The Cave and The River

Posted by Howard
on May 16th, 2010

I have become a fan of Tom Brakke’s blog which I found through Abnormal Returns .

In his latest post entitled ‘The Cave and the Flow’, Tom writes about building an investment organization. To build it successfully, you have to navigate the information flow in a productive manner.

These days, it is not hard to be pulled into the flow of information. Digital devices bring it to wherever we may be, at all hours of the day or night. The flow is a raging river that sweeps us along.

The question is whether or when or how often to seek higher ground and retreat to a cave of our own.

As someone whose mission is to create original ideas, I know that I will do my best work when I spend a lot of time in the cave. But I must also heed the lessons of the river, so I need to gaze down upon it to gauge its features, to approach it close enough to hear the roars of the raging waters, to reach down into it for a handful of water to taste, and sometimes to take a dip in an eddy of information. And yes, occasionally I need to swim out into the main current, hoping that it doesn’t sweep me into raging rapids of confusion or over a waterfall of wasted time.

It is easy for companies to get swept up into the river of noise, but if you are lucky, you will have someone or a group of people that are removed from the river and as Tom calls it, ‘do cave time’.

And the question must always be asked: “Who is spending time in the cave?”

It is not banishment to be assigned to the cave, but freedom. The freedom to be apart, to take the time to examine ideas in detail and follow them wherever they lead, to explore the nooks and crannies of the possibilities. There, it is easier to sort the facts from the opinions, the reality from the sheen, and the essence from the superfluous.

In the investment world, I love the river (Stocktwits Stream) because I can see all the ideas flow by and grab the ideas I want and find the people that I want and than follow them in the context that they do their best work – their caves.

That is how I found GregorMacdonald (Macro) and Steven Place (option strategy) and Joe Fahmy (Trend Trading), Todd Sullivan (Value). Finding people out of the river and following back to their cave where they will share their connections.

Don’t dismiss the river or the cave. They both serve their purpose and can be used every day to discover and manage your investments or business.

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.