04 | Harvard took me to the future... or present?

Sep 27, 2020

Hey guys,

This week I thought a lot about my time doing Sustainable Business Strategy at Harvard with Professor Rebecca Henderson . The more I see the pandemic, the more I keep reflecting about how businesses are evolving and how the future needs to be to fight climate change among other things. I wrote some articles in the blog explaining what this really means, some key principles and What I learnt At Harvard Business School.

As always, please see below the highlights of the week.

📸 Issue's Cover

When I got the certificate from HBS during the pandemic

📝 This Week's Blog Post

I was in Tallinn couple of weeks ago during the pandemic. I expected it to be a bit cultural with some Russian and Nordic influence and relatively something to see in 24 hours. Well, I stayed 5 days and it was stunning. This is why.

💸 Financial Freedom

In the previous issue, we talked about Gold. But there’s another asset class more unconventional. It’s luxury watches. Obviously when there’s a crisis, you want to have your money safely invested in real estate, government bonds and metals. But have you ever thought of things like fine art, investment grade wine or luxury watches? We’ll talk about the rest in the upcoming newsletters but when it comes to watches only stick to respectable watchmakers and do your homework. I wrote this article so you have some hints in terms of how to start. Don’t think this is only for the rich. This can also be a way to convert some of your cash from your local currency to an international “currency” that you can always sell at a later stage.

🛠️ Work Smarter (Not Harder!)

Last Sunday we talked about the importance of calendars to plan and maintain your weeks. When we started the full lockdown in Europe back in March 2020, I wrote an article to share 10 tips to increase productivity when working from home. I don’t think all of them are game changers (in fact, some are obvious) but definitely those are quick starting points to at least make you 1% more productive every day. You won’t see the impact now but over one year, small changes turn into big wins.

🧳 Lifestyle Design

Have you thought of retirement? In average, it takes around 45 years… if you’re still alive. But do you want to wait that long? If not, then what are you doing to change it? One of the books that really changed my mindset about designing the life I want is The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris published originally in 2007… and adjusted to these days. He said that people don’t want to be millionaires but experience what they believe only millions can buy. Last Sunday I shared some tricks about luxury hotels and business class flights but there’s a lot more in whatever segment you’re interested in. You just need to pay attention and stop your stereotypes about people. It’s doable only if you’re convinced and leave the old school paradigms behind.