Over 40 times per year
I write this weekly market missive to share our view of current events and
market diagnostics with clients, prospects, media, etc., as filtered through a
sometimes biased but always quantitatively-based lens. I enjoy the process of analysis, your
feedback on those views, and the indispensable creation of interactive dialogue
that allows each side to build problem-solving solutions to various
investment-related issues.
But it also occurs to
me that the proliferation of opinions and market gurus has inflated
significantly since I began writing these essays more than 3 decades ago. No longer is the flow of information limited
to tomorrow's edition of the Wall Street Journal or the monthly editorial board
of Look magazine (am I dating myself?).
Today we are inundated by 24 hour news, instantaneous information
transmission, and, unfortunately, too many talking heads on television telling us
what they think, and what they think we should be doing with our money, our
lives, and our ideals.
The crux of your belief
as the reader of these informative pieces is that there must be some inherent
value or action plan expressed by the author so that either his/her point of
view is made very clear, or that your values and norms find some sort of
resonance with the words and opinions you digest, whether you agree or not with
the points being made.
This dynamic is as ageless
as communication. It would take an
eternity to read or hear every point of view about every piece of data. Furthermore, there just aren't enough correct
prognostications to make sense out of every argument.
Sometimes one just has
to find a favorite playwright, favorite musician, favorite author, favorite
commentator and fit their patterns of persuasion into your everyday life
sufficiently enough to build one's own comprehensive lifetime tapestry.
And yet, doesn't it
seem as if there is always another "hot" topic du jour to consider
(dot.com; bit coin; e.g.) trying to influence
our norms and standards to accept "just
enough" discomfort in our
search for perfection that we stray from our comfort zone to take a plunge into
the world of unattainable perfection.
Why?
Prediction and high
expectation is the way our brains are wired.
Curiosity is the core of intelligence.
Additionally, we crave reward. There
is nothing more detrimental to the human condition than uncertainty and upheaval. Our chemistry is not efficient when exposed
to anxiety or distress. Certainly, a
portfolio filled with convulsion or lack of structure is not likely to yield
success. Thus, we are always seeking information
or opinion about how to proceed next. Who
better than the "experts" to tell us how and when.
Experts fill a need
both for themselves and for you, their audience. The "analyst" in me, for example,
loves to impart information; the inquisitive in you (sometimes) likes to
listen.
Knowing all this, I
believe that the key to a successful communication dynamic is the outcome of the shared experience. If throwing darts at an abstract target
worked equally as well, there would be no need for the exchange. But knowing which buttons to push...and why/when...is
a convention that has its roots in science and methodology, and which expresses
a clearer path forward for the long haul.
No comments:
Post a Comment