When I graduated college and started my career in the asset management business, I was confident I wanted to be a Research Analyst. After all, I was strong at math and liked stocks…I was also clueless as to what I was getting myself into. Little did I realize that I was surrounded by other folks that were stronger at math and had better insight into a company’s financials. My ineptness was fully exposed at a research meeting when one of the senior folks asked a question about a firm. Being completely unabashed, I raised my hand in an effort to be recognized amongst the group. I gave the incorrect answer and the person responded with one of the greatest “life lessons” of all time. Knowing my answer was way off-base he asked a simple question: “What color is your pancreas?”. I looked at him dumbfounded and replied, “I don’t know”. His reply quickly changed my career aspirations. He said, “Are you sure? Because your head is so far up your ass I am assuming you can see all your internal organs.” No joke.
Perhaps he could have handled it better but, in hindsight, I am thankful for the career advice. (On a side note, I miss the “good-old-days” when people were allowed to be so frank.) This experience was truly humbling, but it made me quickly realize that it would be very difficult to succeed when I wasn’t fully playing to my strengths. Furthermore, I think one of the biggest mistakes we make is we automatically assume we are strong in an area where, in actuality, we are simply average. It is tough to self-actualize and take inventory of our strengths and our weaknesses, but the sooner we go through this exercise the better positioned we are for career growth.
Another example: While working at Zweig Mutual Funds in the 1990’s I had the opportunity to travel with our Tennessee wholesaler. He was the greatest “orator” I have ever seen; part salesman and part preacher. Everyone in the room was completely glued to his presentation; mostly due to his over-the-top, passionate delivery style. Sometimes I would try to mimic his approach but it never seemed natural. My style was more laid-back and I eventually realized that this was my strength…it made me more approachable and, perhaps, more sincere.
My point is that we all must figure out our “genius”. Intuitively we already know what it is but when you recognize your genius you must also recognize your weaknesses. Some weaknesses we can improve and others should just be left alone provided they are not inhibiting your chances for success. After all, we can’t be great at everything.
Now, turn the tables. When selling something to someone you need to recognize their genius (and their weaknesses) and position the strategy accordingly. If someone is not strong with numbers then it is somewhat useless to review all the MPT statistics associated with your strategy. Perhaps they are more comfortable with the concept you are representing and how it will help clients. Maybe their genius is how they connect with their clients rather than their portfolio allocation. I always found it to be helpful to take a step back and assess how you approach each conversation/relationship and this process should ultimately be driven by their comfort (genius) level not yours. The common “genius” among successful sales people is the flexibility in how they interact with their clients and prospects.