Capitalogix

Is Biohacking the New Key to Trading?

Last week, I was in Alaska at Steamboat Bay for a CEO retreat. 

One of the other attendees was Dave Asprey - CEO of Bulletproof, author of Headstrong, and a biohacking thought-leader.

Very few people understand what we do at Capitalogix; even fewer understand it well enough to paint a vivid picture ... yet, that's exactly what Dave did ... almost instantly.

I asked him to retell it on video - to try and capture his take.   To set your expectations,  his take is different than you might imagine ... It's got ancient bacteria, futuristic algorithms, and a little genius.

Kind of cool ... Check it out.  

"It takes a lot of computer power, and it takes a lot of algorithms, and it takes a lot of environmental sensors ... that's why we can walk around, breathe, and think." 
    ~    Dave Asprey

Markets are an environment just like the environment we live in. Our algorithms can learn and evolve based on markets in a similar way to how humans evolved and adapted to their environments.

To summarize:  In the beginning, there was an algorithm ... and it was good.  

And, it's just the beginning.

Onwards!

An Investment Guaranteed to Pay Dividends

I think about investments a lot ... that makes sense given my profession.

Yet, as my kids get older, there is an investment I made that paid-off in a big way ... and I want to share it with you.

Like many parents, I wanted to teach my children that, to a large extent, they control what happens to them. One of the first ways I did that was to set up a "compensation system" for them to earn video games.

Some parents try to limit the amount of time their kids spend watching TV or playing video games. I tried something different.  Instead, my kids earned their games by reading books.  Here is a photo from way back then.

 

 

Paid With Play.

Here's how it worked. When they were younger, 10 books was enough to earn a small game. When they finished a book, it was their right, and my obligation, to take them to the bookstore for us to pick up the next book together. Likewise, when they finished the requisite number of books, it was their right, and my obligation, to take them to the computer store or game store for them to choose any game they wanted.

When they finished a hundred books, they got a bonus of earning the next game system. That meant if they had a Nintendo, they could now also get a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

How Can You Encourage a Jump to the Next Level?

There came a point when I wanted one of my sons to start reading grown-up books. He was comfortable reading a certain type of book, and didn't want to read the kind of books that I read.  So, I created a bonus system that counted a particular book as three books.  I didn't force him; I just let the easier path to a reward "whisper" in his ear what to read. Once he finished that, he never went back to teen fiction.

It Is a Great Way to Learn About Your Kids.

I also used the bookstore visits to get a sense of how the boys were doing. For example, I might say "I notice that you read five books in that series, maybe you'd like this book".  Or, "That sure is a lot of science fiction; what was the last biography you read?"  For the most part, though, I didn't care what they read.  The key was to get them to want to choose certain books for their own reasons.  Ultimately, their preference meant they were learning to love reading.

It Puts Them In Control of Their Destiny and Rewards.

My younger son likes competition. He also broke or misplaced many things. So, in order to earn back the Game Boy unit that he lost, I challenged him to read five books in five days. These weren't easy books either. It was designed to stretch him, and also to teach him that he could read a book a night. The bet was that he either finished all the books in the allocated time, or none of them counted towards games or Game Boys. On the other hand, if he read a book a night for two weeks, not only would he get to have his Game Boy back, the books would count towards a game too. It worked like a charm, and we were both happy.

So, Who Got the Better Bargain?

As they started to get into their teenage years, I needed to up the ante a little. So, 500 books meant they got a laptop of their choice. Both boys cashed in ... and probably felt like they were taking advantage of their dad.

I got what I wanted, though; both my boys love reading.  And know that they can accomplish anything they put their minds to … one step at a time.

 

 

That's an investment that pays dividends for a long time.

  

Disney's Imagineering Process – An Overview

How do you build something new and bold?

What steps help make thoughts become things?

What does it take to transform a vivid vision to a revolutionary reality?

Disney calls it 'Imagineering'.

What follows is a simplified version of the process Walt Disney Imagineering uses when it designs and builds theme park attractions, resorts, and other venues.

There are seven pieces or stages in the process. Five stages form the core of the process, while the other two serve as its Prologue and Epilogue.

 

 

 

Prologue: Needs, Requirements, and Constraints: Before the process actually begins, you must identify the project’s specific Needs, Requirements, and Constraints. These form the core parameters of your project.

The goal of the Prologue is to define your overall objective, including what you can do, can’t do, and must do when developing and building your project.

Blue Sky: The initial stage of any Imagineering project is the Blue Sky stage, where initial ideas and concepts are created through a combination of brainstorming and concept design.

The goal of the Blue Sky stage is to create a vision with enough detail to be able to explain, present, and sell it to others.

Concept Development: Once a concept born from the Blue Sky stage has been selected for development, it undergoes a period of concept development where the idea is more fully fleshed out and realized.

The goal of the Concept Development stage is to develop and flesh-out your vision with enough additional detail to explain what needs to be designed and built.

Design: The Design stage is where detailed design documents and specifications are created that will guide the physical construction of the project. These can include architectural documents (blue prints, plans, elevations, etc.) but also more Imagineering-specific documents such as Show Information Guides (documents that outline the story behind the attraction).

The goal of the Design stage is develop the plans and documents that describe and explain how your vision will be brought to life.

Construction: The last major stage of the process involves the actual physical construction of the project, including land development and fabrication.

The goal of the Construction stage is to build the actual project, based on the design developed in the previous stages.

Models: At each main stage in the process, the Imagineers build models of various sizes and scales to help identify and solve potential design challenges.

The goal of creating models and prototypes is test and validate your design at each stage to help solve and/or prevent problems that may arise during the design and construction process.

Epilogue: Openings, Evaluations, and Show Quality Standards: Once construction is complete, the attraction is opened for Guests (including Cast Member previews, Soft Openings, and finally a Grand Opening). In addition, once in operation, the attraction is periodically evaluated to ensure that it maintains a level of quality and that the original Creative Intent of the attraction is intact.

The goal of the Epilogue is to present your project to your audience, allow them to experience it, and evaluate its success and effectiveness over time.

[taken from “CHAPTER TWO: An Overview of the Process” of The Imagineering Process: Using the Disney Theme Park Design Process to Bring Your Creative Ideas to Life]

Executing Your Vivid Vision of the Future

Many companies have flashy mission and vision statements. Fewer have mission or vision statements that truly capture the spirit of the business or inspire proper action.

Likewise, some companies have identified their core values (but fewer have identified the values that truly represent the business and what it aspires to become) ... and even fewer have real actionable plans to get where they say they are going. 

This is easily fixed!

Cameron Herold is famous for helping entrepreneurs and other organizational leaders translate their "Vivid Vision" into a complete and actionable roadmap for their companies. 

He originally presented the Vivid Vision exercise in a chapter of his book, the Double Double.

The basic idea is that most entrepreneurs have an idea in their mind of what the company will look and feel like in the future (literally, a Vivid Vision),  but that employees can't read their mind.  The exercise translates those ideas into actionable direction.

Here is a short video of Cameron explaining the process. 

 

It's a fun and useful exercise.  Ultimately, you end up with a 4-5 page document.  Here is an example of Cameron's Vivid Vision for himself.  This can be used internally, for recruiting, and as a way to align with stakeholders.

He just released his fourth book  (called "Vivid Vision") – and it goes into more detail on how to align your business around a shared vision of the future.  It's terrific ... and surprisingly short.

And, if you want help generating or writing your vivid vision ... email Jennifer Hudye.  She can write it from scratch or take your draft and make it “pop”.  Tell her Howard sent you.

Cameron also has a podcast and offers some tools and exercises you can download.

Pro Tip: You're Not An Author

I love books … bookshelf after bookshelf confirms that (I’ve even read most of them!)

So far, however, none of the books on those shelves were written by me.

Not surprisingly, it’s a lot easier to read one than write one.

The Internet makes being a bestseller seem easy, and writing the book even easier. It feels like everyone and their mother has a book.

But it’s not that easy.

After reading several posts on writing books, listening to experts, talking with friends that have written them, I’ve tried a lot of different approaches. I’ve transcribed speeches and presentations, I’ve chronicled dozens of stories on key points, etc. I've used book writing software, voice transcription services, grammar checkers, and even text expansion software, trying to make it easier. 

I've spent more time not writing a book than many successful authors spent from start to finish.

Technology makes most things easier and faster … but, whether we’re talking about writing a book or a trading algorithm, at some point, you realize that it’s not enough to use tools, you also have to know how to use them.

If you don’t have the right skills and knowledge, tools only help you create garbage faster.

That is where Tucker Max and Book in a Box come in ... When it's time to write your book, they can help.

Tucker Max has written 4 Best Sellers (for himself) with 3 on the Best Sellers’ List at the same time.

Here is an interview I did with Tucker about the book-writing process, and why it can be hard, even for very smart people, to write a book. 

 

via YouTube

Are you planning on writing a book?

I am!

 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - December 3rd, 2017

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• The Seven Powers of Gratitude. (LeadershipFreak)
• The Top 18 Destinations for 2018. (ThePointsGuy)
• Lab-Grown "Clean Meat" is Almost Here. Will You Eat It? (BigThink)
• The White House Wants to Ban Cellphones, Citing Security Risk. (TechCrunch)
• The 12 Best Business Books of the Year, According to Stanford Business School. (BusinessInsider)

Trading Links:

• CryptoCurrencies and Blockchains. (Inference-Review)
• Investors Beware: 'Sentiment' is Not an Exact Market-Timing Tool. (Forbes)
• Institutions Shift More Assets Into Smart Beta. (FT)
• 'Stealth Hedging' Shows Investors Not So Complacent. (Reuters)
• Entrepreneurs Eye the Early Exits as M&A Activity for Young Companies Rises. (CityAM)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - September 17th, 2017

Hillary is now on a book tour for her new book "What Happened" ... I haven't read it, but Politifact has. 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Hackers Have Already Started to Weaponize Artificial Intelligence. (Gizmodo)
• Your Future Sex Robot Could Be Hacked and Programmed to Murder You. (BGR)
• You Can Actually Be Allergic to Exercise. (Popular Science)
• Multivitamins a Waste of Money and Just Create 'Very Expensive Urine'. (TheGuardian)
• iPhone X Impressions: 'Striking' Display and 'Sensational-Looking' Design Make High Price Worth It. (MacRumors)

Trading Links:

• In China's Hinterlands, Workers Mine Bitcoin for a Digital Fortune. (New York Times)
• Janet Yellen Has Reached Breakfast-With-The-President's-Daughter Levels of Job Insecurity. (DealBreaker)
• Finance: How It Made Civilization Possible. (CFAInstitute)
• The Blockchain Will Do to Banks and Law Firms What the Internet Did to Media. (HBR)
• 16 Quotes from Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's Right-Hand Man. (BInsider)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading - June 3rd, 2017

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Expanded Laptop Ban Could Cover Half a Million Travelers a Day. (CNN)
• Someone Posted the Codes to Every United Cockpit Online. (TheNextWeb)
• A Neuroscientist Explains the Radical Theory that Our Free Will is Just an Illusion. (BI)
• Scientists Think They're More Rational Than Other People. (Scientific American)
• 50 Books Recommended by this Year's TED Speakers. (Inc)

Trading Links:

• Once Considered the Titans of Wall Street, Hedge Fund Managers are in Trouble. (WP)
• Apple: Supercycle Hopes Drive Supersize Bets. (Wall Street Journal)
• To Stabilize the Oil Market, OPEC Refines Its Strategy. (Stratfor)
• Switch It up this Year: Buy in May, till November Stay. (EconomicTimes)
• The Quants: Meet the New Kings of Wall Street. (Wall Street Journal)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading - March 25th, 2017

Let's play "Caption This Picture."

 

Found it under the headline "Aides Wrestle Drill From Trump's Hands As He Tries To Remove Obama Listening Device From Skull."  What would you caption it?

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

  

Lighter Links:

• ‘Homo Sapiens as We Know Them Will Disappear in a Century or So’. (Yuval Noah Harari)
• A Stunning Video of Mars that Took Three Months to Stitch Together—by Hand. (Wired)
• Stephen Hawking is Going to Space. (TheNextWeb)
• Darth Vader’s Suit Would Cost $18.3 Million in Real Life. (Dailyinfographic)
• How to Tell a Good Story, as Explained by George Saunders, Ira Glass, Ken Burns, Scott Simon, Catherine Burns & Others. (OpenCulture)

 

Trading Links:

• Steve Cohen is Trying to Teach Computers to Think like Top Traders. (Bloomberg)
• John Oliver on the Federal Budget. (Ritholtz)
• Measuring the Cost of Living Worldwide. (Economist)
• Are Bonds Flashing a Warning Sign for Stocks? (SeeItMarket)
• Quants are Eating Away at Wall Street's Edge. (QuantNews)

Facts or Fiction: How Faithful is Your Favorite "True" Movie's Story?

Recently, there's been a lot of talk about fake news and fact-checking the contents of the news and what public figure say.  However, I haven't heard much about measuring the veracity of movies.

This site was kind of interesting.

It purports to rank the relative veracity of various movies. 

For example, "Selma" is impressively accurate  (as is "The Big Short") ... "The Imitation Game"?  Not so much.

 

via Information is Beautiful

This interactive breakdown lets you be as "pedantic" as you want -- letting the "truth" be relatively flexible, or seating the truth-scale at "only what objectively happened".

So, where does your favorite film fall?

Pretty interesting.