RAY DALIO’S ‘PRINCIPLES: LIFE AND WORK’ Business Lessons From an Investment King While the $1,200 price is no small ask, the prestige and pedigree of a turntable designed to last lifetimes will surely have people lining up on release day. For those with a tighter budget, Technics also announced a cheaper SL-1500C model. Expect both to make serious waves this year, especially as vinyl continuously grows more popular. As it turns out, the old really does become new again. THE TECHNICS SL-1200 MK7 Amid all the rollable TVs, customizable LED displays, and other future- facing tech at CES 2019, one particular piece of equipment stole headlines: the Technics SL-1200 MK7. Those who don’t spend their days digging through dusty bins of old records may not know how big of a deal this announcement is, but it’s enough to send vinyl nerds into a frenzy. That’s because there is no turntable more revered than the SL-1200. It’s been namechecked in songs by A Tribe Called Quest, but it’s also been off the market for a decade, which makes its return all the more noteworthy. When Panasonic revived the Technics brand in 2016, they did so with an audiophile turntable priced well above what the average DJ could afford. The backlash was swift and severe, with naysayers claiming Technics had abandoned their core audience. Therefore, the arrival of a new SL-1200 was welcomed with open arms. A Return to Form for the World’s Most Beloved Turntable through Giving Pledge, he also knows that life isn’t all about money. Dalio combines his professional and personal insights in “Principles: Life and Work,” which is one of the must-read business books of the past five years. “Principles” begins with something akin to a brief autobiography, but Dalio isn’t interested in providing readers with the full scope of his life or recounting poignant memories. Instead, this section of the book, titled “Where I’m Coming From,” seeks to provide context and perspective on the principles that follow. Once the groundwork is laid, Dalio takes readers through his principles and gives examples of how they’ve played out in real life. “Principles are fundamental truths that serve as the foundations for behavior that gets you what you want out of life,” he writes. Among Dalio’s core tenets is an adherence to “Radical Truth” and “Radical Transparency” in leadership. Few people have achieved as much in their careers as Ray Dalio. Even fewer have done so without losing their footing in the real world. This down-to-earth quality is one of the characteristics that makes “Principles” such a refreshing read. As the founder of the megasuccessful hedge fund Bridgewater Associates and one of the world’s 100 richest people, Ray Dalio knows a thing or two about business success. As somebody who has pledged to donate more than half of his $18 billion fortune to charity
THE DRUNK ELEPHANT DIFFERENCE
“I have no background in the industry, and I never envisioned myself being an entrepreneur,” Tiffany Masterson, founder of Drunk Elephant, told Fashionista last year. Despite her lack of experience — or perhaps because of it — Masterson has created one of the most buzzed-about brands of 2019. Drunk Elephant is a skin care brand that’s challenging established industry leaders and their emergent competitors. Their success comes in large part from a transparent approach that’s light on buzzwords and heavy on facts. While many so-called alternative skin care companies will market themselves as “all natural,” Drunk Elephant takes a different approach. They are more concerned with biocompatibility, which is the ability for compounds to be safely absorbed into the skin. They’ve identified a list called the “Suspicious 6,” which comprises commonly used ingredients the company believes have no place in their products. These ingredients — essential oils, drying alcohols, chemical screens, fragrances/dyes, and sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) — often do more harm than good, hence Drunk Elephant’s insistence on ignoring them. Another core tenet of Drunk Elephant’s business model is favoring quality over quantity, which will come as a refreshing change to anyone who’s shopped for cosmetics and beauty products before. Their entire product line fits on one web page. Not only does it make it easy to find what you need, but it also won’t lock you into the paralysis that comes from having too many choices that basically seem the same. Clarity of packaging and purpose is just as important to Drunk Elephant as clarity regarding ingredients. These traits have a consumer focus that’s rare in the skin care industry — and that’s by design. Masterson’s outside status allowed her to create a company that worked for its customers first and foremost. “It didn’t even occur to me to look at other brands or try to compete or copy or emulate. I had it all in my head, and it was coming from my gut,” Masterson said. Turns out, it’s working. A No-Nonsense Approach to Skin Care
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