In Search of the Perfect Investment

In order, my most profitable stocks (those which are still in my portfolio) are ATK, HON, GILD, GOOG, AF, PHOT, and WEN. I did not accept Wendy’s tender offer. I think the tender offer will make the stock more valuable.

My tennis partner is prescient. He feels I get no pleasure from “gambling” in the stockmarket. He’s right. I’d rather be running a business. That would give me control and pleasure. But, for now, my pleasure comes from learning and writing about passive investments (like the market and real estate) and playing tennis. when you sell a business and get a pot of cash, your investment horizon changes. You suddenly have to worry about boring things like “How do Susan and I live on this money for the rest of our lives?”

The good news is you can “learn” the market and make money at it. And even get some pleasure out of being right. But it’s fleeting. For now it’s what I have. And you guys are benefiting from my pricey learning.

 Really neat interview with Matt Damon, the movie actor. He’s a very smart guy.

When a fan asked Damon to recall the most challenging time in his life, he gave a very poignant response in which he references Philip Seymour Hoffman who passed away last week.

“Yeah, there are a number of kind of rugged times, particularly in a career like this. Nothing gets given to you, and you have to struggle for everything, and I think those struggles really do define who you are, and it’s really important. I’ve seen parents try to remove those struggles from their kids’ lives, to the detriment of the kid, and it’s something I think about a lot. I can’t make it too easy for my kids because that doesn’t really equip them to handle the world when I’m not around. Anytime you deal with death, anytime in my life on a personal level that I’ve lost someone, that’s always a moment to grieve and feel incredibly thankful that I’m still here and I’m still able to have my family around me. I’m just thinking of that because it’s kind of a s—– week because of Phil. It’s kind of on the brain.”

Read more. Click here.

How I wasted a weekend and why I’ll never buy another Microsoft product (if I can possibly help it). My daughter Claire wanted a version of Word that would read and write clean docx files. (I use Office 2003.) That meant buying her Office 2013. I bought a copy of Office 2013 online from them. I gave them my credit card for $219 plus tax and was ready to download the software. Instead I got this absolutely insane email.

I did call the number and found my order was “being delayed for my protection.” I asked what they were worried about. All they could say was “The order is in review. It doesn’t say why.”

I got an email several hours later. They said I was kosher and could download and install their precious software.

I did. Their instructions to install it didn’t work. Their error message is a classic in the annals of error messages.

Going online for additional help didn’t work.

Sixteen hours later and several long calls to India in which they remotely “fixed” Claire’s new machine, I found they had not only not installed the software, but Claire’s new machine no longer worked.

I kid you not. They had broken Claire’s machine from 10,000 miles away!

There was only one “fix” — wipe the disk, kill all the software (including non-Microsoft software) and restore machine to its original condition — as it came from the factory. Fiddling for several more hours … and eventually Office 2013 works on her new machine.

I have used computers for 50 years. I have never — repeat never — experienced this sort of madness — especially over a product I bought legitimately and paid real dollars for. Apparently my problems are not unique. The Internet is loaded with bitches about installing Office 2013 — their latest Office.

Microsoft has a new CEO. He’s called Satya Nadella. On his first day as CEO he wrote an email to Microsoft employees. It’s worse than terrible. He says Microsoft is a lovely place to work, and Microsoft employees are talented. After Bully Balmer, maybe flattery will actually work? I’m dubious. Click for his entire vacuous memo here:

From: Satya Nadella
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: RE: Satya Nadella – Microsoft’s New CEO

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.

It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.

While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition – it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places – as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.

As we start a new phase of our journey together, I wanted to share some background on myself and what inspires and motivates me.

Who am I?

I am 46. I’ve been married for 22 years and we have 3 kids. And like anyone else, a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences. Many who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning. I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me.

Why am I here?

I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft – to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. I know it can sound hyperbolic – and yet it’s true. We have done it, we’re doing it today, and we are the team that will do it again.

I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize – many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.

This is a software-powered world.

It will better connect us to our friends and families and help us see, express, and share our world in ways never before possible. It will enable businesses to engage customers in more meaningful ways.

I am here because we have unparalleled capability to make an impact.

Why are we here?

In our early history, our mission was about the PC on every desk and home, a goal we have mostly achieved in the developed world. Today we’re focused on a broader range of devices. While the deal is not yet complete, we will welcome to our family Nokia devices and services and the new mobile capabilities they bring us.

As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things.

We are the only ones who can harness the power of software and deliver it through devices and services that truly empower every individual and every organization. We are the only company with history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity.

Qi Lu captured it well in a recent meeting when he said that Microsoft uniquely empowers people to “do more.” This doesn’t mean that we need to do more things, but that the work we do empowers the world to do more of what they care about – get stuff done, have fun, communicate and accomplish great things. This is the core of who we are, and driving this core value in all that we do – be it the cloud or device experiences – is why we are here.

What do we do next?

To paraphrase a quote from Oscar Wilde – we need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable.

This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to “do more.” We have picked a set of high-value activities as part of our One Microsoft strategy. And with every service and device launch going forward we need to bring more innovation to bear around these scenarios.

Next, every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this.

Finally, I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it’s not just work, but something that will improve other people’s lives. This is the opportunity that drives each of us at this company.

Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can’t ask for a better foundation.

Let’s build on this foundation together.

Satya

If you think I made this up. this email can be found here.

Now I really know why I don’t own — and never will  — own shares in Microsoft. I have more horrid stories on Microsoft. But they’re boring.

Best explanation ever of social networking. Print this image and give it to your kids. They’ll love it.

Latest favorite New Yorker cartoons

Harry Newton who had a nice weekend goal to check out this collection: TRIP, AKAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, SODA, STJ (St Jude), ILMN, YELP, YY, LNG, DXCM, FEYE, Kerx and VIPS. But never got the time because of Microsoft’s utter incompetence. I’ll spend some time on them today.