Lyzbeth Bertoli > Lyzbeth's Quotes

“The fall of moral civilization has always been brought about by those who were "just doing their jobs".”
― Jeremy Grantham

“Capitalism has this strange ability to kind of paralyse the altruistic part of humans. So at the weekends, they're altruistic, they love their grandchildren. Then during the week they take on the character of the corporation whose only job description, says Milton Friedman, is to maximize short term profits. If a human being does nothing except maximize their self interest, they're a sociopath. That's how it's defined. So during the week you behave like a sociopath and as if you have no grandchildren-or as if you hate the ones you have. And then at the weekend you become a loving grandfather again. That is apparently what capitalism does to us, based on the evidence.”
― Jeremy Grantham

“Jeremy Grantham, chairman of GMO, makes some very interesting observations about growth and value investing in the US: ‘Growth companies seem impressive as well as exciting. They seem so reasonable to own that they carry little career risk. Accordingly, they have underperformed for the last fifty years by about 1½ per cent a year. Value stocks, in contrast, belong to boring, struggling, or sub-average firms. Their continued poor performance seems, with hindsight, to have been predictable, and, therefore, when it happens, it carries serious career risk. To compensate for this career risk and lower fundamental quality, value stocks have outperformed by 1½ per cent a year.”
― Anthony Bolton, Investing Against the Tide: Lessons From A Life Running Money

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour.”
― Elon Musk

“It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”
― Elon Musk

“My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100 million in SpaceX, $70m in Tesla, and $10m in Solar City. I had to borrow money for rent.”
― Elon Musk

“You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve”
― Elon Musk

“Business is about creating value for a specific group of people.”
― Hendrith Smith, Essays on Capitalism & The U.S. Economy

“If you want to have a profitable business, you need to have an efficient business.”
― Hendrith Smith

“Business Efficiency has so many benefits. It leads to greater profits, greater internal leverage, less friction….. but it also leads to less waste, less pollution, and a richer harmony with nature.”
― Hendrith Smith

“When a business streamlines its processes, it inevitably experiences other benefits which may include greater employee satisfaction, more profits, better accounting, and more.”
― Hendrith Smith

“Every business can benefit from good quality management consulting services. Consultants are able to gather, assemble and utilize data in unique ways. Consultants also have perspectives that are likely to be unique compared to the perspectives you find internal to your business.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“As Consultants, we add immense value. With our insights, we are able to give quality guidance to companies, businesses, governments, organizations, municipalities, groups and individuals - and ultimately provide them with resources to help them make better choices. And with everyone making better choices, the world is a better place.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“A business is like a living being. It’s more of a process than a stagnant thing. The way you manage your business today shouldn’t be the same way you managed it ten years ago or even ten months ago. Because your business should have evolved and changed and adapted in some way during that time - just like living beings evolve and change and adapt to their environments.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“The Subjectivity of Value: Value is determined by individual buyers and sellers and not by government. There is no product or service which has a fixed or definite value. Because circumstances, scenarios, and objectives vary indefinitely, value also varies indefinitely. Value is subjective in the same way that needs are subjective.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“The economy is always changing. So your business should always be changing. Managing a business includes adapting to change, evolving with change and sometimes pioneering those changes and evolutions.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“Business is about putting a product or service in the marketplace that will create value for a specific group of people.”
― Hendrith Smith, Essays on The Banking Industry

“The Profit function: Individual profits cause collective growth and prosperity. It is necessary for individual people and businesses to profit in a Permaculture Economy where justice is maintained and fairly applied. Profits are earned when efficiency is mastered. With profits, individuals invest in (a) new and innovative means of production which will allow more profits, or (b) buying products and services from other individuals who are also seeking profit by providing value.

Profits also incentivize individuals to be productive participants in society to begin with. If there will be no profit in an activity, business or industry, then individuals will decline participation in that activity, business or industry. Since profits are only possible when buyers are satisfied with the productivity of sellers, then it is also true that an individuals willingness to participate in an activity, business or industry is preceded by the buyers satisfaction which allows the seller to profit. But when buyers are dissatisfied and decline participation, it forces sellers to decline participation. Inversely, if profits are eradicated through the force of price-controls by the government, then sellers will decline participation which then causes buyers to decline participation. And when both sellers and buyers decline participation, then whole industries and economies collapse.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, Principles of a Permaculture Economy

“Productivity is about turning valuable inputs into valuable outputs. Individual people are more productive when all the elements of the permaculture economy are at work in their lives. When individuals are productive, then businesses become productive. When businesses become productive, the nation becomes productive.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, Principles of a Permaculture Economy

“When we look at asset protection from a natural perspective, we realize that in nature, assets are protected not with fences or walls but with internal and external immune systems. So the best way to protect an asset is with systems that self organize and self execute behaviors which function as protective to the asset.”
― Hendrith Smith, The Wealth Reference Guide: An American Classic

“The basic and most fundamental element to business is creating value - creating value for others and making their lives better in some way. If you can do that, put a price on it, communicate it clearly and get it to buyers….. you’re in business.”
― Hendrith Smith

“Being valuable is the start. But a good business also has to communicate its value to its customers and those customers have to also voluntarily be in agreement with that value. If the customers perceive the value, and determine that the value they obtain from your businesses products or services is greater than the value of the dollars, Renminbi or ETH they have in their wallet… then they will pay for what your business is selling. If not, they won’t.”
― Hendrith Smith

“Before we invest, we ask ourselves ’What kind of value is this business creating and how do its customers and prospective customers appraise that value?”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“A business is not just a legal entity - it’s a group of people engaged in the voluntary exchange of products, services, agreements and currencies. Buyers and sellers determine whether a business is a business. Not it’s legal entity status given by the state. I think legal status is good, but it’s not what truly establishes a business.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“At Mayflower-Plymouth, we’re helping businesses and cities make significant improvements with our management consulting services. And for that, we’re making the world a better place. And we’re making a lot of money - many millions of dollars - by helping others and making their lives better.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, The Wealth Reference Guide: An American Classic

“At Mayflower-Plymouth, we pride ourselves on providing holistic solutions. Businesses have problems, cities have problems, society has problems… and we have solutions to those problems. And me being a polymath and the founder of the company means that polymath spirit is embedded in the company’s nature. We like to solve all kinds of problems and present all kinds of solutions across various industries.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“If your business is serious about becoming the best version of itself, consult with Mayflower-Plymouth. If the company or government you lead has major problems that need major solutions or major opportunities that inspire action, consult with Mayflower-Plymouth. We provide holistic solutions with our consulting services.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“Individual profits cause collective growth and prosperity. It is necessary for individual people, businesses, and companies to profit, in a Permaculture Economy where justice is maintained and fairly applied. Profits are earned when efficiency is mastered. With profits, individuals invest in (a) new and innovative means of production which will allow more profits, or (b) they use profits to buy products or services from other individuals who are also seeking profit by providing value. Profits also incentivize individuals to be productive to begin with. If there will be no profit in an activity, business or industry, then individuals will decline participation. Since profits are only possible when buyers are satisfied with the productivity of sellers, then it is also true that an individual's willingness to participate in an activity, business or industry is preceded by the buyers satisfaction which allows them to profit. So, when buyers decline participation it forces sellers to decline participation. Inversely, if profits are removed through force of price controls by the government, then sellers will decline participation which then causes buyers to decline participation.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, Principles of a Permaculture Economy

“If you run a business, it’s essential that you love whatever the business is selling. What you have with the business is similar to what you have with any other relationship - it will experience more success when love and passion is poured in.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr

“The best way to protect an asset is with systems that self organize and self execute behaviors which function as protective to the asset.”
― Hendrith Smith