This one hit my inbox this morning in the newsletter from the Quartr app and I wanted to share it. It was a really good read and provided some insight into the mind of Sam Zell who passed away earlier this month at 81. I will include a link below to the entire article.
Quartr is the go-to app for listening to earnings calls, conferences and you can also access materials like slide decks and transcripts for any companies you wish to follow. I highly recommend it.
Anyone who has watched the financial media outlets over the years will know Sam. His gravely voice and no-nonsense take on investing, real estate and life for that matter. He was always a good interview and one of very few guests I would stop what I was doing to listen to.
Sam would relentlessly seek opportunity. Nothing was off the table really if he felt he could extract value and create something bigger, something better.
As a rider myself, I remember Sam vividly describing his annual bike rides with a group he self-dubbed “Zell’s Angels” 👍. That will tell you all you need to know about his own “off duty” personality.
His Eight Lessons:
- Don’t pay too much attention to the market
- There is no formula
- Think independently
- Strong opinions, loosely held
- You have to ask yourself: How difficult is it for somebody to compete with you?
- Simplicity is critical
- Keep a constant focus on the competition
- Start by understanding the downside and go for greatness
Here is a link to the Quartr article in its entirety.
The Finance Stance 