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The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Discover the secrets to success and a fulfilling life with The Knowledge Project Podcast. Join Shane Parrish as he sits down with the world's top performers to uncover their hard-earned insights and actionable strategies. Through candid conversations and insightful questions, guests share the practical strategies and mindsets that have fueled their success. Listeners gain new perspectives and actionable insights they can use in daily life. Tune in to accelerate your personal growth and achieve your goals.
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The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish
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Now displaying: March, 2024
Mar 19, 2024
Throughout his tenure, Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies. While there is no "playbook" for growing a business, he focuses on a few factors above all else in every company he operates, and in this conversation, he reveals them all.

Shane and Jacobs discuss how to read anyone during an interview through a series of intentional questions, the exciting role of AI and technology in the future of business, and where money-making ideas hide in companies. Jacobs also shares how his training in math and music made him a better business operator, the one thing he focuses on to grow his businesses, how to spot big trends before everyone else, and the only thing a company should focus on for success.

Brad Jacobs has started five companies from scratch and led each to become a billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar enterprise. These include three publicly traded companies: XPO Logistics, where he serves as Chairman and CEO, United Rentals, and United Waste Systems. Before starting XPO in 2011, Jacobs founded United Rentals in 1997 and led the company as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 1989, he founded United Waste Systems.
 
(00:00) Intro
(04:44) The future of AI
(07:21) How to think rationally
(08:48) The major trend
(10:57) The research process
(13:29) On asking better questions
(19:35) On rearranging your brain
(22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business
(32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality
(35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets
(40:45) Confidence and parents
(50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees
(56:14) Money lessons
(58:13) A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies)
(01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone
(01:11:14) On boards and board meetings
(01:16:57) On decision-making
(01:23:37) The role of capital markets
(01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire
(01:31:16) The best capital allocators
(01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year
(01:37:20) On success
 

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

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Mar 5, 2024

Most families who obtain immense wealth squander it by the third generation. But Chris Davis comes from a family whose grandfather and father all became independently wealthy of each other, and Davis has done the same. How does that keep happening? In this conversation, we find out.

Shane and Chris discuss life and investment lessons he learned from his father and grandfather, why writing is more important to clarify one's thinking no matter who's reading it, and the surprising benefit of reading physical newspapers and wearing ties to work. Davis also shares his value-investing philosophy, what he learned from working with and meeting Charlie Munger, and what parents can do to raise kids who aren't entitled. Davis talks about his alcohol drink tracker and why it's important to him, why he never puts himself in situations where envy can grow, and the insights from Warren Buffett's key letter about why investment managers underperform.

Chris Davis is on the board of Berkshire Hathaway and The Coca-Cola Company. Davis is Chairman of Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc., an independent investment management firm founded in 1969. Davis joined Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc. in 1989 as a financial analyst, and in 1995, he became a portfolio manager of the firm’s flagship funds.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/ 

Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish

Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

Sponsors:

Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet

 

(00:00) Intro

(03:20) Life lessons Davis learned from his grandfather and father

(26:24) The importance of writing things no one reads

(36:55) Davis' experiences through financial crises

(52:31) Why Davis loves managing a mutual fund

(55:49) Why Berkshire Hathaway operates with margin

(01:01:05) What is risk?

(01:04:02) On low interest rates and their future impact

(01:14:46) The mismatched timelines between CEOs, companies, investors, and policy

(01:22:19) How Davis and Munger met

(01:30:20) Lessons learned from Munger

(01:41:29) Why avoiding weaknesses is the ultimate recipe for success

(01:55:46) How to raise non-entitled kids and avoid lifestyle creep

(01:16:10) On happiness

(02:27:00) Good vs. bad board meetings

(02:31:34) Three generations of wealth

(02:37:15) On success

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