MNTS #7

Godin, Ogilvy, The Bear, Ellison, BBQ, Jams [Week 26/ Year 2023]

Jul 03, 2023

Mainly, Notes To Self - my weekly attempt to compress everything noteworthy I read, watched, listened to, and discovered during the past week.

New Posts

Book Notes - This is Marketing by Seth Godin

I read this because Danny Meyer mentions it as a book he gifts to people frequently during his most recent interview with Tim Ferris. It was short, tactical, and a great reminder that everyone is a marketer. Whether they choose to acknowledge it is a different discussion. Still, there is certainly alpha to be had by following Seth’s advice.

Book Notes - Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy

I read this because David Senra recently did another episode on David Ogilvy, and I was so excited by what David shared that I immediately had to read the book. I don’t think I learned any particular world-bending insights, but it was a fun read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Watching

The Bear - Season 2: We just finished watching season two this week. I really loved season one and was excited about season two, but damn, season two really exceeded my expectations. The Bear is now up there as my favorite TV show of all time. Season one set the bar high for cast, character development, fashion, music, and food, but this season hit hard. I think at least one scene in each episode made my eyes well up with a tear. I’m legit sad that it’s over, I didn’t love the finale, but it ended in such a way that requires a season three, so at least we have something to look forward to.

Reading

Softwar by Matthew Symonds

I listened to all three of the Founders podcasts that Senra did on Larry Ellison, and this is the book that formed the basis for my favorite episode, so I had to read it. As an aside, I got to be on a live Zoom with Larry himself on Monday; he piped in from his private Hawaiian island to kick off the Oracle fiscal year. I continue to be impressed by him, he’s 78, and during the Zoom meeting, he touched on and spoke brilliantly on a variety of topics. Larry bounced between AI, LLMs, battery science, octagons/computer vision, robotic factories, Norway, Somalia, low code apps, consumer healthcare, applying tech to solve big problems, animal habitats, and water usage. Reading through this biography has given me such valuable insight into how Oracle and Ellison operate, and it’s fascinating to be working in close-ish proximity to a living tech founder legend.

The Worst Game Ever Made by Kris Abdelmessih