I just got back from one of those team building programs. It was a 3 days 2 nights stay-in program whereby we do all sorts of stuff. The place was nicely set in a jungle environmnet (forest for those) . So I had clean fresh air for a few days, got to play some “silly” games. Beside taking on physical challenges and also mental challenges. I had a lot of fun and off course some sore muscles as well. In such programs the other thing you get to see is the other side of people i.e. friends and colleagues, crazy, zany behaviour you don’t get to see on normal days.
What has this got to do with making money? This post does not talk about the regular investment strategy. It’s my thoughts about what I learned about working in teams. The last few days have taught me a lot. Nowadays, the trend in business is very much solo entrepreneurs or small teams. There are many who work from home or are on contract work. And I’m addressing this group of people. Culturally more and more people are going it alone.
In the team building program, there are games and challenges that you just can’t do it alone. Obviously some games are set up so that everyone needs to work together. Even then, with everybody chipping in, ideas flow, some are good at creativity and some are good at planning strategy. It is here, that I really appreciate the value of working in teams. And I think, the same goes for investments as well. In working with a team of people, when one is stumped others can pick up the slack. Time is saved, objectives get accomplished.
Many a time, when people talk about investment strategy, we think about putting buy or sell options etc. But working in a team is also a strategy. Imagine sharing the research work load, ideas, comparing notes. Not only is time shortened, you can go through much more infomation than going it alone. You investment team mates can also share past experience not to mention look out for your blind spots. The obvious that was overlooked.
By working in teams as an investment strategy, you can encourage one another. Some times when things don’t work out, they can inspire you to move on. And when you win big, you can be a source of encouragement to your team members. They can also keep you down to earth as to not get too confident in the future.
The thing to look out for is selfishness. Some times we think we have all the great ideas and not want to share them. If you were a big fish in investment, yeah, you probably do not want your competiting fund managers to know. On the other hand, if you are just the man on the street, sharing information might be a better investment strategy. Well from my experience over the last few days, the more we share, the better refined the ideas get! Not only that, I was amazed how fast we can get to the best ideas! It was truly an eye opener for me.
In one of the games we played, we have to come up with a name for a company we are going to launch, come out with it’s core values, have a motto, and a logo all within 30 minutes and then subject ourselves to semi hostile peer review. If I were to do it all myself, that would have taken me probably more than an hour and the quality would probably not even come close. That is the power of team.
So think about this investment strategy.
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