What We Are Reading

Q4 2011 - Learning from the Greats

To close out 2011, we draw inspiration from one of the greatest creative minds of the past century.  Walt Disney was an innovator in multiple fields of entertainment, and remained selfless in his dedication to his audience.  By studying the man, we hope to learn how his mind worked, and how he inspired those who worked for him to change the world and touch peoples' lives.

Walt Disney: An American Original Bob Thomas ISBN-13: 978-0786860272

The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life Steven Watts ISBN-13: 978-0826213792

Q3 2011 - Delivering Exceptional Service

One of the great benefits of working for a smaller company is the impact all of us can have on our company and its culture.  We have made a commitment to study and learn from the best as we continue to innovate and improve.  In this quarter, we turn to great innovators in client service, Zappos Shoes, and Ritz-Carlton Hotels.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profts, Passion and Purpose Tony Hsieh ISBN-13: 978-0446563048

Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon ISBN-13: 978-0814415382

Q2 2011 - Influential Thinkers

Two authors we really respect have new books out that we are certain will drive the investing conversation in 2011.  Ed Easterling applies his gift for bringing sense to mountains of historical data, and John Mauldin weaves together many of the themes explored weekly in his popular newsletter.  We expect both books will give us much to think about as we shape our investment strategy for the coming year.

Probable Outcomes Ed Easterling ISBN-13: 978-1879384828

Endgame John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper ISBN-13: 978-1118004579

Q1 2011 - Sideways Markets

After years of debt fueled growth, we believe we have entered an extended period of deleveraging. This period is likely to be marked by uncertainty and volatility. Effective investing in such times requires a fully stocked toolkit of trading strategies, and a well researched fundamental outlook. Our books this quarter cover each facet in interesting detail.

The Little Book of Sideways Markets Vitaliy N. Katsenelson ISBN-13: 978-0470932933

The Age of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation A. Gary Shilling ISBN-13: 978-0470596364

Q4 2010 - Marketing

We look inward this quarter, in an effort to empower our staff to help us build an even better business. In future quarters, we will look at the subjects of leadership and strategic thinking, but in this quarter we chose to look at marketing. We believe we have a great story to tell to clients and potential clients, but it will take a dedicated marketing plan to make sure that story is told, and told to the right audience. Special thanks goes to Dr. Leonard Berry of Texas A&M, for these suggestions.

Marketing Insights From A to Z - 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to Know Phillip Kotler ISBN-13: 978-0471268673

Your Gut is Still Not Smarter Than Your Head - How Disciplined, Fact-Based Marketing Can Drive Extraordinary Growth and Profits Kevin Clancy and Peter Krieg ISBN-13: 978-0471979937

Q3 2010 - Lessons From The Great Depression

In a departure from past quarters, we focus this quarter on a single book. The Great Depression: A Diary, gives us a firsthand look at what it was like to live through the Depression, as told not by a historian or economist, but an ordinary person living through the times. The author, Benjamin Roth, who worked as a lawyer in industrial Ohio, describes how the economy, markets, and nationwide psychology ebbed and flowed during the full decade of the Depression. We believe his account, which reads much like a personal blog, offers us some critical insights as investors. If our current economic woes turn into a drawn out, multi-year deflationary event, we will experience many of the same emotions and false dawns as did the author during his time.

The Great Depression: A Diary Benjamin Roth, James Ledbetter ed., Daniel B. Roth ed. ISBN-13: 978-1586489014

Q2 2010 - The Great Recession and the New Normal

Now that the initial dust has settled from the tumultuous events of 2008 and early 2009, some decent analysis is starting to surface on what happened and what we can expect to happen next. Large amounts of private sector debt are being replaced with even larger amounts of sovereign debt, as governments use fiscal and monetary tools to keep economies functioning. Meanwhile, regulators are rewriting the rules in an effort to prevent the problems from occurring again. Our goal this quarter is to understand what the future holds for citizens, taxpayers, and investors.

This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, Carmen M. Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff

The Great Reflation: How Investors Can Profit From the New World of Money, J. Anthony Boeckh

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Michael Lewis

Q1 2010 - 21st Century Planning

Good investing and financial planning requires us to be aware of the world around us and how it might change. Demographics, public policy, and technology all have an impact on our financial lives. All three books this quarter explore how our world is changing, and how policymakers and business leaders are likely to respond. We hope to find fresh insights on how governments and economies will behave, and how our clients will think, work, and play in the coming decades.

The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World disorder constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It, Joshua Cooper Ramo

The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World, Peter Schwartz

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

Q4 2009 - Readers' Choice

This quarter, rather than come up with a single theme, we allowed everyone to read and present any books we may have missed during the past year. Some went back to books they may have missed in previous quarters, while others found books in their own areas of particular interest. The choices ranged from financial planning, to investments, to economic history.

Raising Financially Fit Kids, Joline Godfrey, Kit Hinrichs

The Misbehavior of Markets: A Fractal View of Financial Turbulence, Benoit Mandlebrot, Richard L. Hudson

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, Niall Ferguson

Q3 2009 - Emerging Markets

Emerging markets, particularly those in Asia, have shown impressive growth in their economies, both before and during the recession. These economies are likely to play a dominant role in the shaping of our post-recession global economy. Of equal importance, the new opportunities available to citizens of those countries has the potential to bring millions, even billions of people out of poverty. The ending of this remarkable story, however, is yet to be written. Each country faces its own unique demographic, ethnic, and political challenges. In this quarter, we attempt to compile a reading list that, when taken together, offer a view of what the future may hold for Asian emerging markets, both on the positive and negative sides of the ledger.

The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth, Michael Schuman

Imagining India, Nandan Nilekani

China Road, Rob Gifford

The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman

Adventure Capitalist, Jim Rogers

Q2 2009 - Wealth: Acquiring It and Understanding Its Meaning

All wealthy individuals and families are different, with different motivations and different paths to their wealth, but many also share common characteristics. Those who accumulated their wealth through conscientious saving have made similar choices in their lives, and most likely share similar ideas about their wealth and what its meaning should be. These views and decisions may differ from those of people who acquired their wealth through entrepreneurship, or through a windfall, such as a lottery or inheritance. In an effort to understand our clients and their peers better, in this quarter we review some of the classic and newer books about wealth and success.

The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Classon

The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley, William Danko

Richistan, Robert Frank

Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell

Bobos in Paradise, David Brooks

Q1 2009 - Investing in Equities

The current economic climate has been particularly unkind to the stock market. All the major indices in the US and abroad are down dramatically from their highs. At some point, stock market valuations may finally swing from over-valued to under-valued, and we are working to prepare our staff and clients to understand how to recognize when that has happened. In this quarter, we are reviewing some of the classic texts on investing in stocks. In particular, we are revisiting some of the better known volumes on value investing. For historical perspective, we have included books published in both halves of the 20th century.

The Theory of Investment Value, John Burr Williams

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, edited by Lawrence A. Cunningham

The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham

A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Burton G. Malkiel

The Dhandho Investor: The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns, Mohnish Pabrai

Q4 2008 - Scenario Investing and Macro Market Trends

We use a top-down, scenario-based approach to developing investment ideas. We try to understand macro-economic and demographic trends and form hypotheses about how markets will react over time. In this quarter, we are reading books relating to these macro trends. Some of the main topics include the influence of the developing world on commodity prices, the implications of a deflationary environment, and similarities between the events of the credit crisis and those of Japan's recession.

Tomorrow's Gold - Asia's age of discovery, Marc Faber

Balance Sheet Recession - Japan's Struggle with Uncharted Economics and its Global Implications, Richard Koo

Deflation - How to Survive and Thrive in the Coming Wave of Deflation, A. Gary Shilling

The Fourth Turning - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny, William Strauss, Neill Howe

World Out of Balance - Navigating Global Risks to Seize Competitive Advantage, Paul Laudicina