Mati Goldberg

The Italian political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli once said that every man is potentially corruptible, even if they are good and well educated. This quote, “People can be easily corrupted,” printed on the inside cover page of this fascinating biography of the current prime minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu. Nowadays, when Mr. Netanyahu is facing allegations of being involved in bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, Caspit's book is a rare window into the world of the famous politician, which many relate to as the unrivaled leader of Israel. However, something happened to him during his 10-years term as Prime Minister, and he became – in Caspit's words – the modern version of Louis the Great – He is the state, the state's best interest is Netanyahu's best interest, and without him the country of Israel is hopeless.

The book covers Elon Musk's biography and the forces that led him to become the man he is today, somewhere between Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. “When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people. That is what differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity”. His accomplishments in sustainable technology have led to astonishing new levels - along with a complex personality and enormous ego. “For Elon, the word ‘No' does not exist, and he expects that attitude from everyone around him.” He's being notorious for setting unrealistic goals, assigning incredible workloads, and verbally abusing his employees. “The longer you wait to fire someone, the longer it has been since you should have fired them,” once said. Yet, Musk is rightly considered today's leader in the aerospace, automotive, and solar industries.

Timothy Ferriss draws the model of the New Rich. These people understood that the right moment to live your dreams is here and now. You should leave your old job and establish your own business that can support your dream life. Live like a millionaire without actually be one.
His formula, DEAL, is made of four components:
Definition – according to the Pareto Principle, you should recognize 20% of the things you do that bring you to 80% of the desired outcomes. Be effective – not efficient, and focus on the few things that make significant progress;
Elimination – save time by “Data Detox” and removal of distractions;
Automation – create “autopilot” that assist you and manage tasks on behalf of you;
Liberation – learn how to release.

I read the book after watching Prof. Ariely and Prof. Kariv's debate in my college. Very interesting and makes you think about the daily decisions you take.

Until reading Ben Horowitz's book, ‘The Hard Thing About Hard Things,' I knew that he's a successful VC but didn't realize that what made him such was his previous career as a Co-founder and CEO, who struggled hard before his company acquired.

This book is teaching a lot about leadership and taking care of your people.

“Spend zero time on what you could have done and devote all of your time on what you might do. Because in the end, nobody cares; just run your company” (p. 92)

“There are always a thousand things that can go wrong and sink the ship. If you focus too much on them, you will drive yourself nuts and likely crash your company. Focus on where you are going rather than on what you hope to avoid” (p. 207)