214 THE CREATIVE INVESTMENT TEAM
mation bits on a web and then retrieving them seemed to fit. (In-
teresting that, years later, the “Web” would become the name for
the network that allows us to trade information electronically all
over the world.) We all approach creativity in a slightly different
fashion, and therefore we need to do a bit of introspection to see
how best to support our own process. What specific techniques do
you use to boost your creativity? How do you come up with in-
vestment ideas? How do you file them so that they can be useful
later? Here are some of my most important techniques and tools.
First, and most powerful by far, is my hand-held recorder. Don’t
walk, run to your nearest electronics store and get a portable de-
vice for recording your ideas. It doesn’t have to be the expensive,
elaborate one that also performs strategic planning, project man-
agement, and valuation of technology stocks. The cheap one will
do fine. Why do you need a recorder? Why not just a pen and
paper? Simple: Pen and paper don’t work while you’re driving. They
don’t work well while you are walking down the street. They es-
pecially don’t work well in the middle of the night. You need a
device that will capture ideas when they strike at 3 A.M. and the
room is pitch black.
Don’t for a minute fall into the trap of assuming that you will
remember in the morning, or when you park the car and get into
the restaurant. You won’t. Worse yet, you won’t even remember
that you didn’t remember. The idea will simply be gone. Sir Francis
Bacon (English philosopher and statesman, 1561–1626) observed:
“A man would do well to carry a pencil in his pocket and write
down his thoughts of the moment.”
In fact, the only reason I am able to include this quotation here
is because I grabbed my recorder and captured it during a lecture.
So, carry a small recording device at all times. Or at least a pencil.
Here is the not-so-obvious reason why you need a recorder. If
you’re like me (and I know I am), you often find yourself in the
following scenario, or a very similar one: You’re ordering a Mrs.
Fields cookie at the mall when suddenly you get a great idea. You14-25 ware 214 1/19/01, 1:16 PM