tial in investing, as Gordon Gekko eloquently reminded us in his
“Greed is good” speech in the film Wall Street. Each time I hear
of some clever process for gathering information, I ask, “How could
this be applied elsewhere? In investing? In marketing? In my per-
sonal life?
As an example, IBM has made it possible for anyone to go on
the Web and research existing technology patents. Why would IBM
spend the money to do this? Altruism? Hardly. Big Blue tracks all
the inquiries to monitor public curiosity. They want to know where
they should be spending research dollars, and what better way than
to let the public lead you? It reminds me of the architect who put
sidewalks in between his buildings after the people had worn the
grass bare, following the natural traffic patterns. Smart, huh? IBM
apparently is doing the same thing on the electronic highway. How
can the vast amount of information on the Web be used to deter-
mine buying interest in stocks, bonds, and other assets?
Investors are just beginning to tap the best practices of other
disciplines. Seasoned investors (read: old farts) will need to stay
open to the wisdom of the younger generation. The Ameritrade
commercial mentioned earlier, which features funky young Stuart
and his old, stodgy boss, is a perfect example of this synergy. Pay
no attention to Shakespeare’s advice about neither borrowing nor
lending; instead, take to heart what Edison said about using ideas
from other fields freely. In fact, this notion of creatively borrowing
ideas from others ties neatly into the next tip: Ask for help.Exercise
Try this exercise with your investment group. Brainstorm a list of
current products or services that are new and successful. Examples:- Blockbuster membership cards that are scannable and fit
on your key ring.
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