necessarily smarter than other people; rather, he gave himself the
chance to study a problem for a long time. In following his fasci-
nation, he went deeply into the problem and eventually saw it
differently. This ability to slow down and follow our bliss, as Jo-
seph Campbell used to say, is critical to creative thought. B.F. Skinner
expresses it this way: “When you find something interesting, drop
everything else and study it. Too many fail to answer opportunity’s
knock at the door because they have to finish some preconceived
plan” (quoted in Michalko, Cracking Creativity, Ten Speed Press
1998).
The open mode has a different feel. Stand and stretch for a
moment, let your thoughts wander. (In the church that I attend,
the minister always starts his sermon with a moment of silence. He
reminds us that for the next 60 seconds, “There is no place to go,
nothing to do, no one we have to be.”) This feeling of openness is
close to that of children at play. Their only purpose is fun and
discovery. They don’t have a particular goal in mind. As creative
investors, we need to give ourselves permission to do the same. We
need to be okay with finding a quiet place to think.
One of the most successful investors I know is Roger Brown.
He used to run Harris Associates, where Ralph Wanger’s Acorn
Fund was born (planted?). When I think of what makes Roger
successful, it goes back to the eight great traits. He has and exer-
cises all of them. In particular, though, he gives himself plenty of
time to think. When I visit him and his family, I usually find that
he has been reading and thinking. He is dressed in something
comfortable, like corduroys and a wooly sweater. He always pep-
pers me with a barrage of questions, clearly ones that were floating
through his mind just moments before. My point is that he allows
himself time to slow down and think. He enjoys it. It’s his hobby.
(Though, like Warren Buffett, he’s learned to live with the sizeable
proceeds.) I once asked Roger why he didn’t index everything, à la
Jack Bogle, and his response was, “I’d get bored.” Investing, and
more specifically, thinking, is his passion.“C” Is for Change Gears 17114-25 ware 171 1/19/01, 1:15 PM