Enough. True Measures of Money, Business, and Life

వ్యాసకర్త: శశిధర్ నిమ్మగడ్డ

Enough. True Measures of Money, Business, and Life
– John C. Bogle, Founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group
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John C. Bogle the pioneer of index funds left this world on January 16, 2019. Despite benefiting from his work and wisdom, I realized that I actually never read anything written by him. I attempted to read his short and Bible of a book “The Little book of common sense investing : the only way to guarantee your fair share of stock market returns” once earlier but it being in perpetual demand had to return it to the library before I could finish reading it. I am happy to say I had to return it back a second time recently after his passing away without finishing it again. It is a measure of how many people are touched by his work and will still be benefiting from his pioneering work with championing index funds, lowering the investing costs, cutting out the middle men and making the fund investors owners of Vanguard.

Enough encompasses not only Jack’s reflections about money but also about business and life.

In the Introduction section, Jack briefly touches on his life and how Vanguard came to be and reflects on how he was given enough in countless ways.

In the Money section, Jack lays bare how the financial services industry is structured to help themselves rather than to help the investors. He explains the many ways the industry is chasing short term speculation and is not concerned with long term investment. He advocates for simplicity over complex instruments of investing.

In the Business section, Jack cautions not to overly rely on counting and numbers and to have a healthy balance of judgement and trust. He explains how business standards are triumphing over professional standards in our corporations and financial markets. He lists out his five dreams – A fair shake for Shareholders, Serving the Investor for a lifetime, Long-term investment horizons, Serving long-term investors and Putting fund investors in the driver’s seat for an industry that values stewardship more highly than salesmanship. He clearly distinguishes how a manager is different from a leader and advocates for more leadership. He lays out the rules for building a great organization – Make caring the soul of the organization, Treating the workforce as crew members instead of employees, High standards and values, Repeat the values endlessly,Walk the walk, Don’t over-manage, Recognize individual achievement, Loyalty is a two way street, Lead and manage for the long term and Persist.

In the Life section, Jack advocates commitment to family, community and country. He takes us back to the eighteenth-century idealism and beseeches us to blend the best values and ideals of the eighteenth century with the compelling realities of the twenty-first century. He urges us to work on building character and reminds us that it requires adversity; it requires contemplation; it requires determination and steadfastness; it requires finding one’s own space as an individual and it surely requires honor.

In the concluding section “What’s Enough”, Jack attempts to answer what is enough for him, us and America. Jack details the wealth he accumulated over his life time and the many ways he shared his wealth and paid back his dues to his almamater, community and the hospitals that helped him through his five-decade struggle with heart disease through various philanthropic causes. For us he goes with the $1 more than what we need as enough. He indicates saving early, often and regularly as the key to wealth accumulation. For additional tips on getting there he refers to his other works Bogle on Mutual Funds, Common Sense on Mutual Funds and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing. For America he reminds of the stark financial polarization where the rich are getting richer while there are vast segments of the American citizenry where the poor remain abjectly poor. He reminds that the words from the Constitution – a more perfect Union, to justice for all, to domestic tranquility, and to general welfare – are not mere words; they represent the challenge of our age.

Jack ends with the following thoughts-

To be “strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” is what this whole life of mine has been about. Yes, I’ve surely been blessed with enough – in wealth, in wonderful family and friends, in a career that’s been aimed at giving investors a fair shake, and in a mission designed to open the eyes of our citizens to the serious flaws and inequities in our business and financial system.

Enough, I hope it’s fair to say, to inspire others to some thoughtful introspection about the human condition and human aspirations. But never—never!—enough to be self-satisfied and self-indulgent. Perhaps this book will help each of you find more than enough in the way of enlightenment and idealism, virtues that will further enrich your own life and the lives of your loved ones.

To summarize Enough is not really a book about money or accumulating wealth. Enough is a call to action for every individual, corporate and the financial industry to do the right thing and it very clearly defines what the right thing is. This book is a guide on how to go about life, work and investing. And this is not mere talk. These are the words of a man who walked the walk. I can assure you that this short book is a very worthy addition to your personal library.

Please share your thoughts on what enough means to you dear reader.