The idea of “less is more” was popularized in 1947 as an argument for minimalism. But today, more than ever, minimalism is important in all aspects of life. You can see it in the resurgence of simplistic design, or Marie Kondo, or in the re-popularization of stoicism.
There’s too much competition for our attention. We can’t buy everything we see on TV, deep-dive into every interesting topic we learn about on the internet, or track everything that’s happening in the world.
Instead, we tend to focus on what is relevant or interesting to us.
In business, there are Specialists and Generalists. It isn’t hard to imagine that their reading lists, habits, and sources of happiness or fulfillment are probably quite different.
The same is true for Simplifiers and Multipliers (which is a concept that Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach has written a book about).
In your business career, to get to where you are, you’ve been successful at two things. You’ve simplified things, which gave you an advantage. And you multiplied things, which gave you an advantage. Said a different way, as a simplifier, you took something that was complex for everybody else, and you made it simple. And as a multiplier, you took something that was a new solution, and you had successes multiplying it out in the world so that a lot of people could get the advantage of your simplifications.
But the truth is most people are either primarily simplifiers or multipliers. The best partnerships happen when you pair the two. Amazing conversations happen when a simplifier says to a multiplier, “I’ve got this really neat solution ... What would you do with it?” Each has something the other doesn’t; and the combination is often exponential.
I am primarily a simplifier. So, I tend to look for people or technologies to multiply what I produce.
I shot a video on the topic. Click here to watch.
The internet and global digital economy enable you to find an audience for almost anything.
No matter how far you niche down to find your true calling, there are likely people who are just as excited about what you do as you.
So, sometimes less is more.
Are you a simplifier or a multiplier?
Lessons From 2020's Markets
The idea that the market is not the economy has been made very clear over these past months. While businesses continue to shutter or (if they're lucky) slowly re-open, the stock market has rallied immensely since the initial crash - in large part due to governmental efforts. The markets are so confusing right now that CNBC has given up and created a new type of market - the kangaroo market ... I assume implying "jumpy" volatility.
The rally has only served to increase the uncertainty as people hold their breath waiting for the drop... For all that waiting, "dumb money" has been beating a lot of "intelligent" investors.
I found an interesting visualization that shows the performance of the S&P through the performance of its underlying stocks.
via Chartfleau
As you watch the video you can see that most of these underlying stocks are struggling - but they're being propped up by a relatively small number of stocks, including the likes of tech giants, the gold mining company Newmont Corporation and the HVAC company Carrier Global.
While many funds still struggle, novice investors and day traders listening to the advice of "buy low, sell high" have made staggering gains.
I'm not encouraging a back-to-basics approach to trading, but I think it is a good reminder that sometimes, as Da Vinci said, "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Being in Fintech, I'm always paying attention to the newest "sophisticated" technologies, looking for a new edge - and that's valuable - but you can't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
So, I find myself looking for what's timeless (instead of timely) in what others are doing.
At a Genius Network meeting recently, Brian Tracy mentioned two key questions he asks himself (before writing a book) that I think are very insightful.
Would this work 20 years from now? Would this have worked 20 years ago?
Tools and techniques change... why often doesn't matter.
The truth is, if you don't know what your edge is ... then you don't have one.
On a related note, if nothing is working ... doing nothing is an option!
Hope that helped.
Posted at 06:09 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Ideas, Market Commentary, Trading, Trading Tools | Permalink | Comments (0)
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