Source: Angel List

The article above was written for people applying to work at startup companies but its core message applies to a broader audience: approach your job application like you would approach an investment. Not only will it help you find the right place to apply, but it will improve your preparation (and chances of success). Thinking like an investor in the following three ways:

1. Thinking like an investor helps you ask better questions. For example:

• Is the company solving a real problem that I could help with, and does it affect a fair number of people?
• Is the solution truly incredible, something I can take pride in, and does it create a competitive advantage?
• Do you get excited when thinking about the company's potential for impact?

2. Thinking like an investor can develop your business and financial acumen.

• By reviewing information from annual reports and financial statements (e.g. profitability, growth rate, runway, etc.), you can develop your business and financial acumen. This will help you understand how the company makes money, where it is increasing investments and what potential issues it might have.
• If this is your first time exploring this financial data, ask for help from someone in your network with a financial background. It's not as complicated as it might seem at first.

3. Thinking like an investor makes you learn more about the leadership team and their vision.

• Check out the profiles of the top leaders in the organization. What are their track records? What are their current missions? How inspired are you by what they are trying to accomplish?
• Try it the next time you research a company or apply - think like an investor and reap the benefits!

#2: The World's Best Boss

Source: Seth Godin

Important: We need to create a generation of bosses. Bosses who can manage themselves.

In the future of work, people will have to manage themselves much more than ever before. How ready are we? How ready will they be?

What do you think we can do to prepare a generation to manage themselves?

#1: Yuval Noah Harari on What the Year 2050 Has in Store for Humankind

Source: Wired

Yuval Noah Harari suggests that the best skill to teach children is reinvention. I agree. This is because “who am I?” will be a more urgent and complicated question than ever before.

'To survive and flourish in such a world, you will need a lot of mental flexibility and great reserves of emotional balance. You will have to repeatedly let go of some of what you know best, and feel at home with the unknown. Unfortunately, teaching kids to embrace the unknown and to keep their mental balance is far more difficult than teaching them an equation in physics or the causes of the first world war.'

This is a fascinating piece if you have kids and want to prepare them for the future. 

I hope you enjoyed these articles as much I did. What were your top reads for 2018?