About This Episode
<p><a href="https://grahamduncan.blog/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Graham Duncan</strong></a><strong> </strong>(<a href="https://x.com/GrahamDuncanNYC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@GrahamDuncanNYC</a>) is the co-founder of <a href="https://eastrockcap.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">East Rock Capital</a>, a multibillion-dollar multi-family investment office he launched in 2006. He is also Chairman of the <a href="https://www.sohnconference.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sohn Conference Foundation</a>, which funds pediatric cancer research.</p><p><strong>This episode was originally published in February 2019. Show notes: </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/2019/02/28/graham-duncan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>https://tim.blog/2019/02/28/graham-duncan/</strong></a></p><p><strong>This episode is brought to you by:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://shopify.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Shopify</strong></a><strong> global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: </strong><a href="https://shopify.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Shopify.com/tim</strong></a></li><li><a href="https://www.eightsleep.com/tim/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5</strong></a><strong> sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: </strong><a href="https://www.eightsleep.com/tim/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>EightSleep.com/Tim</strong></a></li><li><a href="https://drinkag1.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>AG1</strong></a> <strong>all-in-one nutritional supplement: </strong><a href="https://drinkag1.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>DrinkAG1.com/Tim</strong></a></li><li><a href="https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/?utm_source=timblog&utm_medium=timblog&utm_campaign=podcast-sponsorship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>5-Bullet Friday</strong></a><strong>, my very own free email newsletter: </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/friday" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>https://tim.blog/friday</strong></a></li></ul><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><ul><li>[00:00:00] Start.</li><li>[00:02:29] I think of Graham as far more than an investor. How does he describe what he does?</li><li>[00:06:13] Absent the systems and frameworks he's honed over time, what made Graham a good talent hunter at the tender age of 24?</li><li>[00:08:42] What constitutes taste when Graham is scouting for talent these days?</li><li>[00:11:14] Upon meeting someone, how does Graham stress-test whether or not someone is "commercial" in the way they balance aggression and integrity?</li><li>[00:16:49] One high-signal question Graham has found particularly useful when trying to determine the quality of anyone from a trader to an OB/GYN.</li><li>[00:19:17] When interviewing a potential candidate, how does Graham vet their given references?</li><li>[00:22:21] On approaching the reference process with curiosity rather than an attempt to catch anyone with a "gotcha."</li><li>[00:25:34] Why does mutual friend Josh Waitzkin call Graham <em>The Wild Gardener</em>?</li><li>[00:27:04] How does Graham deal with contradictory perspectives — when the data is telling him one thing and his gut is telling him another?</li><li>[00:29:09] What does Graham do to familiarize himself with the way people underwrite their mental models (besides nearly beheading them)?</li><li>[00:30:29] Graham talks about his role as an investment coach, of sorts, and how he picks the best "players" for the game at hand.</li><li>[00:31:53] What other patterns has Graham noticed in the successful talent he's ended up selecting?</li><li>[00:36:06] In what way have others helped Graham surface his hidden assumptions, and how might a coach do the same for others?</li><li>[00:39:17] An example of when Graham's "grip" has been a bit too tight around his own beliefs.</li><li>[00:40:09] What Byron Katie has taught us about articulating the opposite of such beliefs — and having a mindful lunch.</li><li>[00:46:18] When evaluating a team, how does Graham think about each person developing the ability to look at the opposite versus hiring to end up at that optimal mixture?</li><li>[00:49:12] How might someone train to more clearly see disconfirming evidence — and roll with the punches when their instincts lead them toward regrettable decisions?</li><li>[00:42:21] What books does Graham gift to others most often?</li><li>[00:56:11] An aside about Wim Hof and Josh Waitzkin embracing "the other side of pain" to get the most out of life.</li><li>[00:59:31] How does James Carse's distinction of finite and infinite games apply to finance, and how would Graham test a potential teammate for compatible sensibility?</li><li>[01:02:41] How likely would it be for Graham to invest in a Jocko Willink project?</li><li>[01:04:16] Different people have different ways of sniffing around direct questions. Here are a few examples.</li><li>[01:05:54] Graham explains what this Kwame Appiah quote means to him: "In life the challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game; the challenge is to figure out what game you're playing."</li><li>[01:08:13] Going by David Foster Wallace's famous commencement speech, what's <em>your</em> water? Podcasting helps me see mine.</li><li>[01:09:32] Graham's take on Greg McKeown's <em>Essentialism</em>.</li><li>[01:10:31] How Graham sees careers as a river (with a nod of thanks to neuroscientists Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson's model of well-being).</li><li>[01:12:53] Toward which bank do the top one percent in any given field swim? What if that field is financial markets? What if that field is writing fiction novels?</li><li>[01:16:39] The differences between millionaires, billionaires, cultural billionaires, and time billionaires.</li><li>[01:18:47] An idea for how Tim Urban might allow for personalization of his 90-year-life calendar.</li><li>[01:20:00] Are you more concerned about the length of your life or its width?</li><li>[01:20:38] Life changes Graham and I have both made as a direct result of reading Tim Urban's "The Tail End" piece at <em>Wait But Why</em>.</li><li>[01:22:05] How does Graham try to appreciate the width of his life?</li><li>[01:25:05] Aside from the aforementioned Kwame Appiah quote, what might Graham put on his billboard?</li><li>[01:25:52] The power to be found in treating negative feelings like welcome party guests.</li><li>[01:27:43] Parting thoughts from Mark Twain and Graham.</li></ul><p><em>*</em></p><p><strong>For show notes and past guests on </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>The Tim Ferriss Show</em></strong></a><strong>, please visit</strong> <a href="https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>tim.blog/podcast</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>For deals from sponsors of </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>The Tim Ferriss Show</em></strong></a><strong><em>, </em>please visit </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>tim.blog/podcast-sponsors</strong></a></p><p><strong>Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (<em>5-Bullet Friday</em>) at </strong><a href="https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>tim.blog/friday</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>For transcripts of episodes, go to </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/transcripts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>tim.blog/transcripts</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>Discover Tim’s books: </strong><a href="https://tim.blog/books" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>tim.blog/books</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>Follow Tim:</strong></p><p><strong>Twitter</strong>: <a href="https://twitter.com/tferriss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">twitter.com/tferriss</a> </p><p><strong>Instagram</strong>: <a href="https://instagram.com/timferriss/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">instagram.com/timferriss</a></p><p><strong>YouTube</strong>: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/timferriss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">youtube.com/timferriss</a></p><p><strong>Facebook</strong>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">facebook.com/timferriss</a> </p><p><strong>LinkedIn: </strong><a href="http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">linkedin.com/in/timferriss</a></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>