Five Things — September 2020
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Dear friends,
I hope this letter finds you well and safe.
After 3 years since my last newsletter, I have decided to start writing it again. My main motivations are the same: to keep a record and share the most interesting things I experienced/learned each month, and hope you can enjoy them too.
These newsletters will have more content related to Portugal and jewelry, as I am now based full-time in Lisbon and managing Portugal Jewels. I might even start writing them in Portuguese since over 90% of subscribers are from Portugal.
If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please recommend it to a friend who might also like it. Just send her/him this website www.alexnewsletter.com
Thank you for your time,
Alex
#1 Most effective email closing? “Thanks in advance”
Have you ever thought about the best way to close an email? Well, Boomerang, one of the most popular Gmail extensions, has analyzed over 350,000 email threads and found that certain email closings are more effective, ie deliver higher response rates.
Key takeaways:
- “Thanks in advance” is the most effective email closing ;
- Thankful closings (which include the word “thank”) are more effective;
- Boomerang has other studies analyzing the impact of email length, tone, grade level, and even subject line length.
I am a firm believer these small tweaks in form/structure when used together can have a compound impact on the ability to influence people, but of course, the content is king.
How to close an email (Boomerang Blog, 4 min)
#2 This is still my favorite video about Trump
I stayed up yesterday to watch the first Trump-Biden debate and was disappointed. I love listening to Trump to understand how he uses language to persuade, create chaos, and then dominate conversations. He was not able to do this in the debate (just the chaos part) and I am still not sure if this is Biden’s or Trump’s fault. I was expecting a masterclass on persuasion: (1) using short words and simple sentences, (2) creating visual imagery, and (3) repetition. Several articles and papers have been written about Trump’s persuasion skills, but I want to share this video again — it is still my favorite.
How Donald Trump Answers A Question (Youtube, 7 min)
#3 Tim’s Vermeer — a great documentary about art and technology
Art and technology have been much more connected than we might expect. The documentary Tim’s Vermeer theorizes how Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter from the 17th century, and other artists, might have used complex optical instruments to create their masterpieces. It follows the 5-year journey of Tim Jenison to duplicate a Vermeer painting. One of the larger questions that arise from this documentary is if the use of the optical devices takes way or only adds to the genius of these late artists/engineers.
As a side note, the documentary is directed by Teller of the magic duo Penn & Teller. Magic might be the prime example of art and technology coming together.
Trailer (Youtube, 2 min)
Tim’s Vermeer (IMDB)
#4 LVMH vs Tiffany: Deal or No Deal
For those not following the luxury sector, LHVM agreed to acquire Tiffany (a historic and biggest US jeweler) by a record-setting $16.2 billion in November 2019, just months before Covid-19.
After months of insisting it would honor the deal, LVMH has walked away and the largest acquisition in the history of the luxury goods sector is collapsing, setting up what could be the biggest luxury M&A battle of all time.
The Business of Fashion wrote an insightful article on 5 scenarios for the deal between LVMH and Tiffany (shown in the diagram).
The most likely outcome seems LVMH buying Tiffany at a lower price. As the luxury industry consolidates, being a part of a large group will be beneficial for both and the pandemic has devalued the two companies and their markets.
One of the biggest risks is if this legal process is dragged out through the US and French courts for months — it will impact the ability of both top executives to trust and work together.
LVMH vs Tiffany: Deal or No Deal? (Business of Fashion, 13 min)
#5 N2: The Route 66 of Portugal
These Summer vacations were different. I and my girlfriend Patrícia decided to rent a car in Porto and drive from Chaves to Faro along the 738km of Estrada Nacional, aka N2. It was one of the most relaxing and satisfying holidays I’ve ever had and it was a constant discovery — it felt almost like a treasure hunt, especially because of the Passport EN2.
The towns along the N2 have created the Association AMREN2 which has done an amazing job of creating infrastructure and information to make this trip much more fun.
As for trivia, N2 was created, during the Estado Novo, in 1945 (making it 75 years old in 2020). N2 connected already existing roads and its goal was to bridge the North and South of Portugal through its center.
My main tips for the road trip:
- You will need around 8 days for the road trip. You can check my road trip plan here;
- Expect around 2h-3h hours of total driving every day. Bear in mind that are lots of stops and only in Alentejo will you have more than 1 hour of continuous driving.
- You must buy the official Passport and the Book Guide — they make the road trip much more enjoyable.
Roatrip plan — 8 days (Google Docs)
Passport EN2 (Rota N2 site, 1.00€ or free)
Book Guide EN2 (Foge Comigo site, 20.00€)
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, please recommend it to a friend who might also like it. Just send her/him this website www.alexnewsletter.com
