Experiment

Picture credit: Modern Healthcare.com

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing mandatory bundled payments for heart attacks and bypass surgery, at hospitals in 98 randomly selected metro areas.  You can read more at http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160725/NEWS/160729934.

The American Association of Retired Persons, generally known as AARP, traces its heritage to the late 1940’s, when a high school principal set out to make sure retired teachers had adequate health insurance.  For those of you who like to join organizations, are age-qualified, would like a forum to make your voice heard, and/or aren’t that excited about the 21^st century version of the AARP, here are some alternatives.

Association of Mature American Citizens, or AMAC, www.amac.us.  Founded in 2007, more than 1 million members, dues of $16 annually.

American Seniors Association, or ASA, www.americanseniors.org.  Founded in 2006, 1.5 million members, dues of $15 annually.

60 Plus Association, www.60plus.org.  Founded in 1992, more than 7 million members, no membership dues.

The Seniors Coalition, or TSC, www.senior.org.  Founded in 1989, more than 4 million members, dues of $13.50 annually.

Most of these organizations offer some mix of discounted services, travel arrangements, and political advocacy.  Several have developed in the last few years as a result of AARP’s endorsement of the ACA.

Northside Hospital announced plans to build a 12 story, 170,000 square foot office tower in Midtown.  The building, to be called Northside Midtown Medical, will include the Northside Imaging Center, as well as primary care offices and a variety of other medical services.  You can read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/07/28/northside-to-break-ground-on-12-story-medical.html.

Over the last few months, I’ve been reading Warren Buffett’s shareholder letters from 1965 to 2015, which have been compiled in book form.  Following are some observations as a result of this reading, though I haven’t finished the book.  1) Hold plenty of cash, for both emergencies and opportunities, 2) buy good companies at fair prices, but don’t overpay, 3) good management is as critical as a great business, 4) minimize, and learn from, your mistakes, 5) stick with what you know, 6) invest for decades, and ignore public market fluctuations, and 7) focus on earnings, especially as measured against the capital invested.

Buffett hasn’t invested exclusively in common stocks.  Berkshire has also owned preferred stocks, especially if they have convertible features, short bonds and Treasuries, and intermediate bonds.  They have, from time to time, also engaged in arbitrage.

It’s worth the read, if you want to make the time.  You can find it at https://www.amazon.com/Berkshire-Hathaway-Letters-Shareholders-2015-ebook/dp/B00DUM1W3E#nav-subnav.

Michael Simmons, co-founder of Empact, wrote recently about the concept of deliberate practice.  The thought is that different fields require different amounts of deliberate practice in order for those who specialize in said field to be considered world class.

In the article, Simmons said that those considered world class in their respective disciplines set aside at least one hour a day, or five hours a week, over their entire career, for activities which would be classified as deliberate practice or learning.  Names he reviewed include Phil Knight, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Elon Musk.  The five hours were typically allocated to three buckets, which were reading, reflection, and experimentation.

Read:  Buffett spends five to six hours daily reading newspapers and corporate reports.  Gates reads 50 books a year.  Zuckerberg reads at least one book every two weeks.  Elon Musk grew up reading two books a day.  Mark Cuban reads three hours a day.  Art Blank reads two hours a day.

Reflect:  AOL CEO Tim Armstrong spends four hours weekly just thinking.  Jack Dorsey is a serial wanderer.  Jeff Weiner schedules two hours of thinking time per day.  Sara Blakely is a long time journaler.

Experiment:  Ben Franklin set aside time for experimentation, as did Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

You can read the entire article at http://www.inc.com/empact/bill-gates-warren-buffett-and-oprah-all-use-the-5-hour-rule.html.

Quote of the week:

“Constant kindness can accomplish much.  As the sun makes the ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”

                                                                                                                                                                Albert Schweitzer