Category: personal AnGoL

“The way you train reflects the way you fight. People say I’m not going to train too hard, I’m going to do this in training, but when it’s time to fight I’m going to step up. There is no step up. You’re just going to do what you did every day.” — Georges St. Pierre

The first lesson? An ERP implementation cannot last seven years. The pace of change has accelerated in many industries, retail and disrtibution is not immune. ERP Systems have to cope with the pace of change. Customizations should be avoided as far as possible, leveraging built-in best practices that are now part of modern ERP Cloud Systems. Flexibility to adapt to a changing environment is mandatory for companies, and this requires agility. Implementations should require months (perhaps 12-18 months in co

Source: (9) Lidl cancels SAP introduction after spending 500M Euro and seven years | LinkedIn

While the answer isn’t cut and dry, I’ve noticed an interesting mindset difference between these two groups: they approach obstacles and challenges very differently. The first group approaches life with an open mind — an eagerness to learn and a willingness to be wrong. The second group digs their heels in at the first sign of disagreement and would rather die than be wrong. The way each group approaches obstacles, it turns out, defines much of what separates them. So which group are you in?

Source: The Difference Between Open-Minded and Closed-Minded People

This speech is about taking responsibility for your happiness and your life-situation. When you blame others, you give away your power and you become a victim who is at effect to bad things happening to you. But when you Take Responsibility, you now have the power to take charge, take control, and create a better life. “It really doesn’t matter whose fault it is that something is broken. It’s your responsibility to fix it.” -Will Smith

Kernighan supplies some crucial context — in the form of a story. Their colleague Lee McMahon had wanted to study the Federalist papers, which were written by several different authors (including Alexander Hamilton) but published under the same pseudonym, carefully analyzing the text for clues about their original authors by finding all the occurrences of specific words and phrases. Unfortunately, a plaintext version of the collection was one megabyte — “down in the noise by today’s standard,” but at the ti

Source: Brian Kernighan Remembers the Origins of ‘grep’ – The New Stack

Wow. I have had a feeling for this. Secularisation in a micro level forces people to confront their reality and own up to their situation.  This has a tendency to create doers.

“Very often secularisation is indeed accompanied by a greater tolerance of homosexuality, abortion, divorce etc. But that isn’t to say that religious countries can’t become prosperous. Religious institutions need to find their own way of modernising and respecting the rights of individuals.” Alex Bentley from the University of Tennessee, added: “Over the course of the 20th century, changes in importance of religious practices appear to have predicted changes in GDP across the world. This doesn’t necessaril
Source: Claims about secularization and economic growth – Marginal REVOLUTION

The post-Olympiad loss is not the largest loss. Most of the potentially great mathematicians from poorer countries are lost to the world long before the opportunity to participate in an Olympiad. But it is frustrating that even after talent has been identified, it does not always bloom. We are, however, starting to do better. You can see from the graph that upper-middle income countries are as good as turning their talent into results as high-income countries. Agarwal and Gaule also find some evidence that

Source: The Misallocation of International Math Talent – Marginal REVOLUTION

You can see from the graph that upper-middle income countries are as good as turning their talent into results as high-income countries. Agarwal and Gaule also find some evidence that the low-income penalty is diminishing over time. As incomes increase around the world it’s as if the entire world’s processing power is coming online for the first time in human history. That, at least, is one reason for optimism.

Source: The Misallocation of International Math Talent – Marginal REVOLUTION

Excellent advice I already practice.

Sum Up

This is how to be smarter with money:

• Reminder – You Cannot Predict The Future: Timing the market isn’t investing; it’s gambling. And how would you react if I said I planned on funding my retirement through gambling?
• Ask, “What Does Money Mean To Me?”: Make a simple plan and then make sure your investments serve it.
• Feelings Can Be Very Expensive: Investing is boring. And make sure it stays that way. Don’t “play” the market. That’s how you get played.
• Use the 72-Hour Test: Very few things need to be bought immediately. Let them sit in your shopping cart for 3 days to prevent impulse buys. (The only exception is my book, which should be purchased immediately and in bulk.)
• Automate Good Behavior: Until our robot overlords arrive, make sure to take advantage of our robot underlings. The best way to be consistent about good behavior is to automate it.
• Use The Overnight Test: If all your investments got sold, which ones would you actually re-buy? And why doesn’t your portfolio look like that now?
• Know The Fundamental Rules of Investing: Pay off debt. Diversify. Keep costs low. Eliminate unsystematic risk.
• Be Ignorant And Lazy: “TMI” is a bad idea with people you’ve just met and with investing. If your money is already hard at work, why interrupt it?

Source: How To Be Smarter With Money: 8 Simple Secrets – Barking Up The Wrong Tree

• Be brief. Julie de Azevedo Hanks, a Utah psychotherapist, likes to remind herself that “No is a complete sentence.” You are not obligated to explain at length to a friend or stranger why you’d prefer not to do something. (A boss may require more rationale, but a succinct answer is still best.)
• Be gracious in declining an invitation. Dr. Hanks, author of “The Assertiveness Guide for Women,” said that if she is asked to return as a speaker at a conference for a second year and she doesn’t want to go, she may say, “I’m glad it went well last year, but this year is no good.”
• Use “I” phrases. If a co-worker expects prompt answers to their Saturday night missives, inform them on Friday: “I need uninterrupted downtime this weekend so I’m not checking mail until Monday.” By contrast, “you” phrases sound accusatory and tend to backfire, as any spouse knows.
• Stall. If you’re indecisive or need a moment to consider a request, use a delay tactic, Dr. Paterson advises. Say: “Let me check my schedule and get back to you.” No more knee-jerk ‘Yes”s.
• Prepare responses. For repeat askers in your life, decide beforehand what requests are unreasonable and then formulate a “pleasant but firm” answer, Dr. Paterson said. For instance, if your mother wants you to paint her bathroom this weekend, you may decide you’re not willing to do it, even though you’ve long been her go-to painter. One way to go: “I don’t have time in my schedule to tackle this anytime soon, but I’m happy to send you a few names of reliable painters.”
• Act it out. It might seem silly, but rehearsing certain scenarios in front of the mirror or role playing with a trusted friend can help. Practice sounding relaxed, even if you aren’t.

Source: How to Stand Up for Yourself – A year of living better Guides – The New York Times