88 THE INVESTMENT TEAM
Probably, as an intervention, the leader in the room would have
taken over and steered the decision making (consciously or not) in
a direction that he liked. To say the least, this does not produce the
best collaborative results.
The process for improving investment decision making, then,
is to recognize the different personality styles and develop some
skill in using the filters during discussions. As an aid in this skill
development, Figure 10.2 lists some typical words associated with
the different filters. Teams that really want to learn the skills should
consider the kind of training that Interaction Associates and other
organizations offer.
Perhaps investment organizations will get serious about the
benefits of collaborative action in the future, but for now it seems
clear that they are achieving enough success with a disguised star
system. For those of you who still question this statement, count
the number of ads that feature one investment professional (Lynch,
Buffett, etc.) and the number of those that picture a team. It’s still
mostly a lone-wolf industry, with the spotlights on a few brilliant
gurus dispensing their financial wisdom.
“Okay,” you say. “This sounds promising, but are there any
management teams using these tools currently?”
Yes, and we’ll cover that next in Chapter 11.Blue Yellow Green Red
Details Creativity Benefits Gut reactions
Figures Alternatives Advantages Feelings
Data Possibilities Costs Attitudes
Information needed New ideas Concerns ImpressionsFigure 10.2 Words associated with different filter (personality) types.08-13 ware 88 1/19/01, 1:11 PM