Two Important Knowledge Lists
Hi there, ✋
I’m Miguel, living in Barcelona, nice to meet you! As they say “sharing is caring” and following this value I give my amateur perspective on the topics that I find the most interesting. 😝
Btw: Maybe you like to read weird stuff too. I have other small, quick to read, and curious posts on my profile that may interest you ➡️ Miguel Parente
Quick disclosure: this is not investment advice, you should do your own research… just kiddingggg ahah. This it’s not that type of posts, for sure! The #cryptowinterbutactuallyissummer it’s very much a touchy subject nowadays and most likely the most trendy one. However, bear markets are good moments to keep building and also focus on other topics — so, we are going for other topics.
On a more serious note, Stephen King once said that “writing is clarity of thought”, and this essay is exactly that! You are not going to learn nothing new, that you have not seen or may find in other sources. Thus, I will not provide any personal insights or novel theories.
“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Actually, quite the opposite! This post is basically a copy&paste of the core inputs of two very important books in my POV.
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
“7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy” by Hamilton Helmer
Two of my favorite readings in parallel with “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh. 📚
To be honest, I was not sure of writing it, because as Alan Watts very eloquently puts it in the following video about worrying and compulsive thinking — “when you write books about books, that doesn’t really gets us that far” or in other words academics fallacy.
However, I have seen myself coming back to previous posts of mine trying to recall important concepts that I do try to apply in my daily life.
Likewise, I see it happen with the following concepts in the foreseeable future.
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
Side note, the book was first published in 1937 and there were multiple adapted editions after it. Yet, it’s super curious and interesting to see the author validating his reasonings throughout the book by mentioning famous or accredited people of his time, in the beginning of last century.
There are no jason, or Gary Vaynerchuk, or even Tony Robbins. In fact, we see some names droppings like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln or Charles M. Schwab among others.
Altough, the book was written long-time ago and Dale Carnegie used examples based on his own surroundings, it’s mesmerizing to see that all main insights are highly critical and valuable in today’s day and age. 🤯
I would go even further, and state that due to today’s social media and constant global interconnectivity, all these values should be seen and executed almost unconsciously.
So, what principles are we talking about?
Again, this almost like the book’s chapter structure. In a nutshell fundamental techniques in how to:
Handling people:
Don’t criticise, condemn or complain.
Give honest and sincere appreciation.
Arouse in the other person an eager want.
Make people like you:
Become genuinely interested in other people.
Smile. *this is an easy one 😊
Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
Make the other person feel important — and do it sincerely.
Win people to your way of thinking:
The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.”
If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
Begin in a friendly way.
Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.
Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.
Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
Appeal to the nobler motives.
Dramatise your ideas.
Throw down a challenge.
Be a leader:
“A leader’s job often includes changing your people’s attitudes and behaviour. Some suggestions to accomplish this”:
Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
Talk about your own mistakes before criticising the other person.
Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
Let the other person save face.
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise”.
Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
Indeed, it seems simple and straight forward, but not always easy to apply / embrace in more stressful situations - probably when it’s the most important to recall.
Please, please, pleaseee… if you were thinking of giving the book a shot and now you believe that you don’t need to do it, because you already have the main takeaways. Let me assure you that you are far from the truth as one may be!
I could not suggest enough to read multiple times the book or even to a copy&paste exercise like I did! 🏋️♀️
“7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy” by Hamilton Helmer
Quick shout out to Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, the co-founders of the Acquired podcast, which I listen to religiously and where they always have a segment applying the 7 powers to real world companies.
They even have a full conversation with Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi doing an in depth deep-dive on the topic. I guess, no one better than the source itself. 😎
btw: super cool intro music theme for the podcast, give it a try (here)
So, what are these 7 powers?
Hamilton Helmer develops from first principles a practical theory of Strategy rooted in the notion of Power, those conditions which create the potential for persistent differential returns.
Scale Economies — the quality of declining unit costs with increased business.
Network Economies — the value of the service to each customer is enhanced as new customers join the “network.”
Counter-Positioning — a newcomer adopts a new, superior business model which the incumbent does not mimic due to anticipated damage to their existing business.
Switching Costs — arise when a consumer values compatibility across multiple purchases from a specific firm over time (i.e. complementary goods or repeat business).
Branding — asset that communicates information and evokes positive emotions in the customer, leading to an increased willingness to pay for the product.
Cornered Resource — preferential access at attractive terms to a coveted asset that can independently enhance value.
Process Power — equals operational excellence, plus hysteresis.
As you can see, this was a very high level summary and for sure does not contemplate all the intrinsic complexities and analysis behind all of these powers.
Hence, I strongly recommend to read the book more in detail and have a better grasp of what may differentiate your company from the rest of the competitors. 💡
Also, heads up Hamilton Helmer and Chenyi Shi may be working on a new set of powers depending on a set of business characteristics and market domain.
Happily ever after?
If you are still here, thank you for reading this far… and hopefully you will find it useful to have these concepts handy for a quick reality check (professional or otherwise).
Please, let me know what you think and if you have more interesting inputs to share.
Obrigado! ❤
Carve-out (acquired.fm style): one other source of inspiration to write and learn new things, it’s the substack “Not Boring” by
!! Personally, I find it super insightful to learn about venture capital, crypto, tech, and multiple other subjects through an optimistic and curious lens. Moreover, when it’s given empirical examples of real-life successful start-ups that seek to disrupt some legacy systems.
The “Idea Legos” as an anology for the innovation composability is a must read, and most likely a topic that I will explore in the future.
IMPORTANT: most of the images I use are from Muzli, and are used without any monetization purpose.