The Wisdom of John Bogle

If you have not had the opportunity to hear John Bogle, Founder of Vanguard Group, share his thoughts on financial matters and life…you need to. This morning 175 of us sat totally focused on his soft voice as he spent 45 minutes in his self deprecating humorous way sharing the rise of the mutual fund industry…and where it has gone wrong. Woven into his story about mutual funds and the the conflict caused by fund managers trying to serve two masters, best return for the investor and highest fees for themselves, were a collection of lessons for living a great life.

Among the things he shared was the secret to his success: common sense, street smarts, simplicity. All well supported by a dogged persistance and belief in doing the right thing not for himself but for investors.

The experience of the morning led me to search out his recent book Enough in which he shares his thoughts on what it means to “poison our minds with a little humility.”  Enough lays out his philosophy and insights on money and the true treasure in our lives, values to emulate in business and professional life, and life lessons on our role in society.

I was going to pull a bit of this and that out of it to share with you but while perusing the Table of Contents realized it says it all much better than I could, so I leave you today with some thoughts of John Bogle to ponder. The Table of Contents. Ponder long and think deeply. Everyone around you will appreciate it.

MONEY.

• Chapter 1: Too Much Cost, Not Enough Value.
• Chapter 2: Too Much Speculation, Not Enough Investment.
• Chapter 3: Too Much Complexity, Not Enough Simplicity.

BUSINESS.

• Chapter 4: Too Much Counting, Not Enough Trust.
• Chapter 5: Too Much Business Conduct, Not Enough Professional Conduct.
• Chapter 6: Too Much Salesmanship, Not Enough Stewardship.
• Chapter 7: Too Much Management, Not Enough Leadership.

LIFE.

• Chapter 8: Too Much Focus on Things, Not Enough Focus on Commitment.
• Chapter 9: Too Many Twenty-First-Century Values, Not Enough Eighteenth-Century Values.
• Chapter 10: Too Much “Success,” Not Enough Character.

WRAPPING UP: WHAT’S ENOUGH?

• What’s Enough for Me? For You? For America?