A loud coaching session on the desk

Yesterday we had a loud, unscheduled coaching session with the newest traders on our desk. There were raised voices and language not suitable for network TV.

By my count this was the third time these newest traders did not meet an acceptable level of AM preparation. I am not suggesting they did not prepare. I am not suggesting they did not compile many trading ideas on our AM Ideas sheet. I am suggesting they missed a few trading opportunities that they should not have because it was not on their AM Ideas sheet.

One trader carped about a missed 2nd Day play in KORS. What are you complaining about in real-time for missing this trade? You weren’t prepared before the open. That is what happens.

Another muttered about a missed downmove in the “best stock of the day”. What are you muttering about? Only one trader of our newest traders had indentified this idea in our AM Idea sheet. The mutterer wasn’t one of them.

Look I love our guys and they work very hard, but sometimes that is not enough You have to work hard and smart and are judged on whether you are truly prepared. This isn’t a game where we sit around holding hands and toast marshmallows together. It’s not a summer camp. It’s a performance sport, where there are no excuses.

The stone cold truth is if you are not prepared that is unacceptable. You might accept underperformance and a slower than expected learning curve. Some of that you cannot control. But you can control being prepared.

And in this game the bare minimum is exceling at all the things you can control.

What cracks me up the most, what I find hysterical, are the looks from a few of the newest trading addicted traders, annoyed at this impromptu coaching session. As if they are gonna miss their career trading opportunity with one chat. If you are not prepared, then the only thing you are missing is the opportunity to make more trades unprepared.

This is not the first loud coaching session in firm history. We have had them with all the classes holding our most successful traders. It will not be our last. We will hold them with all the classes encompassing the next great traders developed at our firm. It’s a right of passage you might say. But it’s one that must get cleaned up immediately if you want to succeed as a trader.

We are all working on this on the desk as well

Taking your trading to the next level

*no relevant positions