Episode · Invest Like the Best · 2019-08-13
Patrick O'Shaughnessy & Zack Kanter: books mentioned on Invest Like the Best #142
Zack Kanter – All Things Business - [Invest Like the Best, EP.142]
This week’s guest is, Zack Kanter, the founder and CEO of the Stedi. Zack and I decided not to talk much about his business on this podcast and opted instead to explore more generally, so a bit of an introduction to what they do may be helpful here for some extra context.
Zack Kanter recommended Sam Walton, Made in America by Sam Walton and others and Certain to Win by Chet Richards, and discussed Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and A Man for All Markets by Edward O. Thorp. Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended Boyd by Robert Coram, and discussed Obvious Adams by Robert R. Updegraff and The Systems Bible by John Gall.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Sam Walton, Made in America
Sam Walton, Made in America by Sam Walton and John Huey is the autobiography of the legendary entrepreneur who founded Walmart.
Recommended“Sam Walton's book, Made in America, it's fantastic. Hidden beneath this veneer of folksiness is this unbelievable story where he just sort of makes it seem like, hey, I woke up out of bed for 40 years, and accidentally Walmart is the biggest company on earth.”
Where to get it
-
Boyd
Boyd by Robert Coram is a biography of Air Force Colonel John Boyd, a prominent military strategist whose ideas profoundly influenced fighter design, maneuver warfare, and organizational reform.
Recommended“So this is a, in certain circles, an incredibly popular phrase and idea from a guy named John Boyd, who if people have not read a book called Boyd about his life and kind of three-part career, I highly recommend it. It's an amazing book, but at the core of the book is this philosophy, this OODA philosophy.”
Where to get it
-
Ender's Game
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is a classic science fiction novel about a gifted child recruited into a rigorous military training academy to prepare for an impending alien invasion.
Discussed“And so, I don't know, I think you've read Ender's Game. So Ender's Game, sci-fi book where all the battles take place in space where there's no up and down. And there's famous quotes, sci-fi quotes from his book about picking the correct orientation.”
Where to get it
-
Certain to Win
Recommended“I think it's in Chet Richards' book, which is called Certain to Win, a fantastic book. And as it turns out, deciding and acting is implicit. So he says the observation and orientation is explicit, but then once that happens, you decide and act.”
Where to get it
-
Obvious Adams
Obvious Adams by Robert R.
Discussed“And I always think about this little business parable called Obvious Adams. It kind of paints this guy that's Obvious Adams as almost like a schmuck that is not especially smart, but he's just good at observing. He just happens to notice things.”
Where to get it
-
The Systems Bible
The Systems Bible by John Gall is a satirical yet insightful examination of how systems operate, fail, and evolve in daily organizational life.
Discussed“And thinking about the systems Bible again, one of my favorite lines in there is people in the system slowly get sucked into that system so they can't see anything outside of it. It becomes their world.”
Where to get it
-
The Art of War
The Art of War by Sun Tzu is an ancient military treatise offering timeless strategic principles on leadership, outmaneuvering adversaries, and conflict resolution.
Discussed“And you hear people talk about Boyd and you're like, God, why are people talking about this? But it's sort of recognized, at least in some circles, is the most substantial contribution to military strategy since the art of war by Sun Tzu 2,500 years ago.”
Where to get it
-
A Man for All Markets
A Man for All Markets by Edward O.
Discussed“I remember the Ed Thorpe book. My big takeaway from that book, probably something you knew already. But for me, it was the one thing of that book is never invest in anything in which you don't have an edge. So if you don't have an edge in it, don't invest in it.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“You have to have the taste to look at a whole menu of strategies and say, this one is right. And this one doesn't work for me. You can't just go out and read seven powers and say, I'm going to do this one. And this is going to be in my business.”