The Knowledge Project

Nicolai Tangen: The $2 Trillion Mind

Nicolai Tangen is the CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. He is responsible for managing $2.1 trillion. That's roughly 1.7% of every listed company on earth. In this episode, we explore the intersection of massive wealth, high-speed decision-making, and the psychological traits required to survive the AI revolution. ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:09) What Are You Leaning Against? (03:17) Tech Sector Evolution (04:15) The AI Bubble (05:44) Will AI Replace Humans in Investing? (06:24) Lessons on Listening (09:15) American vs. European Mindset (12:09) Prime Minster For a Day (14:27) Most Important Data (16:00) Speed and Agility (17:05) Ad Break (18:35) Using Urgency as a Tool (20:12) Can You Teach People to Change Their Minds? (22:14) Positive and Negative Comments (22:56) Testing Assumptions Before a Big Investment (25:07) Attitude Towards Risk (28:33) What’s Gotten Harder in Investing? (29:07) The Rise of Passive Investing (33:42) Why Did You Take This Job? (35:04) Ad Break (36:14) Sovereign Wealth Funds (38:24) Voting Against Elon Musk’s Pay Package (39:08) Building Long-Term Thinking (43:17) Slowing Down Decisions (45:13) Seeking Out Disagreement (48:08) Hiring Checklist (49:15) 140 Conversations To Prepare For A Huge Role (53:33) CEO Evaluation (01:01:25) What is Success For You? ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠ Insta: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠ Follow Nicolai Tangen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolai-tangen/?originalSubdomain=no Learn More: https://www.nbim.no/en/about-us/leader-group/leadergroup-persons/nicolai-tangen/ ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: +Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://www.granola.ai/shane Check out the Granola Notes +Download The League App today and find your perfect match! +Shopify: https://shopify.com/knowledgeproject Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Ovitz: The Business of Relationships

Michael Ovitz co-founded CAA and helped reshape Hollywood, then took the same playbook into tech investing and advising founders. In this conversation, he breaks down the operating rules that kept CAA from losing clients, and the personal disciplines that kept him grounded when the stakes got massive. You’ll learn how to build momentum, tell the truth without hesitation, read for context instead of noise, hire people who raise the standard, and package ideas into outcomes. ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (00:58) Appetite For Learning (03:41) Always Tell The Truth (05:50) The Loneliest Professions (08:17) Where Does Hollywood Go Wrong? (10:16) Importance of Being Well Read (16:42) Don’t Fight Your Job (18:28) Managing Relationships (19:15) Ad Break (20:46) Hiring Top Performers (22:35) Creating Depth in Knowledge (26:47) Staying Grounded (30:27) What Do You Look For in People? (33:28) A Meeting with Marc Andreessen (36:44) Being Fearless (42:12) Allow People to Keep Their Dignity (43:42) You Fail, So What? (47:48) Advice From Michael Crichton (49:46) What Drives You Today? (52:49) What This Generation Really Wants to Learn (57:51) The Woke Culture Influence (01:01:30) How Do You Keep Up With the Flow of Information? (01:11:30) What Makes A Good Leader? (01:14:13) Business Education Curriculum (01:16:28) How Do You Gain Momentum? (01:18:16) How Important is Packaging? (01:24:43) What Would You Tell Your Younger Self? (01:26:30) How Important is Trust? (01:29:15) What is Success For You? ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠ Insta: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠ ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://www.granola.ai/shane Check out the Granola Notes Download The League App today and find your perfect match! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How McDonald’s Took Over America | Ray Kroc [Outliers]

Ray Kroc turned McDonald’s from a single roadside restaurant into a system built to scale. At 52, after decades selling paper cups and milkshake machines, he opened the first McDonald’s in 1955 and helped grow it to nearly 8,000 restaurants worldwide. This Outliers episode breaks down how standards, execution, franchising, and real estate created a business machine built to last. ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:46) Turning Dreams Into Action (10:05) The Multimixer (15:51) America's Roadside Revolution (22:58) Building the Machine (32:14) What Ray Kroc Really Built (43:12) Epilogue: Grinding it Out ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠ Insta: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morgan Housel: Wealth is What You Have Minus What You Want

Morgan Housel breaks down the exact framework he uses to build wealth, minimize financial stress, and buy freedom. While most financial advice focuses on how to get rich, Morgan explains why the skills needed to stay rich are completely different. You will learn why "boring" investing beats complex strategies, how to avoid the social traps that destroy wealth, and the specific equation for finding contentment. Morgan Housel is a partner at Collaborative Fund and the bestselling author of The Psychology of Money. Enjoy! ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Trailer/Introduction (00:58) What Drives You? (04:50) What Can Money Do For Us? (07:22) Happiness vs. Satisfaction (11:45) Becoming Financially Independent (14:40) Survival and Contrast (20:16) Ad Break (21:05) Investing: Can You Beat the Market? (22:32) When Is The Right Time To Buy a House? (26:45) Housing Affordability and Equity (28:39) Step by Step Investing (35:08) Eras of Life and Spending In Those Eras (43:50) Raising Kids With Money (48:46) Social Media: Expectations and Comparison (55:46) Lessons From the Vanderbilts (01:01:21) Learning From Others Spending Habits (01:07:51) Lessons From History: Depressions, Panics, Downturns (01:11:40) Net Worth in Cash (01:14:20) Passive Income and Financial Independence (01:25:58) Massive Success: Doing It All Again (01:32: 27) What Should You Optimize For? (01:38:24) What Do You Splurge On? (01:40:38) What Can History Teach Us About Inflation? (01:47:46) Index Funds Allocation (01:53:36) What Is Success For You? ----- This episode of the Knowledge Project is for informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by Shane Parrish or our guests are solely their own. Nothing in this conversation should be considered investment advice, financial guidance, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own due diligence or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. It's time to listen and learn. ----- Psychology of Money: https://geni.us/my3K ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠ Insta: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠ ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://www.granola.ai/shane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Multidisciplinary Approach to Thinking | Peter D. Kaufman [Outliers]

Peter D. Kaufman is the Chairman and CEO of GlenAir, the editor of Poor Charlie’s Almanack, and was a decades-long friend of Charlie Munger. In a talk that was never meant to be made public, one of the world's greatest business minds reveals the secrets to multidisciplinary thinking. Peter allowed the complete talk to be transcribed and posted on FS. ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:49)  Why is Multidisciplinary Thinking Important? (07:27) How The World Works (18:39) The Biggest Blind Spots in Business (22:05) You Only Get One Life ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠ Insta: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices