Library
140 books and one documentary, organised by the principle each one sits under. Eleven carry a full verdict. The rest are catalogue entries for now.
Browse by principle
Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
Thiel argues for creating new categories (zero to one) instead of competing, building monopoly‑like advantages through secrets, focus, and definite optimism guided by a clear plan.
Single-Point Focus / Long-term Compound Thinking / Inversion Thinking
Business / Single-Point Focus / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Sam Carpenter
Carpenter's account of stepping outside a business that was destroying him and seeing it as separate machines rather than one continuous emergency. The contribution is the sequence: strategic objec...
Systematic Operations / Process Documentation / External Systems Over Memory / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Process Documentation
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Ron Chernow
Chernow's argument that Washington's authority came from deliberate self-construction rather than natural gift: a reserved manner maintained on purpose, and the repeated decision to hand power back...
Right People First / Internal Scorecard / System-Independent Performance
Biography / Right People First / Internal Scorecard
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Hermione Lee
A comprehensive biography of Virginia Woolf that explores her literary genius, mental health struggles, and her central role in the Bloomsbury Group.
Network Effects / Right People First
Biography / Network Effects / Right People First
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John Stuart Mill
Mill's influential work on moral philosophy that argues for the greatest happiness principle as the foundation of morality.
Right People First / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Philosophy / Right People First / Multidisciplinary Thinking
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Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle
Lessons from legendary coach Bill Campbell on building high‑trust teams, giving candid feedback with care, and creating environments where people and performance thrive together.
Right People First / Feedback Loops / Regular Review Rhythms / +1
Business / Right People First / Feedback Loops
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Gino Wickman
Gino Wickman's guide to installing a simple operating system, aligning vision, creating accountability, and running the right rhythms. Introduces the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) with pra...
Systematic Operations / Regular Review Rhythms / Right People First
Business / Systematic Operations / Regular Review Rhythms
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Ron Chernow
A masterful biography of John D. Rockefeller Sr., examining how he built Standard Oil and became America's first billionaire while reshaping the oil industry.
Systematic Operations / Long-term Compound Thinking / Single-Point Focus / +1
Biography / Systematic Operations / Long-term Compound Thinking
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BJ Fogg
BJ Fogg’s behavior design method shows how to create lasting change with tiny, easy actions tied to reliable prompts and reinforced by immediate celebration, prioritizing ability and environment ov...
Identity-Based Change / Environmental Design / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / +1
Self-Help / Identity-Based Change / Environmental Design
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Daniel Kahneman
Kahneman's account of two systems of thought: one fast, automatic and confident, one slow, effortful and lazy. The contribution is not the list of biases but the demonstration that the fast system ...
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking / +1
Philosophy / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Multidisciplinary Thinking
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Napoleon Hill
Foundation for mindset, desire, belief, and autosuggestion. Great for teens and anyone starting out.
Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change / Single-Point Focus
Business / Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change
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Robert Caro
Caro's multi-volume life of Johnson, and the most thorough account anywhere of how one person acquires and uses institutional power. The Senate volume in particular shows a legislative body being m...
Right People First / Single-Point Focus / Systematic Operations
Biography / Right People First / Single-Point Focus
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Adam Smith
Smith's foundational work on political economy that introduced the concept of the invisible hand and laid the groundwork for modern economic theory.
Long-term Compound Thinking / Network Effects / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Business / Long-term Compound Thinking / Network Effects
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Gene Kim
A novel of modern software work introducing the Five Ideals-locality and simplicity, focus/flow/joy, improvement of daily work, psychological safety, and customer focus-to achieve fast, safe, value...
Systematic Operations / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Right People First / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Jeffrey K. Liker
Liker's account of the Toyota Production System, organised as fourteen management principles across philosophy, process, people and problem solving. The argument is that the visible tools, kanban, ...
Continuous Improvement Cycles / Systematic Operations / Right People First / +1
Business / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Systematic Operations
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David Brooks
Brooks on the difference between the first mountain of career and reputation and the second of commitment to something outside yourself. The contribution is the diagnosis that the second is usually...
Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change / Right People First / +1
Self-Help / Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change
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Dan Sullivan, Benjamin Hardy
Sullivan and Hardy argue that a 10x target is easier to hit than a 2x one, because 2x can be reached by working harder at what you already do, while 10x is arithmetically impossible without discard...
Systematic Operations / Measurement Systems / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Business / Systematic Operations / Measurement Systems
Read Playbook
Plato
Plato's argument that justice in a city and justice in a person have the same structure, built through a conversation that keeps undermining its own conclusions. For this library it is the origin o...
Internal Scorecard / Right People First / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Philosophy / Internal Scorecard / Right People First
Read Playbook
Morgan Housel
Fix broken money scripts, build self awareness, choose steady compounding over flashy risk. Best read in early twenties.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins
Business / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Jeff Booth
Jeff Booth argues that technology's deflationary pressure conflicts with our inflationary economic system, creating unsustainable debt and inequality. Explores how exponential technological advance...
Long-term Compound Thinking / Inversion Thinking / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Business / Long-term Compound Thinking / Inversion Thinking
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Peter Drucker
Drucker's foundational work on management theory that introduced key concepts like management by objectives and the role of the modern manager.
Systematic Operations / Right People First / Measurement Systems
Business / Systematic Operations / Right People First
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Eckhart Tolle
A spiritual guide to living in the present moment, exploring how to transcend ego-based thinking and find peace through present-moment awareness.
Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard / Recovery Protocols
Self-Help / Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard
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Robert Caro
Caro's study of how Robert Moses accumulated power without ever being elected, by taking the jobs nobody wanted and writing the legislation himself. It is the best available account of how authorit...
Systematic Operations / Right People First / Long-term Compound Thinking / +1
Biography / Systematic Operations / Right People First
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Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford's novel about IT and business transformation. Follows an IT manager tasked with saving a critical project and demonstrates how to apply manufacturing princ...
Systematic Operations / Measurement Systems / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Business / Systematic Operations / Measurement Systems
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Josh Kaufman
Josh Kaufman's comprehensive guide to business fundamentals without the MBA price tag. Covers essential business concepts including value creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, finance, and th...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations / Long-term Compound Thinking
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations
Read Playbook
Gary Keller, Jay Papasan
Practice ruthless prioritization, use the focusing question, keep it simple. Best read in twenties to thirties, especially when opportunities multiply.
Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / Elimination Over Addition
Business / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy
Read Playbook
Albert Camus
Camus explores the concept of the absurd and argues that life is worth living even without ultimate meaning or purpose.
Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation
Philosophy / Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation
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Thomas J. Stanley
Research-based insights into the habits and characteristics of America's wealthy, revealing surprising truths about how millionaires think and behave.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Long-term Compound Thinking / Internal Scorecard
Business / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Julie Zhuo
Zhuo's account of becoming a manager without warning, written while still visibly working it out. The contribution is the honesty about the first year: the awkward one-to-ones, the first time firin...
Right People First / Feedback Loops / Regular Review Rhythms / +1
Business / Right People First / Feedback Loops
Read Playbook
James Boswell
Boswell invented modern biography by following Johnson around and writing down what he actually said. For this library it is a study in how a reputation is constructed by a chronicler, and in conve...
Right People First / Network Effects
Biography / Right People First / Network Effects
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Eric Ries
Eric Ries's methodology for developing businesses and products through Build-Measure-Learn feedback loops. Emphasizes rapid experimentation, validated learning, and iterative product releases to re...
Feedback Loops / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
Business / Feedback Loops / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Clayton Christensen
Christensen explains how established companies can fail by doing everything right, and introduces the theory of disruptive innovation.
Inversion Thinking / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Long-term Compound Thinking
Business / Inversion Thinking / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Rebecca Skloot
The story of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were taken without her knowledge and became one of the most important tools in medicine.
Long-term Compound Thinking / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Biography / Long-term Compound Thinking / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Ben Horowitz
Horowitz offers essential advice on building and running a startup, drawing from his experience as both a founder and venture capitalist.
Single-Point Focus / Right People First / Recovery Protocols
Business / Single-Point Focus / Right People First
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Shane Parrish
The first volume in Shane Parrish's series on mental models, covering nine fundamental thinking concepts including first principles thinking, probabilistic thinking, inversion, and Occam's razor. T...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking
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Shane Parrish
The final volume in the series combines economic principles (opportunity cost, incentives, supply and demand) with artistic and creative thinking models. Explores how economic thinking and creative...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking / Network Effects
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Shane Parrish
The third volume focuses on systems thinking and mathematical concepts, covering feedback loops, equilibrium, bottlenecks, scale, and mathematical models like distributions and regression. Teaches ...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations / Feedback Loops
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations
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Shane Parrish
The second volume explores mental models from the hard sciences, including concepts from physics (like thermodynamics and relativity), chemistry (activation energy, catalysts), and biology (evoluti...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Eliyahu Goldratt
Eliyahu Goldratt's business novel that introduces the Theory of Constraints through the story of Alex Rogo, a plant manager racing to save his failing manufacturing facility. Teaches how to identif...
Systematic Operations / Single-Point Focus / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
Business / Systematic Operations / Single-Point Focus
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Don Miguel Ruiz
Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, this book reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering through four simple agreements.
Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change
Self-Help / Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change
Read Playbook
T.J. Stiles
Stiles on Vanderbilt, who moved from operating ferries to inventing the modern corporation and was mostly hated for it. For this library the interest is competitive aggression as a deliberate postu...
Systematic Operations / Long-term Compound Thinking / Single-Point Focus
Biography / Systematic Operations / Long-term Compound Thinking
Read Playbook
Michael Gerber
Gerber’s classic shows founders how to build businesses that run on systems, not heroics-document processes, design a franchise prototype, and work on the business rather than in it.
Systematic Operations / Process Documentation / System-Independent Performance
Business / Systematic Operations / Process Documentation
Read Playbook
James Watson
Watson's personal account of the discovery of DNA's structure, providing an insider's view of one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century.
Long-term Compound Thinking / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Biography / Long-term Compound Thinking / Multidisciplinary Thinking
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Don Norman
Norman's case that when people fail to use something, the fault is the design rather than the user. Affordances, signifiers, mapping and feedback give you a vocabulary for why a door, a stove or an...
Environmental Design / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Environmental Design / Behavioral Psychology Awareness
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Richard Rumelt
Rumelt's follow-up narrows to the single move that matters: finding the crux, the one obstacle that is both important and addressable. The contribution is the argument that most strategy work fails...
Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy
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Andrew Chen
Chen's account of why network effects are almost impossible to start and hard to keep: the cold start problem, the tipping point, and the eventual ceiling. The contribution is treating the network ...
Network Effects / Systematic Operations / Right People First / +1
Business / Network Effects / Systematic Operations
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Zhuangzi
A foundational text of Taoist philosophy by the ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu). Known for its playful parables, paradoxes, and stories that illustrate the relativity of human kno...
Control vs. Influence Separation / Internal Scorecard
Philosophy / Control vs. Influence Separation / Internal Scorecard
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Bessel van der Kolk
A pioneering researcher's exploration of how trauma affects the body and brain, and innovative treatments for recovery including yoga, EMDR, and neurofeedback.
Recovery Protocols / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Internal Scorecard
Self-Help / Recovery Protocols / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Tom Reiss
The extraordinary true story of General Alex Dumas, the father of Alexandre Dumas and the highest-ranking black officer in the Western world until the 20th century.
Right People First / Recovery Protocols
Biography / Right People First / Recovery Protocols
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Saifedean Ammous
Saifedean Ammous examines Bitcoin's historical context as a decentralized digital currency and its potential as a new monetary standard. Explores economic principles of sound money, traces monetary...
Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Business / Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins
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Sun Tzu
An ancient Chinese military treatise on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that has influenced military thinking and business strategy for over 2,000 years.
Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / Inversion Thinking
Philosophy / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy
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Stephen Bungay
Perhaps the best business book I've ever read: analyzes leadership into its components and failures to adapt -- and how to avoid them. von Clausewitz's On War reformulated in practical terms for bu...
Systematic Operations / Single-Point Focus / Right People First / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Single-Point Focus
Read Playbook
Eric Jorgenson
Eric Jorgenson's compilation of Naval Ravikant's wisdom on wealth creation and happiness. Practical insights on entrepreneurship, specific knowledge, leverage, decision-making, and finding fulfillm...
Multiple Income Streams / Network Effects / Automation & Leverage / +1
Business / Multiple Income Streams / Network Effects
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Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, Kaley Klemp
A transformative guide that presents 15 commitments for leaders who want to move from reactive, fear-based leadership to conscious, creative leadership. Focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelli...
Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change / Right People First
Self-Help / Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change
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Brian Moran, Michael Lennington
Brian Moran and Michael Lennington's system for achieving more in 12 weeks than most people do in 12 months. Introduces a structured approach to goal setting, planning, and execution that creates u...
Time Blocking Protection / Single-Point Focus / Regular Review Rhythms
Business / Time Blocking Protection / Single-Point Focus
Read Playbook
Stephen Covey
A holistic approach to personal and interpersonal effectiveness, presenting seven principles for developing character and achieving success through principle-centered living.
Priority Hierarchy / Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change / +1
Self-Help / Priority Hierarchy / Internal Scorecard
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Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling
A practical framework for executing strategy through four disciplines: focus on wildly important goals, act on lead measures, keep a compelling scoreboard, and create a weekly cadence of accountabi...
Single-Point Focus / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / Regular Review Rhythms / +1
Business / Single-Point Focus / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
Read Playbook
Lao Tzu
The fundamental text of Taoism, attributed to the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tzu. This influential work explores the concept of the Tao (the Way) and offers wisdom on living in harmony with the natur...
Control vs. Influence Separation / Single-Point Focus / Recovery Protocols
Philosophy / Control vs. Influence Separation / Single-Point Focus
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Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner
Tetlock's tournament findings on who forecasts well and why. The contribution is that accuracy is trainable: granular probabilities, frequent small updates, breaking questions into parts, and keepi...
Measurement Systems / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / Multidisciplinary Thinking / +1
Business / Measurement Systems / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
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Walter Isaacson
Isaacson's authorized biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, based on extensive interviews with Jobs and those who knew him.
Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard / Right People First
Biography / Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard
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Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The phrase "skin in the game" is one we have often heard but have rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it's also an astonishingly complex worldview that, as N...
Internal Scorecard / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Recovery Protocols / +1
Philosophy / Internal Scorecard / Behavioral Psychology Awareness
Read Playbook
Phil Knight
Nike co-founder Phil Knight's memoir about building one of the world's most recognizable brands from a startup in his parents' basement.
Long-term Compound Thinking / Recovery Protocols / Internal Scorecard
Biography / Long-term Compound Thinking / Recovery Protocols
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Verne Harnish
Verne Harnish's practical guide to growing a business from startup to scale-up. Based on the Rockefeller Habits, it provides tools and techniques for mastering the four major decision areas every c...
Regular Review Rhythms / Right People First / Measurement Systems / +1
Business / Regular Review Rhythms / Right People First
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Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki's foundational guide to financial literacy and wealth building. Contrasts the money philosophies of his 'rich dad' and 'poor dad' to teach the difference between assets and liabilit...
Assets vs. Liabilities Classification / Multiple Income Streams / Long-term Compound Thinking / +1
Business / Assets vs. Liabilities Classification / Multiple Income Streams
Read Playbook
David Epstein
What's the most effective path to success in any domain? It's not what you think.
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / +1
Philosophy / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
Read Playbook
Charlie Munger
A collection of speeches and wisdom from Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's longtime business partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Covers mental models, decision-making, investing princip...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking / +1
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking
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A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin
Lafley and Martin reduce strategy to five linked choices: winning aspiration, where to play, how to win, capabilities, management systems. The contribution is insisting the answers must be specific...
Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy
Read Playbook
Andrew Grove
Under Andy Grove's leadership, Intel has become the world's largest chipmaker, the fifth-most-admired company in America, and the seventh-most-profitable company among the Fortune 500. You don't ac...
Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / Inversion Thinking / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / Inversion Thinking
Read Playbook
John Stuart Mill
Mill's classic work on political and social freedom that argues for the harm principle as the limit of legitimate government power over individuals.
Control vs. Influence Separation / Internal Scorecard
Philosophy / Control vs. Influence Separation / Internal Scorecard
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Marshall Rosenberg
A method for creating life-serving communication that connects us with ourselves and others in a way that allows our natural compassion to flourish.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First / Internal Scorecard
Self-Help / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
Read Playbook
Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer
Hastings and Meyer describe Netflix's attempt to run on talent density and candour instead of process: no vacation policy, no expense approvals, and the keeper test applied continuously. Meyer's pr...
Right People First / Feedback Loops / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Right People First / Feedback Loops
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Aristotle
Aristotle's foundational work on moral philosophy and character development. Explores the nature of virtue, the pursuit of eudaimonia (flourishing), and practical wisdom for living well. Essential ...
Identity-Based Change / Internal Scorecard / Long-term Compound Thinking
Philosophy / Identity-Based Change / Internal Scorecard
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Carol Dweck
Dweck reveals how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area depends on having the right mindset-believing that qualities can be cultivated through effort.
Identity-Based Change / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Self-Help / Identity-Based Change / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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René Descartes
Descartes' foundational work of modern philosophy that introduced methodical skepticism and the famous cogito argument.
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking
Philosophy / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Inversion Thinking
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Marcus Aurelius
Personal reflections and philosophical exercises written by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. These private notes to himself explore Stoic principles of virtue, duty, mortality, and self-disciplin...
Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation / Recovery Protocols
Philosophy / Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation
Read Playbook
Bob Hercules, Rita Coburn Whack
A documentary exploring the life and legacy of poet Maya Angelou, featuring interviews and archival footage spanning her remarkable journey.
Identity-Based Change / Internal Scorecard / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / +3
Biography / Identity-Based Change / Internal Scorecard
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Nelson Mandela
Mandela's autobiography chronicling his journey from rural childhood through imprisonment to becoming South Africa's first Black president.
Internal Scorecard / Recovery Protocols / Single-Point Focus / +1
Biography / Internal Scorecard / Recovery Protocols
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David Maister
David Maister's definitive guide to managing consulting, law, accounting, and other professional service organizations. Covers the unique challenges of managing knowledge workers, building client r...
Right People First / Systematic Operations / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
Business / Right People First / Systematic Operations
Read Playbook
Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl's profound exploration of finding purpose and meaning in life through his experiences as a Holocaust survivor and psychologist. Introduces logotherapy - the therapeutic approach focus...
Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation / Recovery Protocols
Self-Help / Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation
Read Playbook
Manning Marable
A comprehensive biography of Malcolm X that reexamines his life, transformation, and legacy through extensive research and newly available sources.
Identity-Based Change / Single-Point Focus / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Biography / Identity-Based Change / Single-Point Focus
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Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky
Do you ever wonder where your day went? Or daydream about activities you'll get to "someday"? Knapp and Zeratsky share their tactics for a four-step daily framework that you can use to systematical...
Time Blocking Protection / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / +1
Self-Help / Time Blocking Protection / Single-Point Focus
Read Playbook
David Herbert Donald
Donald's single-volume life, written to show Lincoln as he understood himself rather than through the mythology. The recurring theme is a man who repeatedly said events controlled him, and who was ...
Right People First / Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard
Biography / Right People First / Single-Point Focus
Read Playbook
Seneca
A collection of moral epistles written by the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca to his friend Lucilius. These letters offer practical wisdom on how to live a good life, covering topics like virtue, de...
Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation / Recovery Protocols
Philosophy / Internal Scorecard / Control vs. Influence Separation
Read Playbook
James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones
"After a decade of downsizing and reengineering, most companies in North America, Europe, and Japan are still stuck, searching for a formula for sustainable growth and success. The problem, as Woma...
Systematic Operations / Elimination Over Addition / Continuous Improvement Cycles / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Elimination Over Addition
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Masaaki Imai
Imai's introduction of kaizen to Western management: continuous, incremental improvement driven by the people doing the work rather than by projects imposed on them. The contribution is the argumen...
Continuous Improvement Cycles / Systematic Operations / Feedback Loops / +1
Business / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Systematic Operations
Read Playbook
David McCullough
McCullough's portrait of a man who was consistently right, consistently disliked, and unable to stop saying the unpopular thing. For this library it is the clearest case of an internal scorecard he...
Right People First / Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard
Biography / Right People First / Single-Point Focus
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Marty Cagan
Why do some products make the leap to greatness while others don’t?
Right People First / Systematic Operations / Feedback Loops / +1
Business / Right People First / Systematic Operations
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Robert Cialdini
Explores the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday life through six key principles of influence.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
Self-Help / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
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Dale Carnegie
Timeless advice on building relationships, handling people, and influencing others through genuine interest, active listening, and positive communication techniques.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
Self-Help / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
Read Playbook
Douglas W. Hubbard
Hubbard's claim is that anything that matters is observable, anything observable can be quantified, and the demand for precision is what stops people measuring at all. The contribution is the refra...
Measurement Systems / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Measurement Systems / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
Read Playbook
Tom McMakin, Doug Fletcher
Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher's guide to understanding the client buying process in professional services. Based on extensive research, it reveals how clients actually make purchasing decisions and...
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First / Systematic Operations
Business / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
Read Playbook
Andrew Grove
Intel’s former CEO lays out practical management as a production system: manage by outputs and indicators, increase managerial leverage, use clear operating rhythms, and match supervision to task‑r...
Systematic Operations / Right People First / Measurement Systems / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Right People First
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Carlos Baker
A comprehensive biography of Ernest Hemingway that explores his life, literary achievements, and complex personality through extensive research and interviews.
Right People First / Internal Scorecard
Biography / Right People First / Internal Scorecard
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George Stalk Jr., Rob Lachenauer
George Stalk Jr. and Rob Lachenauer's guide to competitive strategy and business warfare. Reveals how successful companies use aggressive competitive tactics to gain market share and defend against...
Single-Point Focus / Inversion Thinking / Priority Hierarchy
Business / Single-Point Focus / Inversion Thinking
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Angela Duckworth
Pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed-be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people-that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent b...
Long-term Compound Thinking / Identity-Based Change / Recovery Protocols / +1
Self-Help / Long-term Compound Thinking / Identity-Based Change
Read Playbook
T. Harv Eker
T. Harv Eker's guide to identifying limiting beliefs, building wealth-attracting habits, and rewriting your money story. Focuses on the psychological and mental patterns that determine financial su...
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Identity-Based Change / Internal Scorecard
Business / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Identity-Based Change
Read Playbook
Jim Collins
Jim Collins' research-based study of what makes companies transition from good to great. Identifies key principles including Level 5 Leadership, getting the right people on the bus, confronting bru...
Right People First / Humble Excellence / Brutal Facts with Faith / +1
Business / Right People First / Humble Excellence
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W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne
Kim and Mauborgne argue that competing in an existing market is a choice, and that the alternative is to redefine the buyer's problem so the comparison stops applying. The strategy canvas and the e...
Inversion Thinking / Single-Point Focus / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Business / Inversion Thinking / Single-Point Focus
Read Playbook
Richard Rumelt
The author examines the concepts of good strategy (a succinct description of a situation or problem at hand, followed by directions for action in order to solve the problem or use the situation by ...
Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy
Read Playbook
Roger Fisher, William Ury
The definitive guide to principled negotiation that teaches how to reach mutually beneficial agreements without giving in or getting tough.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First / Priority Hierarchy
Business / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
Read Playbook
David Allen
David Allen's comprehensive system for capturing everything that has your attention, clarifying what it means to you, organizing the results, and engaging with confidence in your choices of what to...
External Systems Over Memory / Process Documentation / Regular Review Rhythms / +1
Self-Help / External Systems Over Memory / Process Documentation
Read Playbook
Ryan Deiss
A comprehensive guide by Ryan Deiss on building scalable businesses and systems. Focuses on the principles, strategies, and frameworks needed to grow companies efficiently while maintaining quality...
Systematic Operations / Right People First / Measurement Systems / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Right People First
Read Playbook
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi's own account of his spiritual and political awakening, detailing his experiments with truth and the development of his philosophy of nonviolent resistance.
Internal Scorecard / Right People First / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Biography / Internal Scorecard / Right People First
Read Playbook
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Csikszentmihalyi explores the psychology of optimal experience and how to achieve the mental state of flow where people are fully immersed and energized.
Single-Point Focus / Environmental Design / Internal Scorecard
Self-Help / Single-Point Focus / Environmental Design
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Stephen Covey
Covey presents a time management system based on organizing priorities around what matters most rather than what is most urgent.
Priority Hierarchy / Time Blocking Protection / Elimination Over Addition
Self-Help / Priority Hierarchy / Time Blocking Protection
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Greg McKeown
Greg McKeown's disciplined pursuit of less but better. Teaches how to discern vital few from trivial many, eliminate non-essential activities, and focus energy on what matters most. Provides system...
Elimination Over Addition / Priority Hierarchy / Single-Point Focus
Business / Elimination Over Addition / Priority Hierarchy
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David R. York, Andrew L. Howell
Charlie Munger's comprehensive guide to wealth preservation and family legacy planning. Covers advanced strategies for high-net-worth individuals including trust structures, tax optimization, estat...
Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Business / Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins
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Marty Cagan
How to build empowered product teams that own outcomes. Leaders provide vision, strategy, and objectives; empowered trios (PM, Design, Eng) run continuous discovery, validate value, usability, feas...
Feedback Loops / Regular Review Rhythms / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / +4
Business / Feedback Loops / Regular Review Rhythms
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Daniel Goleman
Goleman argues that emotional intelligence-the ability to understand and manage emotions-is more important than IQ for success in work and life.
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First / Internal Scorecard
Self-Help / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
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Walter Isaacson
Isaacson's comprehensive biography of Albert Einstein that explores his scientific discoveries, personal life, and impact on the world.
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking / Continuous Improvement Cycles
Biography / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Greg McKeown
Greg McKeown's follow-up to Essentialism, focusing on making the execution of essential activities easier. Provides strategies for achieving better results with less effort by designing systems, au...
Elimination Over Addition / Single-Point Focus / Environmental Design
Business / Elimination Over Addition / Single-Point Focus
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Daniel H. Pink
Explains why autonomy, mastery, and purpose drive high performance in modern work, and how to design roles, incentives, and environments that maximize intrinsic motivation while avoiding the pitfal...
Internal Scorecard / Right People First / Identity-Based Change / +1
Business / Internal Scorecard / Right People First
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Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen
Stone, Patton and Heen decompose every hard conversation into three running underneath it: what happened, the feelings involved, and what it implies about identity. The contribution is the diagnosi...
Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First / Recovery Protocols / +1
Self-Help / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / Right People First
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Cal Newport
Newport argues that the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks is becoming both rarer and more valuable, and that the skill can be trained rather than merely wished for...
Single-Point Focus / Time Blocking Protection / Environmental Design
Self-Help / Single-Point Focus / Time Blocking Protection
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Patrick Lencioni
Patrick Lencioni's solution to the most painful problem in business: bad meetings. Provides a framework for running effective, engaging meetings by understanding different types of meetings and cre...
Systematic Operations / Right People First / Time/Energy/Context Matching
Business / Systematic Operations / Right People First
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Brené Brown
Brown explores how vulnerability is not weakness but rather the birthplace of courage, creativity, and change, offering a guide to wholehearted living.
Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change / Right People First
Self-Help / Internal Scorecard / Identity-Based Change
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Geoffrey Moore
Moore's account of why products that delight early adopters die before reaching the mainstream: the two groups buy for incompatible reasons, and the gap between them is not gradual. The bowling-all...
Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
Business / Single-Point Focus / Priority Hierarchy
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Immanuel Kant
Kant's attempt to establish what the mind contributes to experience, and therefore what can be known before any observation. For this library it is the origin of the idea that the observer's struct...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
Philosophy / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Teresa Torres
Torres turns customer discovery from an occasional research project into a weekly habit, with the opportunity solution tree as the device that keeps interviews connected to a decision. The contribu...
Continuous Improvement Cycles / Feedback Loops / Systematic Operations / +1
Business / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Feedback Loops
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Augustine
Augustine's autobiographical work detailing his sinful youth and conversion to Christianity, considered one of the first Western autobiographies.
Internal Scorecard / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Recovery Protocols
Biography / Internal Scorecard / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Michael Porter
Porter's structural analysis of why some industries are profitable and others are not, regardless of how well anyone is run. Five forces, three generic strategies, and the insistence that being stu...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations / Priority Hierarchy
Business / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations
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George Stalk Jr., Thomas Hout
Stalk and Hout's argument that elapsed time is a competitive weapon: compress the cycle and cost, quality and share improve together rather than trading off. The contribution is treating delay as t...
Single-Point Focus / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / Elimination Over Addition
Business / Single-Point Focus / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators
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Bill Bonney, Gary Hayslip, Matt Stamper
A comprehensive reference guide for Chief Information Security Officers, covering cybersecurity leadership, risk management, and strategic security planning in organizations.
Systematic Operations / Process Documentation / Regular Review Rhythms
Business / Systematic Operations / Process Documentation
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Martin Gilbert
Gilbert's comprehensive single-volume biography of Winston Churchill covering his entire life from childhood to death.
Single-Point Focus / Right People First / Recovery Protocols
Biography / Single-Point Focus / Right People First
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Jon Lee Anderson
An in-depth biography of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, exploring his transformation from middle-class medical student to revolutionary icon and martyr.
Internal Scorecard / Single-Point Focus / Right People First
Biography / Internal Scorecard / Single-Point Focus
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Dan Martell
Dan Martell's guide to valuing your time, delegating effectively, and building a business you don't grow to hate. Focuses on the buyback principle - buying back your time by investing in systems, p...
Time/Energy/Context Matching / Automation & Leverage / Priority Hierarchy
Business / Time/Energy/Context Matching / Automation & Leverage
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John Warrillow
John Warrillow's guide to creating a business that can thrive without you and maximizing its value for eventual sale. Teaches entrepreneurs how to build scalable, transferable businesses by develop...
System-Independent Performance / Process Documentation / Systematic Operations
Business / System-Independent Performance / Process Documentation
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Bob Dylan
Dylan's memoir covering key periods of his life and career, offering intimate insights into his creative process and the cultural forces that shaped his music.
Internal Scorecard / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Network Effects
Biography / Internal Scorecard / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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James Clear
James Clear’s system for compounding improvement through tiny, consistent habits. Explains the four laws of behavior change-make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying-and how environment des...
Environmental Design / Identity-Based Change / Behavioral Psychology Awareness / +1
Self-Help / Environmental Design / Identity-Based Change
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Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb's exploration of how to gain from disorder and volatility rather than being harmed by it. Introduces the concept of antifragility - systems that become stronger when stressed ...
Barbell Strategy / Conservative Margins / Inversion Thinking / +1
Business / Barbell Strategy / Conservative Margins
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John Locke
Locke's influential work on the nature of human knowledge and understanding that laid the foundation for empiricism.
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
Philosophy / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Long-term Compound Thinking
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Frank Slootman
Slootman's argument that most companies are not constrained by strategy or talent but by tempo, and that raising standards and shortening timelines is itself the intervention. Most useful for an or...
Single-Point Focus / Right People First / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / +1
Business / Single-Point Focus / Right People First
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Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths
Christian and Griffiths map solved problems in computer science onto ordinary human ones: optimal stopping for when to stop looking, explore versus exploit for when to try something new, caching fo...
Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations / Time/Energy/Context Matching / +1
Philosophy / Multidisciplinary Thinking / Systematic Operations
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Ron Chernow
Chernow's biography of the man who built American financial institutions from nothing and destroyed himself socially while doing it. For this library the value is the study of relentless written ou...
Right People First / Single-Point Focus / Internal Scorecard
Biography / Right People First / Single-Point Focus
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Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim
Research-based guide to building high-performing technology organizations. Based on four years of research and data from over 23,000 survey responses from the State of DevOps reports, using rigorou...
Measurement Systems / Feedback Loops / Continuous Improvement Cycles / +1
Business / Measurement Systems / Feedback Loops
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John Rawls
Rawls' influential work on political philosophy that introduces the 'veil of ignorance' concept and argues for justice as fairness in social institutions.
Internal Scorecard / Right People First / Multidisciplinary Thinking
Philosophy / Internal Scorecard / Right People First
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Burton Malkiel
The time-tested strategy for successful investing that shows you how to navigate the financial markets with a long-term, evidence-based approach to building wealth.
Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins / Systematic Operations
Business / Long-term Compound Thinking / Conservative Margins
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Sylvia Nasar
The biography of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash and his struggle with schizophrenia.
Recovery Protocols / Continuous Improvement Cycles / Internal Scorecard
Biography / Recovery Protocols / Continuous Improvement Cycles
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Daniel Priestley
Daniel Priestley's framework for building wealth through creating and owning different types of assets. Identifies 24 categories of assets that can generate income and build long-term wealth, provi...
Assets vs. Liabilities Classification / Multiple Income Streams / Network Effects / +1
Business / Assets vs. Liabilities Classification / Multiple Income Streams
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Ryan Daniel Moran
Ryan Daniel Moran's systematic approach to building a million-dollar business through product-based entrepreneurship. Provides a step-by-step framework for creating, launching, and scaling physical...
Systematic Operations / Process Documentation / Leading vs. Lagging Indicators / +1
Business / Systematic Operations / Process Documentation
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Hamilton Helmer
Helmer's attempt to make strategy falsifiable: seven, and only seven, conditions that produce durable differential returns, each with a specific barrier and a specific benefit. The contribution is ...
Network Effects / Systematic Operations / Long-term Compound Thinking / +1
Business / Network Effects / Systematic Operations
Read Playbook
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