Amanda Penn, Author at Shortform Books

JD Vance’s Hillbilly Family: A Cycle of Poverty + Abuse

What is JD Vance’s family like in Hillbilly Elegy? How do they shape who he becomes, and why does he desire to escape the place where he grew up? Vance shares the story of his struggles growing up within this culture as a means of articulating a broader social and cultural critique of the Appalachian white working class. Through it all, however, Vance is undeniably proud of where he comes from and clearly loves his family very dearly. We’ll cover the three primary members of JD Vance’s family: Mamaw, Papaw, and Mom.

Flywheel Effect in Business: Unstoppable Momentum (Jim Collins)

What is Jim Collins’s “flywheel effect”? Why is the flywheel analogy so important to understand in business? The “flywheel effect” is an analogy between a business and a flywheel. A heavy flywheel takes an enormous amount of energy to get going—but once it’s spinning, it only takes a small amount of energy to keep it turning or to increase its speed. Good-to-great companies achieve their key strengths steadily and doggedly; they stay patient in the confidence that, with the right cogs in place, the breakthrough will come. Jim Collins’s flywheel effect came from the desire to head off the notion

CDO Managers: Worth the $26 Million Paycheck? (Big Short)

What does a CDO manager do? How much can CDO managers make? What role did one CDO manager play in The Big Short? A CDO manager is someone who manages collateralized debt obligations. A CDO manager may also repackage original CDOs (themselves repackaged bundles of mortgages) into new towers of bonds. We’ll cover what CDO managers do, how much they can make, and why one CDO manager was ridiculed in the book and movie The Big Short.

Hillbilly Culture: Lazy, Resentful, Insular, and Violent?

What are the primary attributes of hillbilly culture? How does the culture shape those who live in Appalachian Ohio? The rural, white working-class in America is one of the most-studied, yet least-understood subsets of the country’s population. We’ll cover JD Vance’s assessment of hillbilly culture in Hillbilly Elegy.

How to Develop a Growth Mindset in 4 Simple Steps

You’ve heard of Carol Dweck’s fixed and growth mindsets. Ever wonder how to develop a growth mindset if you don’t have one? Achieving a growth mindset is a journey. You don’t get there all at once — you have to take one step at a time. We’ll cover the steps of how to develop a growth mindset.

Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG): Definition + Examples

What is a BHAG, or Big Hairy Audacious Goal? Why do you need one if you want your business to be successful? A BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is a huge, seemingly impossible objective that can inspire outsiders and stakeholders alike. The concept of the BHAG (pronounced bee-hag) is explored in Jim Collins’s Built to Last. We’ll cover what a good BHAG or Big Hairy Audacious Goal looks like and how it ties in with your hedgehog concept, another necessity for a successful business.

Change Your Mindset: 4 Simple Steps, From Fixed to Growth

You’ve heard about Carol Dweck’s growth mindset and fixed mindset. What’s your mindset? People can have a mix of the two mindsets, or they can apply a fixed mindset in certain situations and a growth mindset in others. You may have fixed beliefs about your intelligence but a growth mindset (believing you can improve) when it comes to other qualities. However, one mindset or the other — fixed or growth — tends to dominate your life. If you have a fixed mindset, how do you change your mindset to be more successful? We’ll cover how to change your mindset from

Myth of Socioeconomic Mobility in America (Hillbilly Elegy)

How flexible is socioeconomic mobility in America? Is socioeconomic mobility a myth? And when is economic mobility detached from social mobility? Hillbilly Elegy sets out to explore the struggles of the rural white working class in 21st-century America and the barriers to socioeconomic mobility. The book tells a story of dysfunctional families; substance abuse; the material, spiritual, and moral decline of Appalachia; and the struggles to achieve true economic and social mobility in the United States.

JD Vance—4 Marine Corps Lessons Reformed His Hillbilly Ways

What was life like for Hillbilly Elegy‘s JD Vance in the Marines? What were the lessons of JD Vance’s Marine Corps experience? We’ll cover JD Vance’s Marine Corps experience and how it helped him escape his hillbilly background.

4 Appalachian Stereotypes: Are Hillbillies Lazy and Violent?

What are the most common Appalachian stereotypes? Are they accurate? Hillbilly Elegy sets out to explore the struggles of the rural white working class in 21st-century America through the personal story of its author, JD Vance. Part autobiography, part sociological text, and part political manifesto, the book tells a story of dysfunctional families; substance abuse; the material, spiritual, and moral decline of Appalachia; and the struggles to achieve true economic and social mobility in the United States. Ultimately, JD overcomes the odds and achieves a life of success and respectability outside of the hillbilly culture from which he came—but at