The Eight Great Traits 15these masters to take their ideas lightly, to change their thinking
when appropriate. They can step back and see the bigger picture.- PASSION: MAINTAINING DEEP DEVOTION
TO THE SUBJECT
Master investors love the subject. They enjoy the journey more than
the destination. Buffett jokes about enjoying the process more than
the proceeds, though he says he has learned to live with the pro-
ceeds as well. He adds that he tap-dances into work each day. Zweig
reveals that in college, when he began studying the markets, he fell
in love with the numbers. Appropriately, he ended up as a techni-
cian, deeply involved with and working with the numbers. The
market gods seem to favor investors whose motivation is from the
heart, not greed. (Gordon Gekko aside, many master investors
become active philanthropists.) Importantly, in the late 1980s, when
Lynch stopped loving the market, he made the wise decision to get
out. He knew the importance of passion and withdrew from active
management when his own waned.- FLEXIBILITY: BEING OPEN TO CHANGE,
GOING WITH THE FLOW
One portfolio manager friend was recently told by an exasperated
colleague, “Do you know that you always answer a question with
a question?” My curious friend responded, “Really? Is that bad?”
(Okay, it was me.) Along with their capacity for creativity, these
master investors also have the ability to remain open to new data
and new paradigms. They are slow to shut the door on new pos-
sibilities, knowing that they might miss something important if they
rigidly pursue a fixed strategy. Soros, a trader, is renowned for his
ability to change on a dime. (Sometimes several billion dimes, in a02 ware 15 1/19/01, 12:59 PM