Happy As Stu

A little over ten years ago, my good friend Stuart was run over after a big night on the town. This past week, a friend of mine (Kristy Gough) was killed while enjoying a Sunday morning bike ride.

When I heard that Kristy had died, my thoughts turned to three people: my buddy Clas, my dead pal Stuart and my wife Monica. At some level, I realized that I ought to be thinking about Kristy but that didn’t happen. Instead, my first thought was for the survivors, most specifically, my friend Clas. Kristy was the first young person close to Clas that died unexpectedly. Stuart was the first young person close to me that died.

I was able to speak with Clas this week and he reminded me that it is wise to live _every_ day. Clas noted that it is often tempting to live for a future day (world championships, a key race, or even retirement). The death of someone close to us can be a trigger for considering a wider view of personal success.

I think about death a lot – some days when I am riding, I wonder about each truck that rolls up behind me. Out on my run last Tuesday, I reflected on Stuart’s death and asked if I had been wise with my extra time – 127 months and counting… I wondered if I had any obligation to Stuart, or Kristy, and what they would have wanted for me, for us. If anything good comes from a death then it is likely the fact that the survivors take a moment to consider the daily choices we make. Stuart’s death didn’t trigger any changes in my attitude (my divorce had a more powerful effect) but reflecting on his death (weekly/monthly) helps me focus on my limited time.

Ten years on, I am certain about two things: we got Stuart’s funeral right and my extra time was well spent.

As I ran in the rain last Tuesday, I said a prayer that Kristy’s spirit, and the people around her, find peace in the weeks to come. I tapped my prayer into the road and felt the vibration in my heart.

Thanks for the memories.

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Gates Investing

Over the last few months, I have started asking myself the opposite of the answer I am seeking. Sample questions:

What do I know won’t work right now?

What options are clearly the wrong decisions?

What would I do if money was no object?

In my SnowFarm notes (published below a few weeks ago) – you will see that Renzie talks about a disaster cascade – to locate our self-defeating patterns write a list of every action required to turn a situation into a total disaster. Then search for the actions/patterns that you undertake within that list.

In these uncertain financial times, I ask myself the question, “What if capital wasn’t a constraint?” By removing financial return criteria, I find it easier to understand the underlying need that I am seeking to fulfill. Vacation homes, automobiles, property investments, share purchases, clothes… I spend time considering the “why” behind my motivations.

I often catch myself justifying purchases on the grounds that they are “investments”. If you look carefully inside most marketing pitches you will see the underlying message that you are “investing” in something. The rationalization of investment (in fitness, in health, in property, in stocks, in IRAs, in peace-of-mind…) can be alluring.

It is often a trap… the salesman nearly always enjoys more benefit than the purchaser.

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Stepping Up

Various ideas on commitment from people that have helped others achieve success:

Joe Friel talks about athletic success arising from the smallest dose of the most specific training required to achieve the goal.

Dick Jochums reflects that people will do the minimum to achieve their goals.

My dad shared his personal investment strategy of the smallest investment required to maximize his personal return from a situation.

We share a common bias to underestimate our workload and overestimate our work capacity.

In private, many of my “successful” friends note that most people don’t seem to work very hard. While some may be lazy, I think that work-drive has a mix of generic and environmental influences. Probably the greatest thing that we can do is surround ourselves with people that are good at what we want to achieve – if we lack ability, or drive, then it will quickly become clear as our peers leave us behind. At this stage, many people will move into denial -- seeking a change in protocol, or coach.

With my aspiring clients, we spend significant time identifying patterns/habits that limit work capacity – it is not until the circle of success is established that we concern ourselves with the workload. In my view, this approach maximizes the achievement each client will achieve relative to themselves.

The other approach is to lay out the training required to be a champion and invite people to “step up”. Our sport is littered with coaches that ruined themselves, and others, with this philosophy.

I wonder if one champion is worth dozens of carcasses.

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Shorting Europe

I’m bearish on Europe relative to the US. Having spent two weeks on the far side of the Atlantic, I can not see justification for the relative value differentials between the regions. London, in particular, strikes me as a place that will take a lot of pain as global liquidity unwinds.

I think that we are in the early stages of the liquidity effects that we are going to see over the next three years. The sectors that most benefited from leverage are still in denial.

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How Companies Die

Within our property development business, we have not seen any distressed deal flow since the liquidity crisis began last summer. My business partner takes this as a sign of the strength of the prime sector. He could be right. However, I had the opportunity to bend the ear of a senior banker last week with this scenario…

Summer 2007 – Credit crisis hits and the weak companies run into trouble. However, hardly anybody realizes that they are in trouble – things have been too good for too long.

Winter 2007/Spring 2008 – Management can normally hide a poor portfolio for at least a year. They have a strong incentive (their jobs and equity investment) to keep the situation private for as long as possible. Lenders are concerned but the full extent of the trouble within their loan portfolios isn’t apparent to them. All their clients continue to report “business as usual”.

Spring/Summer 2008 – Smart lenders and savvy equity investors notice that they could be in trouble – stakeholders start internal investigations while praying for market conditions to improve.

Summer/Fall 2008 – Crunch time. Weak companies have security called, shareholders in negative equity positions are washed out.

Fall/Winter 2008 – Reality sinks in, prices shift downward to market clearing levels, transaction volume rises.

I am unlikely to have the timing right but that was the pattern that I witnessed in the early 90s.

Only hedge funds and investment banks die fast – in the real economy, companies die slowly.

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Right now, I am looking out my window to fresh snow in Boulder, Colorado! Next week I will be writing you from (hopefully) sunny Tucson.

Our triathlon training camp runs March 22-30, we have one slot left and it could be you enjoying the sun alongside us! If you are interested then please drop me a line or send an email to mat @ endurancecorner dot com.

Battening down the financial hatches,
gordo