Roberts Rules of Financial Markets
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters
The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters
Gregory Zuckerman of the Wall Street Journal
Moderated by Joel Kurtzman of the Milken Institute
February 6, 2014
4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Santa Monica
For decades, they operated on the fringes of the energy industry. Now the unlikely wildcatters who perfected fracking have moved from the fringes to the forefront of a revolution that has turned the United States into the world's fastest-growing energy power.
At this Milken Institute Forum, Gregory Zuckerman, a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal and the author of "The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters," will tell the dramatic tale of the ambitious and headstrong wildcatters who were determined to tap the massive deposits of oil and gas that the industry's giants had dismissed as a waste of time.
Their success with hydraulic fracturing--known as fracking--through extremely dense shale has transformed the U.S. energy landscape. Once dependent on imported energy, the U.S. is expected to pass Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world's largest oil producer. The wildcatters' success has transformed their personal lives as well. Like the Rockefellers and the Gettys before them, they're using their newfound wealth and power to influence politics, education, entertainment, sports, and many other fields. The revolution the frackers are responsible for has transformed the U.S. economy, raised environmental concerns, and upended global geopolitics. In some ways, their impact is just beginning.
Gregory Zuckerman of the Wall Street Journal
Moderated by Joel Kurtzman of the Milken Institute
February 6, 2014
4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Santa Monica
For decades, they operated on the fringes of the energy industry. Now the unlikely wildcatters who perfected fracking have moved from the fringes to the forefront of a revolution that has turned the United States into the world's fastest-growing energy power.
At this Milken Institute Forum, Gregory Zuckerman, a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal and the author of "The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters," will tell the dramatic tale of the ambitious and headstrong wildcatters who were determined to tap the massive deposits of oil and gas that the industry's giants had dismissed as a waste of time.
Their success with hydraulic fracturing--known as fracking--through extremely dense shale has transformed the U.S. energy landscape. Once dependent on imported energy, the U.S. is expected to pass Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world's largest oil producer. The wildcatters' success has transformed their personal lives as well. Like the Rockefellers and the Gettys before them, they're using their newfound wealth and power to influence politics, education, entertainment, sports, and many other fields. The revolution the frackers are responsible for has transformed the U.S. economy, raised environmental concerns, and upended global geopolitics. In some ways, their impact is just beginning.
-
Category - Nonprofits and Activism
-
License - Standard YouTube License
Book: The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters
Link: http://youtu.be/eWtkN44G9gM
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Value Investing Quotes
“As Pride increases, Fortune declines.”
“Industry, Perseverance, and Frugality, make Fortune yield.”
“To-morrow I’ll reform, the fool does say;
To-day itself’s too late; - the wise did yesterday.”
“Promises may get thee friends, but non-performance will turn them into enemies.”
“Enjoy the present hour, be mindful of the past; And neither fear nor wish the approaches of the last.”
“What signifies knowing the Names, if you know not the Natures of Things?”
“Well done, is twice done.”
“There are three Things extreamly hard; Steel, a Diamond and to know one’s self.”
“O Lazy bones! Dost thou think God would have given thee arms and legs, if he had not design’d thou should’st use them?”
“He’s a Fool that cannot conceal his Wisdom.”
“No gains without pains.”
“Beware of little Expenses: a small Leak will sink a great Ship.”
“Pay what you owe, and you’ll know what is your own.”
“Be always ashamed to catch thyself idle.”
“If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.”
“Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.”
“He that lieth down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”
“A Slip of the Foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the Tongue you may never get over.”
“He that waits upon fortune, is never sure of dinner.”
“Buy what thou hast no need of, and e’er long thou shalt sell they necessaries.”
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”
“He that speaks much, is much mistaken.”
“Since thou art not sure of a Minute, throw not away an Hour.”
“’Tis easier to suppress the first Desire, than to satisfy all that follow it.”
“He that pursues two hares at once, does not catch one lets t’other go.”
“The sleeping Fox catches no poultry. Up! up!”
“If your Riches are yours, why don’t you take them to t’other World?”
“What more valuable than Gold? Diamonds. Than Diamonds? Virtue.”
“Great Estates may venture more; Little Boats must keep near Shore.”
“’Tis easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.”
“Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
“Diligence overcomes Difficulties, Sloth makes them.”
“Neglect mending a small Fault, and ‘twill soon be a great One.”
“Proclaim not all though knowest, or all though owest.”
“A Change of Fortune hurts a wise Man no more than a Change of the Moon.”
“Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.”
“Dost thou love Life? Then do not squander Time; for that’s the Stuff Life is made of.”
“Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Folly.”
“A long Life may not be good enough, but a good Life is long enough.”
“For Age and Want save while you may; No morning Sun lasts a whole day.”
“Don’t think so much of your own Cunning, as to forget other Men’s; a Cunning Man is overmatched by a cunning Man and a Half.”
“You may give a Man an Office, but you cannot give him Discretion.”
“He that doth what he should not, shall feel what he would not.”
“He is a Governor that governs his Passions, and he a Servant that serves them.”
“Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.”
“Suspicion may be no fault, but showing it may be a great one.”
“A good Example is the best Sermon.”
“Wise Men learn by others’ harms; Fools by their own.”
“Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him.”
“He that by the Plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive.”
“Life with Fools consists in Drinking; with the wise Man, living’s Thinking.”
“The second Vice is Lying; the first is running in Debt.”
“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
“The honest Man takes Pains, and then enjoys Pleasures; the knave takes Pleasure, and then suffers Pains.”
“To be proud of Knowledge, is to be blind with Light.”
“Get what you can, and what you get hold; ‘tis the Stone that will turn all your Lead into Gold.”
“An honest Man will receive neither Money nor Praise that is not his due.”
“Men take more pains to mask than mend.”
“To be proud of Virtue, is to poison yourself with the Antidote.”
“One To-day is worth two To-morrows.”
“Idleness is the Dead Sea, that swallows all Virtues: Be active in Business, that Temptation may miss her Aim; the Bird that sits, is easily shot.”
"When in doubt, don't."
“Industry, Perseverance, and Frugality, make Fortune yield.”
“To-morrow I’ll reform, the fool does say;
To-day itself’s too late; - the wise did yesterday.”
“Promises may get thee friends, but non-performance will turn them into enemies.”
“Enjoy the present hour, be mindful of the past; And neither fear nor wish the approaches of the last.”
“What signifies knowing the Names, if you know not the Natures of Things?”
“Well done, is twice done.”
“There are three Things extreamly hard; Steel, a Diamond and to know one’s self.”
“O Lazy bones! Dost thou think God would have given thee arms and legs, if he had not design’d thou should’st use them?”
“He’s a Fool that cannot conceal his Wisdom.”
“No gains without pains.”
“Beware of little Expenses: a small Leak will sink a great Ship.”
“Pay what you owe, and you’ll know what is your own.”
“Be always ashamed to catch thyself idle.”
“If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.”
“Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.”
“He that lieth down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”
“A Slip of the Foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the Tongue you may never get over.”
“He that waits upon fortune, is never sure of dinner.”
“Would you live with ease, do what you ought, and not what you please.”
“People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages.”
“Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason.”
“Do good to thy Friend to keep him, to thy Enemy to gain him.”
“The first Degree of Folly, is to conceit one’s self wise; the second to profess it; the third to despise Counsel.”
“You may delay, but Time will not.”
“Lost time is never found again.”
“Take this remark from Richard, poor and lame, Whate’er’s begun in Anger, ends in Shame.”
“All things are easy to Industry, all things difficult to Sloth.”
“He that cannot obey, cannot command.”
“If you would reap Praise you must sow the Seeds, gentle Words and useful Deeds.”
“Haste makes Waste.”
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
“If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone.”
“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”
“At a great penny worth, pause a while.”
“Ignorance leads Men into a party, and Shame keeps them from getting out again.”
“He that pays for work before it’s done, has but a pennyworth for two pence.”
“Anger is never without Reason, but seldom with a good One.”
“Thou can’st not joke an enemy into a friend, but thou may’st a friend into an enemy.”
“He that falls in love with himself, will have no rivals.”
“Patience in Market, is worth Pounds in a year.”
“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”
“Virtue and Happiness are Mother and Daughter.”
“People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages.”
“Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason.”
“Do good to thy Friend to keep him, to thy Enemy to gain him.”
“The first Degree of Folly, is to conceit one’s self wise; the second to profess it; the third to despise Counsel.”
“You may delay, but Time will not.”
“Lost time is never found again.”
“Take this remark from Richard, poor and lame, Whate’er’s begun in Anger, ends in Shame.”
“All things are easy to Industry, all things difficult to Sloth.”
“He that cannot obey, cannot command.”
“If you would reap Praise you must sow the Seeds, gentle Words and useful Deeds.”
“Haste makes Waste.”
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
“If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone.”
“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”
“At a great penny worth, pause a while.”
“Ignorance leads Men into a party, and Shame keeps them from getting out again.”
“He that pays for work before it’s done, has but a pennyworth for two pence.”
“Anger is never without Reason, but seldom with a good One.”
“Thou can’st not joke an enemy into a friend, but thou may’st a friend into an enemy.”
“He that falls in love with himself, will have no rivals.”
“Patience in Market, is worth Pounds in a year.”
“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”
“Virtue and Happiness are Mother and Daughter.”
“Buy what thou hast no need of, and e’er long thou shalt sell they necessaries.”
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”
“He that speaks much, is much mistaken.”
“Since thou art not sure of a Minute, throw not away an Hour.”
“’Tis easier to suppress the first Desire, than to satisfy all that follow it.”
“He that pursues two hares at once, does not catch one lets t’other go.”
“The sleeping Fox catches no poultry. Up! up!”
“If your Riches are yours, why don’t you take them to t’other World?”
“What more valuable than Gold? Diamonds. Than Diamonds? Virtue.”
“Great Estates may venture more; Little Boats must keep near Shore.”
“’Tis easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.”
“Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
“Diligence overcomes Difficulties, Sloth makes them.”
“Neglect mending a small Fault, and ‘twill soon be a great One.”
“Proclaim not all though knowest, or all though owest.”
“A Change of Fortune hurts a wise Man no more than a Change of the Moon.”
“Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.”
“Dost thou love Life? Then do not squander Time; for that’s the Stuff Life is made of.”
“Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Folly.”
“A long Life may not be good enough, but a good Life is long enough.”
“For Age and Want save while you may; No morning Sun lasts a whole day.”
“Don’t think so much of your own Cunning, as to forget other Men’s; a Cunning Man is overmatched by a cunning Man and a Half.”
“You may give a Man an Office, but you cannot give him Discretion.”
“He that doth what he should not, shall feel what he would not.”
“He is a Governor that governs his Passions, and he a Servant that serves them.”
“Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.”
“Suspicion may be no fault, but showing it may be a great one.”
“A good Example is the best Sermon.”
“Wise Men learn by others’ harms; Fools by their own.”
“Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him.”
“He that by the Plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive.”
“Life with Fools consists in Drinking; with the wise Man, living’s Thinking.”
“The second Vice is Lying; the first is running in Debt.”
“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
“The honest Man takes Pains, and then enjoys Pleasures; the knave takes Pleasure, and then suffers Pains.”
“To be proud of Knowledge, is to be blind with Light.”
“Get what you can, and what you get hold; ‘tis the Stone that will turn all your Lead into Gold.”
“An honest Man will receive neither Money nor Praise that is not his due.”
“Men take more pains to mask than mend.”
“To be proud of Virtue, is to poison yourself with the Antidote.”
“One To-day is worth two To-morrows.”
“Idleness is the Dead Sea, that swallows all Virtues: Be active in Business, that Temptation may miss her Aim; the Bird that sits, is easily shot.”
“Let no
pleasure tempt thee, no profit allure thee, no ambition corrupt thee, no
example sway thee, no persuasion move thee, to do any thing which thou
knowest to be evil; so shalt thou always live jollily; for a good
conscience is a continual Christmas.”
"So
convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables
one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."
"When in doubt, don't."
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Serenity Parayer Adapted for ADD
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
The insight to prioritize wisely what I want to change;
The patience to resist trying to control everything I could, had I the energy and time;
The courage and skill to change the things I have chosen to change;
And the wisdom to know the differences among all these.
- Dr. Edward Hallowell
Monday, October 7, 2013
Buffett's Crisis-Lending Haul Reaches $10 Billion
Buffett's Crisis-Lending Haul Reaches $10 Billion
Billionaire
Warren Buffett tossed lifelines to a handful of blue-chip companies during the
financial crisis. Five years later the payoff on those deals is becoming clear:
$10 billion and counting.
Mr.
Buffett approached that figure after he collected another hefty payment last
week, bringing to nearly 40% the pretax income on his crisis-era investments,
according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
The
bounty is a vivid illustration of one of Mr. Buffett's favorite investing
maxims: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are
fearful."
Link: http://www.valueinvestingworld.com/2013/10/buffetts-crisis-lending-haul-reaches-10.html
Graham and Doddsville Newsletter
Thursday, July 18, 2013
One Life-Changing Class You Never Took: Alexa von Tobel at TEDxWallStreet
Published on Apr 12, 2012
Link: https://www.learnvest.com/
Alexa von Tobel is the founder and CEO of LearnVest.com which she has been developing and growing since 2006.
LearnVest is the leading personal finance and lifestyle website that brings financial literacy to women. Since launching LearnVest, Alexa has been widely quoted as a personal finance expert and entrepreneur in top tier business and consumer publications including: New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, BusinessWeek, Shape, Fast Company, Marie Claire, ForbesWoman, InStyle, People StyleWatch, Time Out New York, The Huffington Post, among many others. Alexa has been included on Vanity Fair's 2011 Next Establishment list, featured on Business Insider's 2010 and 2011 Silicon Alley 100 lists, named "One of the Coolest Young Entrepreneurs" in Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30 feature, titled a "Woman to Watch" by Forbes and included on the publication's 30 Under 30 list, highlighted on BusinessWeek's annual list of "Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs," among others. LearnVest has been named one of "25 Women-Run Startups to Watch" by Fast Company, included on Forbes' list of the "Top 100 Websites for Women" for the second year in a row, featured on Business Insider's Digital 100 list and included on Time Magazine's annual list of "50 Best Websites."
More information at http://www.TEDxWallStreet.com
About TEDx, x = independently organized event:
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.*
(*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Category
Education
License
Standard YouTube License
Link: http://youtu.be/8jkri0AeZWQ
More information at http://www.TEDxWallStreet.com
About TEDx, x = independently organized event:
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.*
(*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Category
Education
License
Standard YouTube License
Link: http://youtu.be/8jkri0AeZWQ
Friday, July 12, 2013
Investment Advice From Warren Buffett
9 Nuggets of Investment Advice From the Best Investor, Warren Buffett
By Selena Maranjian | More Articles
June 29, 2013
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) company's per-share book value has grown by an annual average of 19.7% between 1965 and 2012.
That's a total gain of more than 586,000%. (Compounding at its finest)
The company's stock has grown by about one million percent since 1965, enough to turn a $10,000 investment into roughly $100 million.
Be optimistic
"Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts, the Depression, a dozen or so recessions and financial panics, oil shocks, a flu epidemic, and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497."
This bit of investment advice offers useful perspective, reminding us that the market's overall trend has been to rise, despite some big and small hiccups.
Geniuses need not apply
It can be easy to assume that you need to be brilliant like Buffett to make money in stocks. He would disagree, though:
"You don't need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ."
That point is supported by plenty of examples of the bumbling of brilliant folks, such as the 1994 implosion of the massive Long Term Capital Management hedge fund company, which boasted two Nobel laureates and lost billions anyway.
Investing is simple ... sort of
So what specific investment advice does Buffett offer? Here it is, in a nutshell:
"All there is to investing is picking good stocks at good times and staying with them as long as they remain good companies."
That sure makes it sound easy. Note, though, that his investment advice isn't to simply buy and hold forever.
You should hang on only as long as a company remains promising. Here's a little more detail:
"Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, 10, and 20 years from now. Over time, you will find only a few companies that meet these standards – so when you see one that qualifies, you should buy a meaningful amount of stock. You must also resist the temptation to stray from your guidelines: If you aren't willing to own a stock for 10 years, don't even think about owning it for 10 minutes. Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio's market value."
That investment advice contains some key concepts -- for instance, making sure to buy at attractive prices, and focusing on companies that are easy for you to understand.
It's not all simple, though:
"When managers want to get across the facts of the business to you, it can be done within the rules of accounting. Unfortunately, when they want to play games, at least in some industries, it can also be done within the rules of accounting. If you can't recognize the differences, you shouldn't be in the [stock]-picking business."
The main message here is that it's important to keep reading and learning, so you can become a better investor. (If you don't have the time or interest for that, Buffett has recommended simple index funds, as we at the Fool have also recommended for many years, too.)
Be patient
"Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, 10, and 20 years from now. Over time, you will find only a few companies that meet these standards – so when you see one that qualifies, you should buy a meaningful amount of stock. You must also resist the temptation to stray from your guidelines: If you aren't willing to own a stock for 10 years, don't even think about owning it for 10 minutes. Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio's market value."
That investment advice contains some key concepts -- for instance, making sure to buy at attractive prices, and focusing on companies that are easy for you to understand.
It's not all simple, though:
"When managers want to get across the facts of the business to you, it can be done within the rules of accounting. Unfortunately, when they want to play games, at least in some industries, it can also be done within the rules of accounting. If you can't recognize the differences, you shouldn't be in the [stock]-picking business."
The main message here is that it's important to keep reading and learning, so you can become a better investor. (If you don't have the time or interest for that, Buffett has recommended simple index funds, as we at the Fool have also recommended for many years, too.)
Be patient
Another key bit of investment advice from Buffett is to maintain a long-term view:
"When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever."
Indeed, Buffett has held shares in some companies for decades. This quotation is from his 1988 letter to shareholders, and in that letter he lists stock in Coca-Cola and Washington Post as major holdings, and he still has his shares.
The investment advice to be patient and calm has been reiterated many times.
For example:
"You could be somewhere where the mail was delayed three weeks and do just fine investing."
Don't get emotional
"You could be somewhere where the mail was delayed three weeks and do just fine investing."
Don't get emotional
Another vital piece of investment advice is to avoid being influenced by dangerous emotions:
"Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful."
This makes a lot of sense if you think about it: Others tend to be greedy when the market has been soaring, so they often end up buying at inflated prices. Folks get fearful and often sell after big market drops, but by doing so they lose money (or reap smaller gains) and miss out on some great buying opportunities.
Be careful whom you listen to
Finally, an often overlooked bit of investment advice is to be careful where you gather your investment advice:
"Never ask the barber if you need a haircut."
If you're getting stock-investing guidance from a broker, he or she may have some conflicts of interest and not have your best interests at heart.
There's much more to learn from Buffett. You might start with his many annual letters to shareholders, which are quite accessible -- and often even entertaining.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Seven Ways To Conquer Indecision
Ever feel that gnawing pain in your stomach because you…just…can’t…decide?
Don’t feel bad: Even the greatest leaders suffer from indecision. What distinguishes the best from the rest is the ability to get at the fundamental cause of their mental roadblock—and then set dynamite to it.
Take my former client, whom I’ll call JC. This guy built a $400-million enterprise in less than a decade. Along the way, he never suffered indecision. He was not rash or foolhardy, and on most days, he knew his mind and had the confidence to act on it.
That changed radically, however, after his company was profitable for seven consecutive quarters and his big backers urged him to kick growth into high gear. Although JC anticipated this directive, given how well his company was performing, it caused him to start second-guessing himself, and eventually brought on serious distress.
Plenty of executives I have coached had the same reaction JC did. It is so prevalent that I gave it a name so I could more readily help folks except it as non-career-threatening: I call it “Executive Yips,” like the kind a golfer suffers when sweating over a three-foot, straight-uphill put.
When golfers get the yips, they experience shaky hands, an inability to focus, or unsteady posture.
Executives Yips grip business leaders with dread. After setting a course of action and narrowing the strategy to a few choices, they simply freeze up. Typically, in this dilemma, they’ll turn to various advisors and ask, “What should I do?” This never works since Executive Yips are never about making the correct choice but, rather, about being blocked from action.
To help JC, I had him consider what he would have to do before he could expand his business. The harsh reality: He had to replace his founding executive team—which included a bunch of JC’s college fraternity brothers, a group that was not up to the task. After JC finally dealt with the pain of telling those he truly loved that he would have to let them go, his Executive Yips vanished as suddenly as they appeared.
JC (and I) got lucky on that one. In most cases, folks who struggle with indecision have it bad. Because indecision is ultimately an action issue (rather than a cognitive one), the person gripped by it can look contemplative when, in fact, he is immobilized by fear.
Before I began working with JC, none of his colleagues knew that he was suffering Executive Yips; he always looked before he leaped, so they assumed he was just being judicious in setting a grander course for the business. No one guessed that he was paralyzed by concern for his fraternity brothers. Because indecision has no overt symptoms that reliably distinguish it from deep thought, JC could have languished in that state until his stakeholders roused him with an annoyed, “What’s up?”
Chronic indecisiveness can be one of the toughest psychological demons to banish. Here are seven ways to help you pull the trigger when a big part of you would rather do anything but.
Forget About Always Appearing Smart
Plenty of talented people, even those who have made a killing, go to exhaustive lengths not to appear dumb. (For proof, read Paul Allen’s recent autobiography: The man has billions but still craves respect.)
Actually, the smarter you are, the more likely your indecision is born of this anxiety. A kid building a startup can be wrong, fail, and feel no shame: “I’m a kid… what do you expect?” Not so for someone with an established reputation to protect. This fear of shame is pernicious, mainly because it’s useless. Let it go.
Trust Your Gut (It’s Savvier Than You Think)
As Malcolm Gladwell hammers home in Blink, mistrusting emotion-driven decisions can be dangerous. What you refer to as “your gut” is actually a wealth of knowledge marbled with empirically validated facts that you aren’t in touch with at critical crossroads.
Better yet, recall the breezy mantra: “If you don’t make the right decision, you can make the decision right.” If that sounds like cold comfort, set up a straw man—your gut—to absorb criticism if you end up making a poor choice. By making your gut the scapegoat, you protect your analytic self (your cortex) from blame, and prime it for triage, if necessary.
Beware The Paradox Of Choice
Really smart folks often fare poorly on multiple-choice tests if they view all the possible answers to a question rather than answer the question and then see if their answer is one of the choices. That’s because the better the test, the more similar “wrong” choices are to the correct one.
Similarly, getting outside perspective is wise only to a point. Shopping for advice does only one thing: It lengthens your list of possibilities, and that can grind you to a halt—or even make the choice you eventually do make less satisfying.
Prioritize Your Demands (And Fears)
People suffering indecision often get hamstrung by blurred boundaries. That’s precisely what happened to JC: He knew what to do—as CEO—to boost sales, but the need to protect his friends got in the way. Once he realized he had to be a CEO first and friend second, he pulled the trigger.
Channel Winston Churchill
Sociopaths aside (and after 30 years in psychiatry I’ve met a few), people generally know what the “right” choice is. Yet they allow themselves, if only for a second, to ponder a lesser, lower path—and that slope gets slick and steep in a hurry.
If you want to snuff indecision in its tracks, repeat after General Churchill: “The only guide to man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield, because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes and the upsetting of our calculations; but with this shield, however the fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honor.”
Accept The Limits Of Analysis
The road to hell, we’re told, is paved with good intentions, judicious decisions and exhaustively analyzed strategies. Wars have been lost owing to unexpected weather conditions; data-wielding sports scouts draft college players who fail in the pros.
Bottom line: Avoid paralysis by analysis. Act, examine your results, make adjustments, and move on. (This approach, by the way, is gaining serious traction in the world of technology startups. )
Flip A Coin
“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.” The eminent psychologist/philosopher William James said this, and he was dead-on. If you feel like a hung jury that’s taken 18 successive votes and is still deadlocked, use a coin to break your psychic logjam.
Remember: Indecision is all about avoiding 1) the choice between two negative alternatives, one of which has to be adopted, or 2) the choice between two fairly equal courses of action. In both cases, the solution may well be heads or tails.
I am an executive coach and management consultant who, for over 25 years, was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry. During that time I maintained a private psychotherapy practice in Boston where I used techniques of behavioral and psychodynamic psychiatry to treat patients who were professionally successful yet self-defeating. I use the same skill sets today to design interventions that foster the success of entrepreneurs and C-level executives, particularly those at risk for career burnout or engaging in self-defeating behaviors. My interest in entrepreneurs dates back to 1986 when I realized that their spirit is the only naturally occurring inoculation against the disorders that cause successful people to self-destruct. I began writing about entrepreneurs in Inc. Magazine, and have taught courses on The Psychology of the Entrepreneurial Spirit at USC’s Marshall School of Business and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. I welcome questions and suggestions.
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Steven Berglas, Contributor
I wrangle with the psychological challenges of life and business.
Steven Berglas’ Popular Posts
Ten Signs You're Depressed But Don't Know It
Ten Horrible Reasons To Get Rich
The Top 10 Reasons Lying Will Corrode Your Self-Esteem.
How To Tell Someone They're Wrong (And Make Them Feel Good About It)
How To Boost Your Confidence At Work
Seven Ways To Conquer Indecision - Forbes
Source: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
To help JC, I had him consider what he would have to do before he could expand his business. The harsh reality: He had to replace his founding executive team—which included a bunch of JC’s college fraternity brothers, a group that was not up to the task. After JC finally dealt with the pain of telling those he truly loved that he would have to let them go, his Executive Yips vanished as suddenly as they appeared.
JC (and I) got lucky on that one. In most cases, folks who struggle with indecision have it bad. Because indecision is ultimately an action issue (rather than a cognitive one), the person gripped by it can look contemplative when, in fact, he is immobilized by fear.
Before I began working with JC, none of his colleagues knew that he was suffering Executive Yips; he always looked before he leaped, so they assumed he was just being judicious in setting a grander course for the business. No one guessed that he was paralyzed by concern for his fraternity brothers. Because indecision has no overt symptoms that reliably distinguish it from deep thought, JC could have languished in that state until his stakeholders roused him with an annoyed, “What’s up?”
Chronic indecisiveness can be one of the toughest psychological demons to banish. Here are seven ways to help you pull the trigger when a big part of you would rather do anything but.
Forget About Always Appearing Smart
Plenty of talented people, even those who have made a killing, go to exhaustive lengths not to appear dumb. (For proof, read Paul Allen’s recent autobiography: The man has billions but still craves respect.)
Actually, the smarter you are, the more likely your indecision is born of this anxiety. A kid building a startup can be wrong, fail, and feel no shame: “I’m a kid… what do you expect?” Not so for someone with an established reputation to protect. This fear of shame is pernicious, mainly because it’s useless. Let it go.
Trust Your Gut (It’s Savvier Than You Think)
As Malcolm Gladwell hammers home in Blink, mistrusting emotion-driven decisions can be dangerous. What you refer to as “your gut” is actually a wealth of knowledge marbled with empirically validated facts that you aren’t in touch with at critical crossroads.
Better yet, recall the breezy mantra: “If you don’t make the right decision, you can make the decision right.” If that sounds like cold comfort, set up a straw man—your gut—to absorb criticism if you end up making a poor choice. By making your gut the scapegoat, you protect your analytic self (your cortex) from blame, and prime it for triage, if necessary.
Beware The Paradox Of Choice
Really smart folks often fare poorly on multiple-choice tests if they view all the possible answers to a question rather than answer the question and then see if their answer is one of the choices. That’s because the better the test, the more similar “wrong” choices are to the correct one.
Similarly, getting outside perspective is wise only to a point. Shopping for advice does only one thing: It lengthens your list of possibilities, and that can grind you to a halt—or even make the choice you eventually do make less satisfying.
Prioritize Your Demands (And Fears)
People suffering indecision often get hamstrung by blurred boundaries. That’s precisely what happened to JC: He knew what to do—as CEO—to boost sales, but the need to protect his friends got in the way. Once he realized he had to be a CEO first and friend second, he pulled the trigger.
Channel Winston Churchill
Sociopaths aside (and after 30 years in psychiatry I’ve met a few), people generally know what the “right” choice is. Yet they allow themselves, if only for a second, to ponder a lesser, lower path—and that slope gets slick and steep in a hurry.
If you want to snuff indecision in its tracks, repeat after General Churchill: “The only guide to man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield, because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes and the upsetting of our calculations; but with this shield, however the fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honor.”
Accept The Limits Of Analysis
The road to hell, we’re told, is paved with good intentions, judicious decisions and exhaustively analyzed strategies. Wars have been lost owing to unexpected weather conditions; data-wielding sports scouts draft college players who fail in the pros.
Bottom line: Avoid paralysis by analysis. Act, examine your results, make adjustments, and move on. (This approach, by the way, is gaining serious traction in the world of technology startups. )
Flip A Coin
“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.” The eminent psychologist/philosopher William James said this, and he was dead-on. If you feel like a hung jury that’s taken 18 successive votes and is still deadlocked, use a coin to break your psychic logjam.
Remember: Indecision is all about avoiding 1) the choice between two negative alternatives, one of which has to be adopted, or 2) the choice between two fairly equal courses of action. In both cases, the solution may well be heads or tails.
I am an executive coach and management consultant who, for over 25 years, was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry. During that time I maintained a private psychotherapy practice in Boston where I used techniques of behavioral and psychodynamic psychiatry to treat patients who were professionally successful yet self-defeating. I use the same skill sets today to design interventions that foster the success of entrepreneurs and C-level executives, particularly those at risk for career burnout or engaging in self-defeating behaviors. My interest in entrepreneurs dates back to 1986 when I realized that their spirit is the only naturally occurring inoculation against the disorders that cause successful people to self-destruct. I began writing about entrepreneurs in Inc. Magazine, and have taught courses on The Psychology of the Entrepreneurial Spirit at USC’s Marshall School of Business and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. I welcome questions and suggestions.
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Steven Berglas, Contributor
I wrangle with the psychological challenges of life and business.
Steven Berglas’ Popular Posts
Ten Signs You're Depressed But Don't Know It
Ten Horrible Reasons To Get Rich
The Top 10 Reasons Lying Will Corrode Your Self-Esteem.
How To Tell Someone They're Wrong (And Make Them Feel Good About It)
How To Boost Your Confidence At Work
Seven Ways To Conquer Indecision - Forbes
Source: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
Compound Growth
This is the Secret to Warren Buffett's Success ... he understood the Magic of Compound Return on his Assets
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umFnrvcS6AQ&feature=share&list=TLRLwy8nshQbs
The Psychology of Human Misjudgement - Charlie Munger Full Speech
ublished on Jan 13, 2013
BuffettMungerWisdom: http://buffettmungerwisdom.wordpress.com
"Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Rober Cialdini"http://amzn.to/WgcAuo
"Poor Charlie's Almanack Expanded Third Edition"http://amzn.to/13szxgn
Audio of the often referred to speech by Charlie Munger on the psychology
of human misjudgement given to an audience at Harvard University circa Jun 1995.
Mr. Munger speaks about the framework for decision making and the
factors contributing to misjudgements. c. Jun 1, 1995
FULL TEXT:
http://buffettmungerwisdom.wordpress....
"Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Rober Cialdini"http://amzn.to/WgcAuo
"Poor Charlie's Almanack Expanded Third Edition"http://amzn.to/13szxgn
Audio of the often referred to speech by Charlie Munger on the psychology
of human misjudgement given to an audience at Harvard University circa Jun 1995.
Mr. Munger speaks about the framework for decision making and the
factors contributing to misjudgements. c. Jun 1, 1995
FULL TEXT:
http://buffettmungerwisdom.wordpress....
Category
License
Standard YouTube License
Link: http://youtu.be/pqzcCfUglws
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)