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This reminde me of my early days in what was also the early days of exploratory whitewater paddling. Perhaps the most iconic and influential individual leader/teacher/example in our boating community was "Tim" (not his real name), and the best nutshell description of Tim's imparted teaching, was quoted by my daughter thus -- "It is not making sure that you never screw up -- because EVENTUALLY YOU WILL SCREW UP!!!. It is HOW YOU HANDLE IT WHEN YOU "DO" SCREW UP that matters." Learning how to view matters with clear -- and possibly brutal -- honesty is perhaps the best self-discipline one can cultivate in life, and it comes best from practice.
On the river, in a crisis brutal truth is the sole reality and brutal honesty is most likely the surest pathway to survival -- whether individual or group. In our more mundane everyday life we seldom confront potential life-or-death situations, but the rules for finding the pathway still apply. "Polite honesty" may be "the best policy", but "brutal honesty" is still the rock-bottom foundation for making choices.
I didn't read anything in the article that proved that admitting making a mistake means that you will make less of them. The author thinks that, but doesn't substantiate any proof. Correlating this to investing, are we supposed to go with the managers that admit their mistakes (sorry my FU, I lost 20% this year, and the S&P only lost 10%) when they are self evident? I wouldn't consider investing with a manager just because they admit their mistakes,without having a very solid record before they made them.
Comments
On the river, in a crisis brutal truth is the sole reality and brutal honesty is most likely the surest pathway to survival -- whether individual or group. In our more mundane everyday life we seldom confront potential life-or-death situations, but the rules for finding the pathway still apply. "Polite honesty" may be "the best policy", but "brutal honesty" is still the rock-bottom foundation for making choices.
Just my thoughts....