3 things I'm thinking about this week...

 
1 - Powering Through. Rising tariffs globally haven’t derailed global business…yet. The global economy grew at an annual rate of 2.4% in the first half of the year per JPMorgan. This article is a good recap of global growth in a higher tariff business climate. This report doesn’t mean continued smooth sailing…tariffs are inflationary and disruptive to business planning and haven’t been in place very long (yet) so might not be fully reflected in the numbers. Good thing for investors…business is nimbler and a better capital allocator than government is…and will continue to adjust to the ever-changing policies. 

2 - One Chance. I’m a space guy. I’ve read quite a bit about the space shuttle. It had one chance at landing successfully. No engines to give it a second pass at the runway. So, the commander got extensive training in landings and had expert help the whole way down. 

 

Less dramatically, it’s the same thing with your retirement. One chance. Something to ask yourself is how much experience, training and expert help do you have to successfully retire the way you want to.

3 - Beautiful Simplicity. New restaurant launches happen all the time. And so do closures (unfortunately) – as you know it’s a tough business and one I typically avoid investing in. Few felt Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers had a chance. Certainly not founder Todd Graves’ business school professor, who gave his business plan a C-. The business today is still owned by Graves, a rarity for a $10 billion operation….and continues to execute on one focused idea…chicken fingers. Succeeded in part to a degree of focus also seen at Costco and In-N-Out Burger...a pair of exceptional businesses. Reminds me of Charlie Munger’s quote “Take a simple idea and take it seriously.” David Senra’s Founder’s podcast spent an episode going through the Raising Cane’s approach.

...and one more thing

Lego maintains an underground vault in Denmark containing more than 8,000 sets dating back to the 1960s. A wonderful archive of their history and inspiration for their current-day designers. More about it here.