MNTS #4
MNTS #4
Cowen, Ogilvy, Perell, Magicians, Filly, Focus [Week 23/ Year 2023]
Mainly, Notes To Self - my weekly attempt to compress everything noteworthy I read, watched, listened to, and discovered during the past week.
A light week for MNTS, our house hold went down with the stomach flu. I did spend time designing a theme for the site. I created some standard templates for thumbnails. You might recognize the MNTS thumb being a nod to the classic Field Notes memo pad. The updated book notes thumb images are a nod to the Dymo labelers of old. I have one sitting on my desk I use it often and I love it! The wabi-sabi aesthetic and tactile feel of each label bring me immense joy. I attempted to replicate the vibe digitally and it turned out better than I anticipated. Let me know if you like (or don’t like) the look and keep an eye out for other design updates as I iterate and add to the site.
Reading
Becoming a magician by Autotranslucence
Watch me shave 20% off this workout by Marcus Filly
Listening
Invest Like the Best #277 - Tyler Cowen & Daniel Gross Identifying Talent
I’m ramping up to hire a new analyst for my direct team, so I’ll be reviewing a bunch of resources I have on identifying talent in the next few weeks. To kick things off I re-listened to this podcast from last year that I had tagged as a resource for the next time I was hiring. I’m also going to read the book in the next couple of weeks and will publish further notes on the topic.
Three things I’m stealing:
Cowen and Gross say “Identifying underrated talent is one of the most potent ways to give yourself a personal or an organizational edge.” “Screening correctly for the overlooked late-career woman, the non-obvious misfit producer, or the hidden gem is your best bet at building a unique, motivated, and loyal team,”
The candidate’s past demonstrates a continuous lack of contentment, no plateaus
Energy, durability, and curiosity are important traits to consider
Founders Pod #306 - Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
I absolutely loved this episode. I had been aware of Ogilvy but hadn’t had a real reason to explore his work. I was so excited about the ideas discussed in the podcast I immediately purchased the physical and digital copies of both Ogilvy’s books. Can’t wait to dive deeper into both.
Three things I’m stealing:
Non-conformist dissenters and rebels are more likely to possess true talent
they are also much more challenging to work with and generally lack balanced lives
The importance of repetition, riding winners, and striving to be a formidable individual
In any aspect of life great ideals to strive for
You are not advertising to a standing army, you are advertising to a moving parade.
Meaning there is a time and a place for each person to be captivated by a message. Never assume that your intended recipients are willing and able to listen, apply, or act. Timing is paramount but perfect timing is nearly impossible. Therefore, one must be consistent in their messaging to ensure it saturates down into the subconscious to become the obvious choice when the time arises. This takes years, even decades of persistent consistency.
Secret Ops Podcast - The Dynamics of a Founder and COO with Chris Monk and David Perell
I’ve been following David Perell’s work for quite a while now and it’s been really fun to watch him grow his cohort-based writing course into a small empire. The episode is full of useful insights, but perhaps the most impactful part of the listen was finding a podcast dedicated to operations. As someone who deeply identifies as an operator it’s exciting to listen to fellow ops folks discuss their experiences. Others do exist!
Idea I liked from James Clear
"The myth is that there isn't enough time. There is plenty of time. There isn't enough focus with the time you have. You win by directing your attention toward better things."