John Reagan has been with our team 3 years in June. When he first approached us about opportunities at Hill, we were quickly convinced he was the perfect fit. And, his offer to work for free in the first two years really caught our attention. His passion and work ethic are unmatched, and we’re lucky to have him on the team. (Needless to say, his formal job offer included a salary from day one.)

In celebration of his time here, let’s take a brief look back at his light bulb moment. Watch as he discusses his first read of our favorite piece from Michael Lewis.

At our annual BAM ALLIANCE conference this past October, we were fortunate to meet one of our favorite authors, Michael Lewis. His real passion, as depicted in most of his writing, is shining a light on someone who makes a brave decision. He is also one of the best authors at telling our story—as he did in his 2007 piece, The Evolution of An Investor.

With the buzz of the 2014 Major League Baseball Season in the air, this is a great time to revisit one of our favorite books, Moneyball, by Michael Lewis. For the unfamiliar, this book is to baseball as Taking the long view is to investing: a look at how data and evidence will allow you to make smarter decisions in evaluating baseball players—and investment choices.

Our colleague, friend, and director of investment strategy for the BAM ALLIANCE, Jared Kizer, wrote a great blog post where he talks about some of the similar applications in investing that predate Moneyball.

When you use the data and evidence, it allows you to ignore the noise and focus on factors that really matter. That’s how we approach investing for our clients.

If you haven’t read Moneyball or seen the movie, let us know and we would be happy to send you either version of this now classic Michael Lewis story.