolve is by going from dictatorship to oligarchy to democracy to chaos and back to dictatorship. The Asian way seems to suggest that Plato knew whereof he spoke.

The Chinese are among the best capitalists in the world. California is more communist than China. Massachusetts is more socialist than China. People would rather do business in China than just about anywhere else in the world, including South Korea, including Europe and certainly including United States.

All the growth rate figures are unreliable. It is stupefying to me that India could claim to have a clue what is going on even in India, much less in China or in the United States. America is always revising its numbers, and most of them are made up. I have learned over the years not to pay attention to them. They are mainly exercises in public relations.

Think and Grow Rich: The 21st-Century Edition: Revised and Updated

I am going to do a short (a very short one) review on this book. The main reason is: this book no more motivates me like those days, haha... In fact, 20 years ago, I love this book so much. However, I did not reread this book after the first read. After all, there is a long list of reread books pending my precious time, haha.

This is the revised and updated version. So, I thought might as well give it a try. At the end, the so called revised and updated parts offered nothing except trying to praise every single content in the book. Examples given in the book are so "lame". Imagine people like Steve Jobs being quoted in the context. Irrelevant, right? I thought the published trying their best to re-brand the whole book. However, the assumptions given just make the whole book worse.

Relatively, I still preferred the original version. At the same time, I decided not to reread this book again in the future. This book shaped my life twenty years ago. However... as the practices in this book become my habit, it totally lost its attractiveness. This book serves as a motivational stuff for youngsters and those who are new into the entrepreneurship. But, for oldies like me, I do not find it inspiring anymore. As such, for a full rating of 10, I am going to rate this book at 1.