Miscellaneous

In this paper, Mark Sellers tells a roomful of Harvard MBA students the seven traits of outstanding investors. Number six is to engage both sides of the brain. A left-brained person, Sellers points out, can ?do things such as judging a management team from subtle cues they give off,? and can ?step back and take a big picture view of certain situations rather than analyzing them to death.?

So how does a left-brained number-cruncher develop the right side of the brain?

[M]ost important, I believe you need to be a good writer. Look at Buffett; he’?s one of the best writers ever in the business world. It’?s not a coincidence that he’?s also one of the best investors of all time. If you can?’t write clearly, it is my opinion that you don?’t think very clearly. And if you don?’t think clearly, you?’re in trouble. There are a lot of people who have genius IQs who can?’t think clearly, though they can figure out bond or option pricing in their heads.

Hat tip trail: Greg Mankiw, via Peter Friedman.