Weekly Highlights #16
5 things I found interesting, fun or useful this week.
📚 Books
Charlie Munger understood that if you want somebody to do something you’ll have a better chance of them saying yes if you appeal to their interest rather than trying to reason with them.
"I watched the brilliant and worthy Harvard Law Review-trained general counsel of Salomon Brothers lose his career there. When the able CEO was told that an underling had done something wrong, the general counsel said, "Gee, we don't have any legal duty to report this, but I think it's what we should do. It's our moral duty."
The general counsel was technically and morally correct, but his approach didn't persuade. He recommended a very unpleasant thing for the busy CEO to do and the CEO, quite understandably, put the issue off, and put it off, not with any intent to do wrong. In due course, when powerful regulators resented not having been promptly informed, down went the CEO and the general counsel with him.
The correct persuasive technique in situations like that was given by Ben Franklin. He said, "If you would persuade, appeal to interest, not to reason." The self-serving bias of man is extreme, and should have been used in attaining the correct outcome. So the general counsel should have said, "Look, this is likely to erupt into something that will destroy you, take away your money, take away your status, grossly impair your reputation. My recommendation will prevent a likely disaster from which you can't recover." That approach would have worked. You should often appeal to interest, not to reason, even when your motives are lofty."
- Charles T. Munger
📜 Articles
A great read this week from Sherry Ning about our incessant need to monitor people’s lives on social media.
“We often compare social media to Orwell’s surveillance state of 1984, but here’s what’s different about our telescreens: our screens do not exist to monitor us, but for us to monitor others. There is no totalitarian state behind our screens enforcing social order; instead, the screens turn us into the supervisors of each others’ behaviors.”
🎧 Podcasts
When we think of Silicon Valley we think of Apple, Meta, Google and the like but the birth of it started long ago and had something to do with a man named Robert Noyce. Good for those interested in the semiconductor business.
💭 Quotes
"No matter the sport—no matter the human endeavor, really—total effort will win people’s hearts."
- Phil Knight
"If If you can identify a delusional popular belief, you can find what lies hidden behind it: the contrarian truth."
- Peter Thiel
❓ Questions
What’s your best read of 2024 so far?
Did you enjoy this article?
I read and share about history’s greatest minds, leaders and achievers, distilling their insights into actionable advice for everyday life. Please consider sharing with a close friend if this article has helped you in anyway.
Until next time, Karl (The School of Knowledge.)
*Photo by Zetong Li: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-aerial-shot-of-the-apple-park-in-california-13641595/
Great piece 🌿
Charlie Munger’s wisdom always finds a way to resonate with me. Thanks Karl for the reminder
“You should often appeal to interest, not to reason, even when your motives are lofty."