At SMB we want traders to be THEIR best trader.
Not as profitable as our top trader.
Not the best scalper they can be. Or the best swing trader they can be. Or the best arb trader they can be. Nor the best technical trader they can be. They need to find what makes them them. As Dr. Steenbarger said to one fantastic trader on our desk, “What makes SWang be SWang.” Said another way, what makes you so good?
Our best trader runs a team where ALL on the team trade the same stocks, mostly trade the same direction, and ALL trade differently. They couldn’t trade like the star trader who leads the team. He has unique skills that they do not have. This star trader couldn’t trade like other consistently profitable traders on his team as he lacks some of their strengths.
Our most improved team is run by a trader who thirsts for collaboration. I swear if it were possible to collaborate about the most comfortable socks for traders to wear to work, he would want to collaborate on that.
A good exercise for all of us to contemplate is: What are our values? What is important to us? I was challenged to answer this by a trading colleague recently. I have given this a great deal of thought in the past and is why I do what I do. The interest to improve and grow daily is what makes me me. This is what excites me.
Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks, on a podcast with Mike Gervais provides helpful guidance on how he has done this.
I will be most productive if I craft my days around growth and improvement. Put me in a meeting about payout or profits and you lose me. I just don’t care. Money does not motivate me in the slightest. But put me in a meeting discussing how a trader can grow (even an unprofitable one on the desk), and participate in improving his trading business, and you have my attention. Put me in a teaching session, (This Trader Needed to Wait for the Real Technical Analysis Setup- Tutorial) with a developing trader reviewing their trades, and I am all in.
For the trader reading this post at home you might consider asking: what makes me me? What drives me? And then structure your daily routine around this. And then structure your trading around this.
Can you be great if you are not tapping into what makes you special? Can we be good teachers at SMB if our goal was not to help traders become THEIR best trader (and whatever that looks like)?
Let’s run through some basic examples of what this might look like in the trading world. So if you are adept at tracking many things at once, then perhaps become a swing trader. If you think quickly and enjoy quick decision-making, then perhaps you ought to scalp. If you enjoy growing every month personally, then perhaps your trading should be done within a team. If you are introverted and like thinking quietly by yourself- like Bill Gates for example, then maybe a remote independent trader is best suited for you. But the thing is you need to get this right to be your best. The thing is you need to take the time to think through this. Do this work to put yourself in position to accomplish special goals.
How can you put yourself in the best position to succeed? How will you structure your day so it speaks to your core values and truly excites you? And how does that relate to your trading? The key is for you to become your best trader. Having done this for 20+ years, I can tell you for some, that will mean failing as a trader. But that is okay if you gave it your best shot and then learned your skills did not apply best to trading. For others, you will succeed but must push to keep improving, no matter your profits.
Have a terrific weekend. I hope this gives you something helpful to think about over the weekend so you can draft a blueprint to become your best trader.
*no relevant positions