From Good to Great: Study Management
“Master two things: your time, and finding the right person for a job. Get those two things right and you are on your way.”
#88
Had a conversation with one of my very good friends this morning who’s taken up the mantle of managing one part of their family business. 27 year old man earning his stripes as one of the leaders in the manufacturing industry in Ghana. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your boys win and challenge you to be a better version of yourself. Our hour-long conversation today just brought me back to this extract from one of Strive’s notes about management because it’s everything this friend exemplifies and one thing he set as a goal to get better at in 2020. Find the extract below:
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Virtue 1. Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. It really does not matter what your vision in this life is; whether it is “for profit”, or for “great welfare of mankind”; you cannot accomplish it, if you are not organised. Make it your personal mantra, to always try to be organised and efficient. This is at the core of productivity. Even if you are a hard worker, you will get less from yourself, if you are not organised and efficient, in how you approach things. The difference between those people who are good entrepreneurs, and those who are great entrepreneurs, is the capacity to build and manage an organisation, that is effective, efficient, and innovative, even as it gets bigger and bigger, and bigger.
Get into management, and become skilled at it. Adopt best practice, benchmark yourself, with the best in the world.
No one is born a good manager. It is an expertise you learn both through experience and education. People management, financial management and marketing management are just three of the “core courses” that are essential to running a successful company.
“Master two things: your time, and finding the right person for a job. Get those two things right and you are on your way.”
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Article List— What I’m reading (10 articles a day x 7 days x 4 weeks x 12 months = 3360 articles a year).
Meet the Cybertruck, Tesla's Ford-Fighting Pickup: What in the HUMV truck is this? Sounds like a good deal based on tonnage it can pull and price when compared to the Ford F 150. Too bad the car is just ugly.
Here’s How Much Money You Need for Bankers to Think You’re Rich: “With $25 million, maybe, just maybe, you're starting to be rich.” So this means, that’s the new base we’re targeting? God help us. 😖
LifeBank to expand across Africa with Jack Ma Foundation Prize: Congratulations to this remarkable team on what they’ve achieved thus far, led by Temie Giwa-Tubosun👏🏾👏🏾
After $4B Honey Acquisition, A Dip Into PayPal’s Buying History: $4B is a huge windfall for Honey founders. Congrats to the team and another solid exit from Los Angeles! I’ve had Honey since it was in beta and honestly haven’t use it that much. But I see the value and how it helps certain people with their shopping needs.
Zimbabwe: the secrets behind Mugabe’s demise: This country’s story is just a movie in the making. Swear down.
The “French Colonial Tax”: A misleading heuristic for understanding Françafrique: Pretty accurate considering I’m pretty much an expert on this topic after spending a whole semester researching this recklessness of an arrangement.
Alibaba, Aramco share sale bonanza fails to produce fee windfall for banks: Welp. I told you MBS is controlling the show here. Whatever he says goes. “90M cumulative for all you banks and that’s all you’re going to get if we don’t hit our 2T mark.”😭
In smog-choked New Delhi, enterprising oxygen bar soothes residents’ lungs – for a price: This is so cringe. Can anyone spell capitalism? But hey, please make your money, just know you won’t catch me paying for oxygen? Damn. After thought: at some point years ago wasn’t water free? And wasn’t bottled water a new phenomenon? And now look at us (haha). So maybe, just maybe, bottled oxygen might be the new water. Let me know your thoughts.
What if Africa Were a Country?: What if we listened to Nkrumah about 60 years ago? Maybe we won’t be trying to figure this stuff out now. 🙄
Ghana Orders Three 787-9 Dreamliners from Boeing to Re-Launch National Carrier: Don’t get me started on the stories I heard about public officials abusing Ghana Airways when it was in operation. No support from me on this one.
Podcast— What I’m listening to (1 podcast episode a day= 365 podcast episodes a year) — Broadening my experiences through others’ stories.
The Journal: WSJ meets Gimlet Media. Millennial-focused daily podcast on everything happening in the world today.
Book— 1 Chapter a day x 7 days x 4 weeks x 12 months = 336 chapters. Most books have 10-12 chapters, so 1 year = 28 to 33 books. And my book list is nearing 1000 books. Send help 🌚
Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson. I’m actually learning so much from this book. Highly highly highly recommend to anyone looking to get into venture investing. Might take a while to grasp all the concepts. I’ll have to read it at least 3 times to fully get it.
📱📱Quote of day
“Don’t expect others to take you seriously when you are not prepared to take yourself seriously. When you walk through that door, I want you always to know that I’m a serious person.”
Remember: “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”