What we learned together this week

Key insights and reflections

We are summarizing the key insights of the week in few short sentences. Just remember the key constructs so that we can keep building on them.

  1. Seemingly good people can do horrible things. The mental model to keep in mind is cautious optimism. Trust, cooperate and take leaps of faith but be careful not to create heroes and villains overnight. Also, have strong opinions that are weakly held. 

  2. Build your adaptability quotient. Your future depends on it. Adaptability Quotient (AQ) isn’t fixed. There is a way to learn from the future as it emerges. We can strengthen our AQ by focusing on keeping an open mind, open heart and open will.

  3. The distinction between manipulation and persuasion is subtle. but it would be easy to distinguish between the two if you remember to ask yourself two basic questions: A) “Are my intentions good?” B) “Am I hindering this person’s ability to make the right decision in my attempt to convince them?”

  4. “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” Escalation of commitment explains that we tend to be consistent with our prior commitments even when they are against our own interests. There is no nobility in being loud and wrong. We should be guided by facts, shaped by our convictions but have the humility to revise our assumptions regularly else history is not likely to remember us kindly.

  5. “Nostalgia is a seductive liar.” We find comfort in the past. What we have today often seems inadequate.

  6. The Big Short 2.0. The Bill Ackman career compendium demonstrates that being a contrarian can pay off handsomely if one sticks to ones principles. It is not possible to be right all the time but over a long enough time scale, things work out.

Masterclasses on Network Capital TV

  1. Shaping a career in impact investing with INSEAD alumna Aparna Dua

  2. Building a meaningful career in education and design with Harvard Business School Alumna Viria

  3. Immigrating to Canada with NC Canada members

  4. Building AI for the next 6 Billion with Umakant Soni

  5. Effective writing techniques with author Sonya

Podcast Recommendation

Books Worth Reading

Quote of the Week

‘Investing is a business where you look silly for a very long time before you are proven right.’

Bill Ackman

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