I read a quote recently that says,
“When you know a thing to hold that you know it and when you do not know a thing to allow that you do not know it, this is knowledge.” - Confucius.
This Confucian quote is fascinating because it is about admitting that we don’t know everything. As investors and as people we tend to have overconfidence that we don’t need any help. The best investors I have gotten to know are the ones who have a humility about them. They have self-awareness of both their strengths and their weaknesses. You can address your weakness as an investor in a couple of ways.
Develop routines that help you get through and minimizes the impact of those weaknesses.
Surround yourself with people who can address those weaknesses. So if you are strong in certain areas, you accentuate those and surround yourself with people who can address your weaknesses. I have seen this a lot with investors who are right-brain oriented. They surround themselves with those who are left-brain oriented, as a form of balance.
Lastly, ask good questions. The best investors I have ever worked with ask fantastic questions. I know when I have met with them and asked questions about their processes, they, in turn, asked me questions about my own process.
That is where the best investors stand apart.
I have spent some time with Mike Epstein at MIT. Mike is someone who, in the early days of the Market Technicians Association you had the sell-side technical analysts in New York and the buy-side technical analysts in Boston, and Mike was a broker who helped connect those two communities. Once he retired, Mike joined MIT as an adjunct professor and it was amazing to see him work with masters students teaching them what Wall Street was really like working on the floor as a broker and how banks and brokers operated relative to what you were learning in the classroom as an MBA student.
One of his favorite quotes was,
“Them that know, know they know. Them that don’t know, don’t know that they don’t know. “
The common theme between these quotes is having the awareness of your own imperfections and areas for improvement. Also, having the courage to ask questions of people who know more and have more experience and awareness and knowledge than you do. There is always someone who knows more about the financial industry (whether locally or around the world) and has more experience than you do.
My question for you is who can you ask a question of this week? Think of someone you can pick up the phone and have the courage to learn from.
RR#6,
Dave
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Please see the Disclaimer page for full details.