The work world is reawakening this week. Senior folks are back from vacation, summer is unofficially over, and the subtle angst of annual goal-setting is suddenly echoing in the streets.
Why?
Almost everyone who makes investment decisions for a living would say their efforts are in service to some kind of strategy. But what does that even mean? To keep first principles in the foreground, Ashby and I decided we’d better talk through the basics and then apply them to a case study.
Specifically: Let’s say the United States actually buys Greenland.
FT Alphaville determined that Greenland is worth about $1 trillion on a tongue-in-the-cheek basis, which is nothing if not a lot of money.
Where would you deposit the check? And what’s next once you’ve done that? The resulting institution — let’s call it the Greenland Permanent Fund Corporation (GPFC)— would instantly be one of the most influential investors on the planet.
We explored a couple of big strategic questions in our discussion:
Which core attributes should GPFC center in its culture?
How can GPFC keep its staff concentrated its staff on super long-term objectives?
If the fund’s mandate was to stave off future climate change, how would its staff go about aligning this investment organization with the task at hand?
Give it a listen! You’ll literally get Free Money delivered right into your ears.
If you’re into that sort of thing, you should also check out our last episode. We asked what you’ve all wondered: Is there more to life than creating shareholder value? Forward-looking folks have already ensured they don’t miss the next one.
If you’d like to join their number, just click below.
More recently, we also talked about how to align capitalism with human survival on earth, Sabermetrics, startup founders who don’t realize gravity applies to them, and forthcoming merch.
And as always, we took some great questions from listeners:
I just started a new job at a well known consulting firm, and worry after listening to your podcast about first fund rules that I'll inevitably become part of "the problem." Am I foolish to think I can build a better system from inside the one we have?
My daughter just signed up for a weekend investment strategy seminar after listening to a radio ad. She paid $99, and is excited to begin investing actively. I believe in her, but is investing really simple enough to learn over two days?
I've built a small, but strong circle of femme entrepreneurs in my city. We gather together to work through each other's problems and pair off to hold each other accountable. But that's all, and I worry that our organizing is too instinctual. Is it wrong to build community without a strategy in mind?
Love you lots, thanks for listening!
Sloane
Like, What Is A Strategy?