On the Wrong UiPath, Drinking the 8 to 80 Kool-Aid, Ask for It, and Thinking Fast, Talking Smart

Stonks

The week before last I added UiPath ( PATH) to the ToP Portfolio. Last Sunday I said I’d write about it in this Sunday’s letter.

I never had a chance. My stop loss got triggered almost immediately.

I’m not angry. I’m still a big fan of all things AI, but both of my pure(ish?) play AI stocks have shit the bed. (UiPath and C3.ai). Things have turned out much better with traditional companies using AI for competitive advantage, (Domino’s, Intuit) but new duties and responsibilities have resulted in less time to research adequately.

How do you keep investing in individual stocks if you can’t adequately research them? Let someone else do it for you. Normally that would be a trip to several 13-HR filings, but I recently discovered Howard Lindzon’s 8 to 80 portfolio.

That’s it that’s the plan.

To make way for 8 to 80 companies, Deere & Company (DE), KLA-Tencor (KLAC) and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) were sold. Google, Netflix, and Zoom were added along with a few others.

LISTEN

You Have More Influence than You Think, just ask!

I was at my grandmother’s house one summer day. I must have been 4, maybe 5, years old. We were sitting at her kitchen table. There were butterscotch candies in the center. Not my favorite, but candy is candy. She seemed to sense my desire and said, “Do you want candy?” I squeaked out a yes. She replied, “If you want something you have to ask for it. If you don’t, the answer is already no.”

I never forgot it. James Altucher’s recent podcast was a nostalgic reminder. In this episode, Vanessa Bohns, a social psychologist and professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and author, talks about her new book, You Have More Influence Than You Think.

WATCH

Think Fast, Talk Smart

Learn and practice techniques that will help you speak spontaneously with greater confidence and clarity from Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of strategic communication at Stanford GSB.

Disclaimer: All information provided is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Tao of Pete has a disclosure policy.

Originally published at https://taoofpete.substack.com on September 12, 2021.