I review my previous annual goals and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) at the beginning of each new year for the ones I set out last year. This year I am running a bit late and it is already 02 Feb. So much has happened within the first month, with the new American president on 20 Jan and a shocking turn of events at work with a colleague plus the early CNY festive period of meals and celebrations.
My 2024 KPIs written in Jan 2024 and how I grade myself as the year ended:
- Read 15 books – I completed 16 and exceeded this goal for the first time… I give myself an A grade. At the bottom of this blog is the list of the books I read and a summary of each for my reference. The friend who suggested this good habit to me a few years ago reads 40+ a year – I aim to achieve that one day.
- Closed one of the 2 funds launched by our financial services company – We were not able to do so for various reasons which I may write about in further detail in the future. I give myself an F grade
- Do 5 online and physical courses. I only completed one online course due to my full-time job in 2024 and I was too occupied with work to concentrate on actively pursuing more courses. I only did a simple Google AI online course. I give myself a Grade C.
- Stay healthy and happy always – Generally an OK year with some ups and downs. I give myself a Grade B.
I will write up a new 2025 KPI list soon to keep me focused on my to-do goals for this year. I will be starting my next halftime journey as I officially retire from work and decide on what I want to do, besides looking forward to more travelling and visiting new places together with my wife for the next 10+ years.
Life is fragile and precious. We should make the most of it to treasure the time and create new memories and experiences while we can do so.
List of books I read in 2024 and a summary of each for my reference:
(1) Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson – Finished the final 25% in Jan. Good psychoanalysis of who Musk is as a person and his quirks. Surges and crazy madness, ultimate risk taker that cannot sit still, willing to bet the house all the time. Hard to bet with or against him via his sheer mental willpower.
(2) The Private Equity Playbook – Adam Coffey (2019) – 104 pages about private equity- getting the right team, EBITDA, leverage, growth surge, and hiring consultants. I wanted to understand more about the PE world in general and how they think.
(3) The Asia 21st century (2022) – Kishida Mahbubani – A collection of his essays from 2019 on similar themes. America plutocracy: government for the wealthy and not for the majority’s wellbeing. Supreme Court “Citizen’s United” Jan 2010 decision to allow unlimited spending to ensure the election of candidates sensitive to donor’s interest. Disenfranchised US middle class that is now worse off than their parent’s generation and turning to Trump to vent their anger. Distrustful of the media. Blaming others like China and acting like a bully, refusing to engage but starting new wars. No American wants to face the ugly truths and address them.
(4) The Coming Wave – Mustafa Suleyman – Co-founder of DeepMind, explained and helped me fill in the gaps I had in AI history, quite enlightening. Tied AI to data centre and climate change. The last part is about ways to proceed, inevitably to embrace change. Turned a bit preachy at the end though…
(5) The Algebra of Wealth – Scott Galloway – a bit rambling at times, mostly aimed at beginners into investments and talks about the basics. Does not appeal to an experienced investor as his thoughts may be too conservative eg. Buy ETFs, buy a house and keep things simple. I like his podcasts but this 2nd book of his I read to date does not impress me.
(6) AI Investing for Dummies – Paul Mladjenovic – How to use ChatGPT to enhance and speed up your research and recommendations – shortcuts. Though written in early 2024, the speed at which AI changes makes the recommendations a bit dated by the time I read it in Aug with new AI tools like Gemini and Claude being launched. Intro and refresher for beginners. A good start to using AI to turbocharge and sharpen your investing skills.
(7) Private Equity: A Memoir – Carrie Sun. The story is about her 2 years with a high-pressure private equity fund and experiencing burnout. Similar to Billions the TV series. The author is an assistant to the top man – rumoured to be Chase Coleman, the founder of Tiger Global Management. Too much of an emotional roll coaster ride and not enough about the actual workings of the hedge fund. May appeal more to females trying to figure out their lives in a high-pressure work environment where the boss does not get it.
(8) Chip War – Chris Miller. Rereading it a second time to get a better understanding of the importance of chips and leading to ASML, Nvidia, AMD and ARM investments. Able to absorb better during the 2nd reading how each country managed to capture a critical part of the chip cycle, how they developed in history, and the importance of Taiwan’s TSMC as a manufacturer of choice where American chip designers outsource fabrication like Nvidia. An eye opener to how significantly critical this sector is to the world.
(9) Lee Kuan Yew – How to build a nation – Tom Plate. Written in 2009, a different Western perspective and line of questioning with regards to LKY’s points of view. LKY – society before self, soft authoritarianism, unlike the American self before others. His views on China and the USA in 2009 also echo Kishore’s – they think alike. An aggressive and frank American journalist questioning him on sensitive topics with no holds barred- a surprisingly nice read of the 2 days session he spent with LKY that recorded precious nuggets of his thought processes.
(10) AI for Finance – Edward Tsang – Written in late 2022. Too much technical jargon and assumptions without AI solutions and suffers from being just before OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in Nov 2022.
(11) Living the Asian Century – Kishore Mahbubani. An interesting read from a man who experienced the founding fathers of S’pore (LKY, Goh Keng Swee and S Rajaratnam) on a first-name basis. Talks about his life journey and how lucky he was to be where he is today. Maybe with age (75), he has more circumspection about his life not to let pride and ego take centre stage. Highly recommended read to understand how S’pore made its name on the global stage and the many struggles its people had to fight and endure to ensure survival.
(12) Blue Zones Challenge – Dan Buettner. Short book on the introduction of blue zone regions like Okinawa for healthy living and lifestyle. A one-year program to proactively improve your well-being and track your health and happiness to live longer. More American-centric lifestyle fine-tuning. S’pore has recently been declared a blue zone.
(13) The Singapore Story – Lee Kuan Yew. A good read of the details from LKY’s life till S’pore independence in 1965. A lot of info on the various steps and near misses which could have changed history and sidelined LKY/PAP. The struggles with the communist threat, British rule and merger with Malaysia in 1963, plus the fights with wanting a Malaysian Malaysia against UMNO’s Malay Malaysian supremacy led to the separation. Seems like LKY was always prepared for that and wanted the Tunku to claim that it initiated that move.
(14) Cryptocurrency Uncovered – Your guide through the Digital Gold Rush – Nathan Venture (2023). A short 200-page book that could have been written by ChatGPT – a giveaway – the last paragraph of each chapter starts with “in conclusion, …”. Brief run-through of various topics associated with crypto, a refresher that does not attempt to dive too deep within each lesson.
(15) Yeoman – Charles Yu. An ebook short story (less than 30 pages) from the same person who wrote Interior Chinatown book which is now a new TV series I am watching.
(16) The Little Book of Bitcoin – Anthony Scaramucci. A short 200-pager book on the build-up to the case for buying BTC. Nice points made and advice on how to invest wisely. Good for newbies.
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