Finishing up the latest text,
Corporate Finance by DeMarzo (2014), a lot's to be taken away. This is book 38/44. Familiar terms of present value, internal rate of return, real options, etc. were comforting in the context of corporate structure. More exciting were the interviews done with different employees of major companies and firms.
Directors of Finance, Chief Financial Officers, money managers, Professor of the International Financial System, Treasurers, VPs, Directors of Corporate Development and Strategic Planning, CEOs, and the host of institutions they represent fill the pages with insight into how financial discussions develop in those circles. I was surprised at the simplicity of the questions. "Describe how you manage Stanford's $16.5 billion endowment."
Now, the answers to these questions speak to the relevance of the topics discussed in the chapters. For me, the sea of terms and ideas exist as a detailed picture in my mind. The picture has life, vegetation, the sea aforementioned, the sun and sky are visible, and there I sit admiring it all. The realization, however, is that this picture is a virtual one, a human construction, indeed the antithesis of nature. The picture isn't refreshing. To take a deep breath, hear the birds around me, and take in the wonder of nature. That is the desire in my studies, to learn and appreciate more.
Corporate Finance allows me to see the importance of having partners with a routing in the international financial system. Similar to having watched many foreign language films, I can recognize the language now. It's a little easier to hear one who speaks the language of finance fluently. The question is who among them will be useful to me and ultimately the world in the future?
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I'll include another book I recently finished, Real Leadership by Dean Williams. So, that's 39/44. By the way, there are plenty of books I read concurrently that don't make the list (i.e. historical, motivational, scientific). This one, though, gave me a lot to move forward with. I was impressed with the language, the breath of research and anecdotes, and the general perspective of the author.
It relates to my pursuit as a trader as well as my goals going forward. Dean Williams traveled across the world, consulting different leaders who faced a broad range of problems. He analyzed their responses to situations, and compared them to leaders of the past. Most importantly, through all his research and development, his desire to assist humanity shined through every critique and analysis he offered. It is unbelievably inspiring to learn about social and political systems extensively, through the eyes of one who loves humanity. This precursor is often lost in the literature on trading or anything financial for that matter.
The passion for people to be happy and better their situation and their communities still lives in me. Hearing the desire in words on a page is like hearing my mom's voice in a crowd. The book was nourishment, feeding that passion, and provided a blueprint for creating the perspective, bending the narrative, and taking the reins of one's life. In all areas of study and development, that is the goal for the days ahead. He talked about 6 challenges leaders face. I memorized them as "McDonald's CAT" (MCDCAT):
- Maintenance
- Crisis
- Development
- Creative
- Activist
- Transition
He also spoke on "counterfeit" leadership, which I found to be very bold and even controversial to some. I completely subscribe to the ideas he offered, although I know some who wouldn't make that distinction because of the bureaucractic/political backlash they'd receive within their own organizations. Basically, there are plenty of leaders (and parents) that believe in their style of leadership.
I offered this analogy to my cousin. There are those who work off the model of "shepherd and sheep" and others subscribe to "partnerships". The difference being in the former, people see themselves as either the one leading or the one following. Likewise, they put others into the categories as well. If you see yourself as a sheep, you say, "Hey, you're suppose to be leading me! What's your problem? Tell me what to do! Clear a path for me to get this done! Help me out!" And if you see yourself as a shepherd, "Hey, get back! I'm the leader! Follow me! Shh!! Accept what I'm telling you! You must understand, I'm called for this. Stay in your place!"
For the partnership, regardless of your position, you say, "Hey, I have an idea. What do you think? Let's move forward this way. Let's stop here for a minute. I don't like that idea. What about this?"
This is a generalization by far, and often the perspectives overlap in many situations. The point is seeing leadership as a position with different responsibilities rather than something that gives you more power and control over people. Likewise, recognizing your power in ANY position you carry. The CAT, forklift, or crane operator has a skillset that can literally destroy buildings, but they are trained to use the power wisely. Likewise, traditional "leaders" must be trained in the same way. The responsibility to maintain the corporate culture should be stressed bottom to top and top to bottom.
D. W. gave me an appreciation for the human capacity to shape our corporations with the right mindset, and revived my belief that will indeed improve and continue reforming older, more outdated political and social systems.
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I'll save my goals for the next blog entry.