1. The Buffett Formula - Love the phrase "continuous learning." Tons of gems in here.
2. How to Attend a Funeral - Great writing. Reminder of what's important in life.
3. 5 Steps to Choose Your Customer Acquisition Channel - Meaty post by my friend Brian Balfour on the most important question an entrepreneur must answer - How do you "go to market?"
4. The New Science of Giving - Philanthropy is changing and it's for the better. Donors are beginning to ask Non Profits for quantitative proof that the they are making an impact. Demonstrable results are most important, followed by the ability to do it cheaply. It's an exciting time for someone like me who runs a (soon to be) non profit based on analytics and capital efficiency.
5. Writing as a Competitive Advantage - I agree with Bryce, I find a lot of my negotiating happens behind a keyboard. I actually prefer to negotiate in person or over the phone because it's much faster and you can express nuance better. But that isn't always possible so I had to develop keyboard negotiating skills. One tip is to start writing like a teenager in work emails. Lot's of smiley faces, explanation points, italics and lists. Try it out. It works.
6. Why Investors Can't Imagine a Bond Market Crash - Low probability events like a bond market crash are so tough to predict. But you have to keep an eye out for the signals, like the fact that Hedge Fund leverage is approaching an all time high or that Japan had a small crash this week, courtesy of their bond market. Keep an eye on this stuff.
7. I'll leave you with a video. And it's possibly the best video of all-time. Will Smith doing the Fresh Prince Rap and Carlton joining him to do the Carlton dance. Shout out to Matt Ziser for finding it.
