Notes on Books, Podcasts, and Essays

Notes and Takeaways from Roger Federer’s Dartmouth Commencement Address

I recently watched Roger Federer’s 2024 commencement address at Dartmouth. He’s a funny guy and he made some interesting points worth considering:

Speech NotesRick LindquistJuly 28, 2024Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from The 25 Cognitive Biases

I’ve been reading a lot about cognitive bias and mental heuristics lately. Here are my notes on 25 common biases.

Book NotesRick LindquistJuly 2, 2023Psychology

Notes and Takeaways from The happy secret to better work

As part of my research on the power of gratitude, I stumbled upon Shawn Achor’s book, The Happiness Advantage, which inspired this TED talk on the secret to working better.

Podcast NotesRick LindquistJune 25, 2023Psychology

Notes and Takeaways from The Coaching Habit

This book was recommended to me by one of my mentors. I always find my conversations with him super helpful, so I asked him what his secret was. He told me he simply followed the framework in this book.

Book NotesRick LindquistMarch 12, 2023Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from Leadership and Self-Deception

This book covers the important leadership topic of self-deception. Left unchecked, self-deception corrupts our families and organizations, driving away the most important people in our lives. If you’re unfamiliar with the topic, I encourage you to skim these notes.

Book NotesRick LindquistDecember 18, 2022Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from How to Get the Help You Need

I need to get better at asking for help. I also need to improve how I ask for help. And this was a helpful essay on both fronts.

Essay NotesRick LindquistOctober 30, 2022Relationships

Notes and Takeaways from The Essentials Of Leadership

I’m working on a handbook for effective leadership, and this podcast with Marshall Goldsmith and Shane Parrish was perfect for my research.

Podcast NotesRick LindquistOctober 2, 2022Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from Leadership With Integrity with Doug Conant

Doug Conant is full of leadership advice and lessons. In this podcast episode with Shane Parrish, Doug talks about the importance of leading with integrity, which starts with creating an authentic foundation.

Podcast NotesRick LindquistSeptember 11, 2022Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from Amp It Up

This was recent required reading for the Windfall executive team. Prior to this book, I’d never read much about Frank Slootman. His writing style is like his management style: straight to the point, high performance, and all about execution.

Book NotesRick LindquistAugust 28, 2022Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from Rituals for Work

I’m working on a presentation about the importance of rituals at work. The book Rituals for Work, written by Kursat Ozenc and Margaret Hagan, is a simple introduction to the concept of rituals and how you can leverage them within organizations big and small.

Book NotesRick LindquistAugust 7, 2022Leadership, Rituals

Notes and Takeaways from Craft Ventures: Operating During a Downturn

I’ve been looking for a simple explanation of the current macroeconomic situation and how it impacts investors and entrepreneurs. The first 20 minutes of this talk is exactly that.

Video NotesRick LindquistJune 12, 2022Economy

Notes on Why The Secret to Success is Setting the Right Goals

While researching the differences between good and bad goals, I stumbled across this TED talk. The speaker, John Doerr, is a champion of Andy Grove’s Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) system.

Speech NotesRick LindquistMarch 13, 2022Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from Robert Cialdini on The Principles of Persuasion

In this podcast episode with Shane Parrish, Robert Cialdini shares his seven principles of persuasion. I was originally introduced to Dr. Cialdini’s work by Charlie Munger in his speech, The Psychology of Human Misjudgment, and I’ve wanted to dive deeper ever since.

Podcast NotesRick LindquistJanuary 9, 2022Leadership, Psychology

Notes and Takeaways from The New One Minute Manager

I really enjoyed Who Moved My Cheese? so I decided to read another book by the same authors. The management framework in The New One Minute Manager provides a collaborative approach to leading, managing, and motivating people.

Book NotesRick LindquistNovember 21, 2021Management

Notes and Takeaways from Cameron Herold Coaches Me on Hiring

In this episode from the Mixergy podcast, Andrew Warner receives live coaching from Cameron Herold on how to hire a second-in-command. I took notes on some of the interesting takeaways so I don't forget them.

Podcast NotesRick LindquistOctober 24, 2021Hiring, Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from The First 90 Days

The First 90 Days is required reading for new employees at Windfall. I decided to take notes on it so it would be easy for everyone at the company to revisit the key points. While reading the entire book is overkill for most non-executive roles, there are some really good frameworks that anyone can benefit from employing when they start a new job or receive a promotion.

Book NotesRick LindquistOctober 10, 2021Leadership

Notes and Takeaways from Understanding Start-Up CEOs

Understanding Start-Up CEOs is required reading for new employees at Windfall. I decided to take notes on it so it would be easy for everyone at the company to revisit the key points. As a former startup CEO, I can relate to a lot of the material in this book.

Book NotesRick LindquistSeptember 26, 2021Startups, Leadership, Entrepreneurship

Notes and Takeaways from The Ladders of Wealth Creation

I hold tremendous respect for Nathan Barry and his approach to entrepreneurship. I decided to take notes on his ladder-based approach to wealth building to make sure I understand his point about treating money-making as a skill.

Article NotesRick LindquistSeptember 12, 2021Money