46 THE INVESTOR
maining open to new ideas beyond their comfort zone. Wait 10
extra minutes before saying, “Okay, let’s make some buy decisions
and give the orders to the trading desk.”
Perceivers need to spend some time getting organized, putting
some structure around their natural chaos. In my case, I hired an
organization coach. (I call her the “commandant”; she is merci-
less.) Perceivers also need to be conscious of deadlines and the
urgency that market trading demands. (I remember working with
one analyst who provided absolutely the most thorough research
I had ever seen. The problem was that it was usually several days
after the stock in question had moved.) Perceivers need to work on
the 80/20 rule so that they can close down an investigation before
they’ve researched every last question: Get the gist of it (the 80
percent) and move on.Striking a Balance
For all the polarities, the right amount of one versus the other is
the magical quality that we might call wisdom. The first step to
attaining that wisdom is recognition and understanding of the
different choices. Simply put, investors need to become conscious
of the decision process.
Now that we’ve established a way of looking at the investment
decision process, and done some consciousness-raising, let’s focus
on the next question: What is the ideal personality style for the
professional investor?05 ware 46 1/19/01, 1:06 PM