Poor Charlie’s Almanack

Poor Charlie's Almanack is a collection of speeches, writings and interviews of Charlie Munger, the Vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and a longtime partner of Warren Buffett. We get a glimpse of his thoughts, ideas, and frameworks for better decision-making.

Charlie was one of the first people to popularize the idea of mental models as a helpful tool for rational decision making. Charlie uses over 100 mental models he collected using multi-disciplinary approach to learning. His mental models take inspiration from math, psychology, business, economics, history, and many others. Charlie says that not using mental models is like being 'a one-legged man in ass-kicking contest'. You are severely disadvantaged, to put it mildly.

While learning mental models is one thing, systematically putting them to use is another. That's why Charlie recommends using checklists to make better decisions. Just as pilots use checklists to make sure that they have everything is in order before a flight, we can use checklists to make better decisions. Whenever Charlie is making an important decision, he runs through his checklist of mental models to make sure he is taking a holistic approach and considering all sides.

At 505 pages, Poor Charlie's Almanack has a wealth of knowledge and insights that will lead to better decision-making in investing and in life.