Cedric Chin

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Cedric Chin

Word slinger, bug fixer, and operator.

Commoncog's Next Phase

Announcing the launch of the Commoncog Case Library, setting the Learning in Ill-Structured Domains series free, and one more thing.

Strong at Capital, Bad at Everything Else

Two examples of operators who were strong on the capital side of the business expertise triad, but weak in just about everything else.

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Colin Bryar on the practice of Amazon's Weekly Business Review

Cedric talks to Colin Bryar, early Amazon executive and former shadow to Jeff Bezos, on one of Amazon's secret operational weapons: the Weekly Business Review.

High Roller: Lessons from America's Richest Banker

Andy Beal's story is an astounding story of capital allocation, incidentally making him America's richest banker. A guest post by Frederik Gieschen.

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Two Types of Data Analysis

Broadly speaking, there are two approaches to data analysis in business. The two approaches have different worldviews, and express different tradeoffs. Here's why that matters.

Capital Allocation as an Antidote to Business Luck

The unspoken secret about new company formation is that you need to get lucky. Roll the dice, get a business outcome. Capital allocation matters because it gives you a path to winning even when you lose the initial roll.

Building a Valuable Business? It's How You Spend It That Matters

The skill of capital allocation — a mysterious, under-discussed element of remarkable business performance.

Beck’s Measurement Model, or Why It’s So Damn Hard to Measure Software Development

A pretty useful lens for when a business activity is easy to measure, and when it is not. Part of the Becoming Data Driven in Business Series.

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What’s an Operational Definition Anyway?

Two principles on collecting data, from the field of Statistical Process Control. As with most principles in SPC, this is both simpler and more important than you might think.

Charlie Munger’s Supply Demand Curve Puzzle

What a puzzle from Charlie Munger tells us about a supply-side business model with unreasonably high returns.

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