The State of California

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California has become a diet-Coke civilization of consumer democracy, of services without taxes, like sweetness without calories, of rights without duties- Nathan Gardels

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Marry the best who will have you and other wisdom from Munger and Buffett

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I spent the last weekend in Omaha, Nebraska with two of the my heroes- Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett . After attending the Berkshire Hathaway (BH) for a few years, I still get amazed how a shareholder meeting attracts 40,000+ people and the meeting is about two guys having fun. Everyone else  enjoys watching them have fun. The format is six hours of open Q&A. There is no preparation by Munger and Buffett. Anyone can ask anything about anything expect what BH is going to buy/sell next. You will see it in the notes  that a wide variety of topics are covered. Notes from previous years are available here . The David Sokol issue was covered by Buffett and that part of the meeting has been recorded so I have not covered it in my notes. You can see it here. Munger talked more this year compared to previous years. I just love this man. He is brilliant! Following are my random notes from the meeting: Buffett does two things in his job- 1) keep operating manag...
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Systems Thinking as taught by Ackoff

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One of my heroes is Dr. Russell Ackoff . I have read a few books he has written and have learned Systems Thinking from him. I am surprised that the field of Systems Thinking is not well understood. Following is my attempt to share what I learned from one of Ackoff's recent lectures. Albert Einstein once said, "You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it." According to Dr. Russell Ackoff most managers agree with Einstein's statement but not many know what it means. It is easy to agree with something whose meaning is vague. In the Renaissance era, when the science as we know it today was born, a scientific inquiry method called Analysis was developed. Analysis comes naturally to us. Just watch kids breaking new things and being curious about the parts. The understanding of something follows a three step process in analytical thinking: 1. Take it apart 2. Understand (function, role, behavior) what the parts do 3. Assemble the understanding of the pa...
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Inside the Mind of a Product Leader: Balancing Four Critical Objectives

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In the fast-paced world of technology, being a product leader is like walking a tightrope. You’re constantly balancing four critical objectives—each pulling you in a different direction, yet all essential for success. As shown in Figure 1, balancing these four objectives—User Experience, Profit, Competitive Advantage, and Technology Advancement—is the key to successful product leadership. Let's look at the interplay of these four objectives.  Figure 1: The art of balancing four objectives 1. Making the user experience (UX) better At the heart of every great product is an exceptional user experience. It’s not just about solving a problem; it’s about making the solution so seamless and delightful that users keep coming back. Whether you’re tweaking software daily or rolling out hardware updates over months, the goal is always the same: better UX.  For enterprise products, reducing the total cost of ownership ( TCO ) is an essential part of enhancing the UX. By minimizing the tim...
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