(2017-03-05) Guinn A Man Must Have A Code

Rusty Guinn: A Man Must Have a Code. One such Britticism was the idea that any person who wants to be consistently successful as a human being, and especially as an investor, must have a World View.

In this sense, having a World View means having a center—a core set of philosophies about how the world works, what is objectively true and false, and what actually matters. More importantly, it means internalizing these philosophies so that they are second nature—and so that they become a natural lens through which we judge the world

To those who have studied philosophy, yes, I’m basically describing an epistemology for markets

But out of respect for the hustle, let’s call it a Code.

Some Codes are willed into being by visionaries. The most famous such example is probably Bridgewater Associates, which is famous for discussing the “timeless and universal” principles that they believe underpin both the economy and financial markets.

In our view, to be successful a Code should be explicit in highlighting four key beliefs:
The things that matter.
The things that don’t matter.
The things that don’t always matter, but which matter now.
The process and tools you’ll use to focus on what matters and dispense with what does not.