
Hosted by David Senra · EN

What I learned from reading the transcripts of Young Oprah on Her Life and Career and Oprah on Career, Life and Leadership. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----(1:00) Oprah fired her agent and replaced him with a Chicago lawyer named Jeffrey Jacobs. "I heard Jeff is a piranha. I like that. Piranha is good."(3:00) I will just create. And if it works, it works. And if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be.(4:30) Dr. Julie Gurner’s Ultra Successful newsletter Dr Julie Gurner's Website (7:00) Imitation precedes creation. — Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. (Founders #210)(9:00) On getting demoted from anchor to talk show host: I was embarrassed by the whole thing because I had never failed before. It was that “failure” that led to the talk show. (Opportunity is a strange beast. It frequently appears after a loss.)(9:00) The talk show immediately felt right to her: This is what I should have been doing because it was like breathing to me. It was like breathing. I knew it was the right thing to do.(10:00) Oprah has an intense, powerful belief in herself. And she has had that since she was 4.(11:00) I truly believe that thoughts are the greatest vehicle to change power and success in the world. Everything begins with thoughts.(12:00) If you actually have to choose between the most experienced person, or the most educated person, or the person who actually wants it the most, you always pick the person who wants it the most. — Josh Kushner on the Invest Like the Best podcast (14:00) Visualize.If in your mind's eye you see a successful venture, a deal made, a profit accomplished, it has a superb chance of actually happening. Projecting your mind into a successful situation is the most powerful means to achieve goals.If you spend time with pictures of failure in your mind, you will orchestrate failure.Countless times, before the event, I have pictured a heroic sale to a large department store every step of the way and the picture in my mind became a reality. I've visualized success, then created the reality from the image.Great athletes, business people, inventors, and achievers from all walks of life seem to know this secret.— Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)(17:00) I am going to have what I deserve.(19:00) I was watching my grandmother boiling clothes (they had no indoor plumbing) and I was four years old and I remember thinking: My life won’t be like this. My life won’t be like this. It will be better.(22:00) I thank whatever God there is for my unconquerable soul.(22:00) And whatever you do, if you do a lot of it, you get good at it. And that is how this broadcasting career started for me. I’ve been an orator for a long time. I’ve been an orator all of my life.(27:00) I feel that my show is a ministry.(27:00) I loved books so much as a child. They were my outlet to the world.(29:00) I had a very strict father. I remember my father saying you can not bring C’s in this house because you are not a C student. You’re an A student. It was just so matter of fact.(31:00) Paul Graham on how to make yourself a big target for luck:“When you read biographies of people who've done great work, it's remarkable how much luck is involved.They discover what to work on as a result of a chance meeting, or by reading a book they happen to pick up.So you need to make yourself a big target for luck, and the way to do that is to be curious.Try lots of things, meet lots of people, read lots of books, ask lots of questions.”— How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham. (Founders #314)(33:00) Her schedule in college was intense: I’d do all my classes from 8am to 1pm. Then I worked at the tv station from 2pm to 10pm. Then I’d study until 1am and then do the routine all over again the next day.(34:00) I demand only the best for myself.(35:00) Oprah on the parasocial relationship with her audience: It’s not like other celebrities. I see people react to other people and it’s not like it is to me.(37:00) Asking for help is a superpower no one uses.(39:00) The ability to read at an early age saved my life. I knew there was a better way. I knew there was a way out because I had read about it.(41:00) I sign every check. It is tedious. It gets to be a lot. I have piles of checks. The idea of having money and not being responsible and knowing how much money you have and keeping control of it is not something that I personally can accept. I watch it very carefully.(42:00) Henry Singleton pays all the bills and signs all the checks, calling it "a form of discipline. Through doing the signing it's amazing how much you learn about the business. There's a reminder of each event or action behind each check. — Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It by Dr. George Roberts. (Founders #110)(42:00) How do you learn to be a founder? You do it the same way you do anything else: 14, 15 hour days. I feel most comfortable working.(43:00) For me, work just meant discovery and fun. If I heard somebody complaining, “Oh, I work so hard, I put in ten- and twelve-hour days,” I would crucify him. “What the fuck are you talking about when the day is twenty-four hours? What else did you do?” —Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Founders #141)(43:00) It doesn’t feel like work.(46:00) Intuition is a very powerful thing. More powerful than intellect in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work. — Steve Jobs(48:00) I am only a little dress-maker, trying to make women young and pretty. These other designers that do the pretty little sketches, the boys, they don't understand women, they don't know how they live. Their idea is to make them weird, freaks. — Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie. (Founders #199)(51:00) I live from the inside out.(54:00) Acquired’s podcast episode on Oprah and Harpo (54:00)Self beliefOwnershipDo the same thing for 25 yearsStay within your circle of competence(55:00) Find what feeds your passion. Your real job is to find out why you are really here and then get about the business of doing that.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Red Bull Story by Wolfgang Fürweger and Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac by Duff McDonald. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----(1:30) "In literal financial terms, our sports teams are not yet profitable, but in value terms, they are," he says. "The total editorial media value plus the media assets created around the teams are superior to pure advertising expenditures."(2:30) "It is a must to believe in one's product. If this were just a marketing gimmick, it would never work."(5:00) He doesn't place a premium on collecting friends or socializing: "I don't believe in 50 friends. I believe in a smaller number. Nor do I care about society events. It's the most senseless use of time. When I do go out, from time to time, it's just to convince myself again that I'm not missing a lot."(7:30) The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest. (Edwin Land: The test of an invention is the power of an inventor to push it through in the face of the staunch-not opposition, but indifference-in society. (Indifference is your enemy)(9:00) Nike, Adidas and Vans episodes:Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. (Founders #186)Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and The Family Feud That Forever Changed The Business of Sports by Barbara Smit. (Founders #109)Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans by Paul Van Doren. (Founders #216)(11:00) The lines between Red Bull, Red Bull athletes, and Red Bull events are blurry on purpose. To Mateschitz, it's just one big image campaign with many manifestations.(12:00) He has no plans to sell or take Red Bull public. "It's not a question of money. It's a question of fun. Can you imagine me in a shareholders' meeting?”(13:00) Red Bull’s Billionaire Maniac https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-19/red-bulls-billionaire-maniac(16:00) He is universally described as a person with great charisma.(16:30) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. (Founders 292)(17:00) He has a fierce desire for privacy. He buys a society magazine to make sure he never appears in it.(22:00) There is no market for Red Bull. We will create one.(24:00) Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)(30:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)(31:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.” — Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior (Founders #331)(36:00) Control your costs and maintain financial discipline even when making record profits.(38:00) Cult brands have their own laws, otherwise they would not be cultish.(38:00) Red Bull is Dietrich Mateschitz and Dietrich Mateschitz is Red Bull.(38:00) Many companies outsource their marketing and advertising activity. Red Bull consistently took the opposite route: It outsourced production and distribution and takes care of sales and advertising itself.(40:00) Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best #355 Rolex: Timeless Excellence on Invest Like The Best (41:00) If you are making a physical product make it look different from its competitors from the start.(43:00) Everything is marketing.(45:00) Never do anything that compromises your survival.(46:00) He keeps his empire constantly in motion(46:00) All corporate projects like Formula 1, football, Air Race, and media serve the core business: the sale of the energy drink.(47:00) This is a battle for attention.(49:00) Red Bull owns their events. They never relinquish media rights to any event. They invest in making the content and then they give their content to other media distributors for free. A very clever way to multiply their advertising and marketing spend.(52:00) The Bugatti Story by L’Ebe Bugatti. (Founders #316)The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism by Brunello Cucinelli. (Founders #289)(54:00) Why he moved Red Bull’s headquarters to a little village on a lake: The aim was to create a more pleasant working atmosphere.(54:00) On why fitness is so important to him: “Everything that gives me pleasure in life is connected with a certain physical fitness and physical well-being. I like going to the mountain, I like skiing, I like sailing, I like riding a motorbike, I like fooling around - and everything is connected with a minimum of physical agility, motor skills, dexterity, strength, stamina. In order to enjoy it outdoors, I need the indoor program.”----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Come and build in-person relationships at the Founders Only conference----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Jesus: A Biography from a Believer by Paul Johnson. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----(3:00) Churchill by Paul Johnson. (Founders #225) Socrates: A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson. (Founders #252)Mozart: A Life by Paul Johnson. (Founders #240)Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle by Paul Johnson. (Founders #226) (10:00) Jesus was:-observant-detail oriented-maintained intense eye contact-confident-decisive-charismatic-gifted communicator(11:00) The most important step when starting anything new is recruiting the people who are going to help you on your mission.(12:00) No prophet is acceptable in his hometown.(16:00) Jesus emphasized the importance of humility, gentleness, non aggression. The importance of the pursuit of justice and righteousness. He encourages acts of compassion and forgiveness towards others. He focuses on inner purity, sincerity, and a genuine heart. He commends those who work towards reconciliation, harmony, and peace.(17:00) Some of Jesus’s maxims:Love your enemies.If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.Judge not and you will not be judged.Forgive and you will be forgiven.(18:00) A summary of Jesus’s teaching in two words: Be kind.(18:00) He turned compassion, which all of us feel from time to time for a particular person, into a huge overarching gospel of love. He taught the love of mankind as a whole.(26:00) Jesus taught to change and improve yourself. He led by example and encouraged imitation. Those that changed themselves, changed the world.(27:00) Jesus’s new 10 commandments:1. Each of us must develop a true personality. Each of us is unique. Develop your character.2. Abide by universality. See the human race as a whole.3. Give equal consideration to all.4. Use love in all your human relationships, at all times, and in every situation.5. Show mercy.6. Balance. Keep your head even when others are losing theirs.7. Cultivate an open mind.8. Pursue truth.9. Judiciously use your power.10. Show courage.(34:00) Join my personal email list to get updates about the new Founders conference----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior and Creators by Paul Johnson. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----(4:00) The Taste of Luxury: Bernard Arnault and the Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton Story by Nadege Forestier and Nazanine Ravai. (Founders #296)(5:00) Opportunity is a strange beast. It frequently appears after a loss.(6:00) Dior was a nobody in his forties, with nothing in his design career to suggest genius.(6:00) When you read biographies of people who've done great work, it's remarkable how much luck is involved. They discover what to work on as a result of a chance meeting, or by reading a book they happen to pick up. So you need to make yourself a big target for luck, and the way to do that is to be curious. Try lots of things, meet lots of people, read lots of books, ask lots of questions.— How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham. (Founders #314)(7:00) Dior told him: “I am not interested in managing a clothing factory. What you need, and I would like to run, is a craftsman’s workshop, in which we would recruit the very best people in the trade, to reestablish in Paris a salon for the greatest luxury and the highest standards of workmanship. It will cost a great deal of money and entail much risk.”(8:00) He spat in the face of postwar egalitarian democracy and said, in so many words, “I want to make the rich feel rich again.” His first collection turned out to be the most successful in fashion history.(18:00) I envisioned my fashion house as a craftsman’s workshop rather than a clothing factory.(19:00) A fortune teller tells Dior he must do found his fashion house in spite of his fears and doubts: She ordered me sternly to accept the Boussac offer at once. You must create the house of Christian Dior, whatever the conditions, she told me. Nothing anyone will offer you later will compare with the chance which is open to you now.(22:00) Dior said Balenciaga was "the master of us all" — Balenciaga (Founders #315)(26:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.(29:00) The most passionate adventures of my life have been with my clothes. I am obsessed with them.(30:00) When asked what was the best asset a man could have, Albert Lasker replied, ‘Humility in the presence of a good idea.’ It is horribly difficult to recognize a good idea. I shudder to think how many I have rejected. Research can’t help you much, because it cannot predict the cumulative value of an idea. — Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from rereading Les Schwab Pride In Performance: Keep It Going! by Les Schwab. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----(8:00) I didn't know how to ride a bike. We never had one. All the other young kids delivered newspapers on a bike. He's got no money. He doesn't have a bike. So he ran his routes for two months in order to get enough money to buy his first bike. He’d run nine or 10 miles a day. (8:00) I was too proud to complain.(10:00) For a poor boy, money was much more important than pride.(10:00) Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel by Sam Zell. (Founders #269)(13:00) I was young. I was cocky. But the same cockiness helped me a lot in going through life.(15:00) The very first sentence describing his very first day in business is mind blowing: I had never fixed a flat tire in my life.(15:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger (Founders #329)(29:00) Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man by Vance H. Trimble (Founders #150)(35:00) I always knew that if we fixed all the flat tires in town, we'd have all the tire business in town.(40:00) If we become complacent, then brother, it's all over with.(52:00) Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's by Ray Kroc (Founders #293)(56:00) If you’re not serving the customer, or supporting the folks who do, we don’t need you. —Sam Walton(1:00:00) The company paid low wages and had a lower overhead. The flaw was they didn’t get —with the low pay— near the quality of employees we had.(1:01:00) Life is hard for the man who thinks he can take a shortcut.(1:06:00) Decision making should always be made at the lowest possible level.(1:08:00) Whatever you do, you must do it with gusto, you must do it in volume. It is a case of repeat, repeat, repeat.(1:08:00) Charlie Munger analyzes why Les Schwab was successful.(1:11:00) Extreme success is likely to be caused by some combination of the following factors:1 Extreme maximization or minimization of one or two variables. Think Costco.2 Adding success factors so that a bigger combination drives success, often in nonlinear fashion, as one is reminded by the concept of breakpoint and the concept of critical mass in physics. Often, results are not linear. You get a little bit more mass and you get a lollapalooza result. And, of course, I've been searching for lollapalooza results all my life, so I'm very interested in models that explain their occurrence.3 An extreme of good performance over many factors. Example, Toyota or Les Schwab.4 Catching and riding some sort of big wave. Example, Oracle.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. ----Listen to this incredible conversation between Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----(2:00) The practical wisdom of Poor Charlie's Almanack, this ode to curiosity, generosity, and virtue will similarly compound at successive generations of entrepreneurial readers extend his lessons to their own circumstances.(12:00) Education is the process whereby the ability to lead a good life is acquired. — Socrates: A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson. (Founders #252)(22:00) Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth.(29:00) Charlie is content to trust his own judgment when it runs counter to the wisdom of the herd.(31:00) Animated: Charlie Munger: The Psychology of Human Misjudgement(31:30) Aim for durability. Durability has always been a first rate virtue in Charlie’s eyes.(32:00) Charlie only focuses on great businesses and great businesses have moats.(33:00) Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin. (Founders #183)(42:00) You can flourish in a niche: People who specialize in the business world —and get very good because they specialize— frequently find good economics that they wouldn't get any other way.(45:00) Being so well known has advantages of scale. This is what you might call an informational advantage. It increases social proof.(46:30) Business Breakdowns episode on Coca Cola (49:00) Occasionally scaling down and intensifying gives you a big advantage. (You can find great profit margins this way)(50:00) Sam Walton: Made In America by Sam Walton. (Founders #234)(51:00) Scale and fanaticism combined is very powerful. (Think Sam Walton)(57:00) I also believed then, as I do now after more than fifty years as a money manager, that the surest way to get rich is to play only those games or make those investments where I have an edge. — A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market by Ed Thorp. (Founders #222)(1:08:00) The best thing a human being can do is help another human being know more.(1:14:00) Optimism is a moral duty. — Edwin Land(1:17:00) You want to maximize the playing time of your top players.(1:17:00) The game of competitive life often requires maximizing the experience of the people who have the most aptitude and the most determination as learning machines.(1:22:00) The most important rule in management is get the incentives right.(1:25:00) Never, ever think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Reflections from my dinner with Charlie Munger.Order the new updated version of Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. MungerCharlie Munger episodes:#295 I had dinner with Charlie Munger#286 Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger All I Want To Know Is Where I'm Going To Die So I'll Never Go There: Buffett & Munger – A Study in Simplicity and Uncommon, Common Sense by Peter Bevelin. #221 Charlie Munger Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger by Janet Lowe.#90 Charlie Munger Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger#79 Charlie Munger Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin#78 Charlie Munger Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary by David Clark ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes---- ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William Thorndike. ----I use EightSleep to get the best sleep of my life. Find out why EightSleep is loved by founders everywhere and get $500 off at eightsleep.com/founders/----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----(5:00) Tom Murphy] gave me one of the best pieces of advice I've ever received. He said, 'Warren, you can always tell someone to go to hell tomorrow'...You haven't missed the opportunity. Just forget about if for a day. If you feel the same way tomorrow, tell them then-but don't spout off in a moment of anger." All I Want To Know Is Where I'm Going To Die So I'll Never Go There: Buffett & Munger – A Study in Simplicity and Uncommon, Common Sense by Peter Bevelin. (Founders #286)(5:15) Thirty years ago Tom Murphy, then CEO of Cap Cities, drove this point home to me with a hypothetical tale about an employee who asked his boss for permission to hire an assistant.The employee assumed that adding $20,000 to the annual payroll would be inconsequential.But his boss told him the proposal should be evaluated as a $3 million decision, given that an additional person would probably cost at least that amount over his lifetime, factoring in raises, benefits and other expenses (more people, more toilet paper).And unless the company fell on very hard times, the employee added would be unlikely to be dismissed, however marginal his contribution to the business.— A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Peter Bevelin. (Founders #202)(7:30) The autobiography of the founder of CBS: As It Happened A Memoir by Bill Paley (9:00) The goal is not to have the longest train, but to arrive at the station first, using the least fuel.(10:00) Tom Murphy’s simple formula:1. Focus on industries with attractive economic characteristics.2. Selectively use leverage to buy occasional large properties.3. Improve operations.4. Pay down debt.5. Repeat.(13:00) The business of business is a lot of little decisions every day, mixed up with a few big decisions.(16:00) He quickly indoctrinated Burke into the company's lean, decentralized operating philosophy.(17:00) I had an appetite for and a willingness to do things that Murphy was not interested in doing. Burke believed his job was to create the free cashflow and Murphy's job was to spend it.(19:30) Stay in the game long enough to get lucky. The most important thing that he does happens 30 years into his career.(21:30)Q: Is this a case of leading by example?Murphy: Is there any other way?(23:30) Decentralization is the cornerstone of our philosophy. Our goal is to hire the best people we can and give them the responsibility and authority. They need to perform their jobs. We expect our managers to be forever cost conscious.(24:00) Repeated by Murphy: Hire the best people and leave them alone.(24:00) An extreme decentralized approach keeps both costs and rancor down.(25:00) Murphy delegates to the point of anarchy.(26:00) The best defense against the revenue lumpiness inherent in advertising supported businesses was a constant vigilance on costs.(30:00) Why Capital Cities had low turnover: The system in place corrupts you with so much autonomy and authority that you can't imagine leaving.(35:00) To learn more about a Capital Cities like company listen to The 50X Podcast.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Ted Turner's Autobiography.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----Listen to Art of Investing #4 David Senra Lessons from the Founder Historian. ----(9:00) My net worth dropped by about 67 million per week, or nearly 10 million per day, every day for two and a half years.(10:00) Once to drive home a point about the difficulties of attracting good loyal employees he told me: Jesus only had to pick 12 disciples and even one of those didn't turn out well.(10:00) Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise .(11:00) Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Founders #141)(13:30) The problem isn't getting rich, it's staying sane. — Charlie Munger(17:00) I learned a lesson that would stick with me throughout my career. When the chips are down in the pressure's on it's amazing to how creative people can be.(20:00) My father always maintained many of the different billboard businesses as separate legal entities. (He didn’t want to dilute ownership of his main company and separate entities allowed for periodic reorganization to offset capital gains liabilities.(20:30) When you own an asset your job is to maximize its value.(23:00) He combines the assets he has in a way his competitors can not.(24:00) The more I learned about TV stations the more I realized that ours was a disaster. Of the 35 people who were on the payroll when we took over only two were still there a year later —the custodian and the receptionist.(25:00) Ted Turner believed in the power of television more than almost anybody else.(30:30) My dad taught me early on that longterm relationships with your customers and partners are very important. You never know how the guy who you're friendly with today might be able to help you tomorrow.(31:00) Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business by Mark Robichaux. (Founders #268)(32:00) What other people in his industry sees as a threat, Ted sees as an opportunity.(37:00) These issues were all unchartered territory. All of us, the regulators, the broadcasters, the program suppliers and the leagues were sorting things out on the fly. I was working as hard as I could. I'd go all out during the day, working on sales, distribution, regulatory issues, whatever the battle happened to be, and I'd worked right up until it was time to fall asleep. I had a pull down Murphy bed in my office and I would literally work until the point of total exhaustion. Then I'd put my head on the pillow at night worried about problems. Then I'd wake up and spend the entire next day trying to solve them.(44:00) One of the most important ideas in the book is the power of Belief: Clearly the company for whom the economics of 24 hour news would have made the most sense with a big three broadcasters. They already had most of what was needed: studios, bureaus, reporters, anchors. They had everything but a belief in cable.(45:00) I'm going to be a billionaire. And here's why. I'm going to put this station up on a satellite and I'm going to get a news thing going. Sports, movies and news, 24 hours a day, all over the world. He said this in 1976.(46:00) Henry Ford didn't need focus groups to tell him that people would prefer inexpensive, dependable automobiles over horses. Alexander Graham Bell never stopped to worry about whether people would prefer speaking to each other on a phone.(49:00) I'm always convinced that one of the reasons that I've been successful is that I've almost always competed against people who were bigger and stronger, but who had less commitment and desire than I did. For Turner Broadcasting this dispute meant everything. We had to win.(52:00) Ted’s Superstation idea is printing money: $177 million in revenue and $66 million in profit. This is in the 1980s!(53:00) It would be 13 years before we faced another 24 hour news channel.(57:00) He has a keen understanding of how to combine assets to create an advantage that no one else has.(58:00) The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History by William C. Rempel. (Founders #65)(58:00) Genius has the fewest moving parts. Never get into deals that are too complicated.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Anna: The Biography by Amy Odell. ----1. If you need tax prep and bookkeeping check out betterbookkeeping.com/founders. It's like having a full time CFO and super cheap grandpa sitting on your shoulder. 2. Vesto makes it easy for you to invest your businesses idle cash. Schedule a demo with Vesto's founder Ben and tell him David from Founders sent you. Here's the legal disclosures to make the lawyers happy:Vesto Advisors, LLC (“Vesto”) is an SEC registered investment adviser. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about Vesto and our partnership can be found hereWe are entitled to compensation for promoting Vesto Advisors, LLC. Accordingly, we have an incentive to endorse Vesto and its team and services. We are not current advisory clients of the Vesto.3. I went to Notre Dame and spoke to the Art of Investing class. You can listen to the full conversation here. ----(8:00) She knows the ecosystem in which she operates better than anyone.(8:30) If Anna had a personal tag line it would be: I just have to make sure things are done right.(16:00) He had a desk with nothing on it except a buzzer underneath, so that when he was done with you, which was in about five minutes, his assistant could come in and whisk you away.(17:00) What is the number one thing you hope people learn from you? To be decisive and clear.(19:00) The Vogue 100 is a private club whose members pay $100,000 a year just for access to Anna.(29:00) She did not second guess herself.(30:00) She was meticulous about everything.(32:00) Her focus was singular. She was very clear minded about wanting to do work that she thought was the best.(38:00) She knew that killing stories was necessary to let people know that you had standards.(41:00) Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda. (Founders #281)(44:00) Anna ran the magazine with iron fisted discipline.(48:00) With Anna you get two minutes. The second minute is a courtesy.(49:00) It is slothful not to compress your thoughts. — Winston Churchill(52:00) Anna intentionally builds relationships with the most powerful people in her industry.(52:00) Anna saw the potential for the industry and how she can expand the power and the influence that her individually, and Vogue as a brand, by just combining all these people that are already in the ecosystem and then intentionally putting them together. When they work together it becomes stronger. And as a result of what she created, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.(53:30) The power she has cannot be understated. The way in which she accumulated the power was fascinating. She aligned everybody's interest, with her at the center.(1:05:00) She's not just building up a personal brand. She's not just building up Vogue. She's building up the entire industry.(1:06:00) Relationships last longer than money.(1:06:00) Resist any cheapening of the brand, however popular and lucrative it might be in the short term.(1:08:00) Anna told him don't spend any time and money building out the perfect store in New York. Just roll racks into the unfinished space and start selling clothes. (He ignored this advice and went out of business)(1:11:00) More resources:Front Row: Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief by Jerry Oppenheimer The September Issue (Documentary)The Devil Wears Prada (Movie)73 Questions with Anna Wintour73 More Questions with Anna Wintour ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast