Rockwell Trading, Inc. - Markus' Blog

Submitted by Markus on Thu, 02/26/2009 - 18:37

Today I read a blog entry from Demian Farnworth* on Jack Welch. There are some great lessons that day traders can learn from "The Most Successful Manager Of The 20th Century":

Legend has it that some twelve years after he joined GE , Welch announced at his annual performance review his plan to become CEO.

And that was in fact just what the brazen young engineer did. In 1981, Welch stepped into the roll of GE’s youngest Chairman and CEO ever.

During the first five years of his tenure, Welch cemented his reputation as he eliminated employees ruthlessly, earning the title ” Neutron Jack”– the people vanished but the buildings remained. From 1980 to 1985, he cut 112,000 jobs.

What was his hang up? Welch was obsessed with dismantling nine-layers of bureaucracy, cutting inventories, shutting down factories, reducing payrolls and cutting lackluster product lines.

He had a ferocious desire for efficiency. And profit.

Introducing the Most Successful Manager of the 20th Century

Some criticize Welch as mean-spirited and petty. Brutal. Apathetic. Others claim he’s quick to judge. Says he used limited information to size people up. And write them off.

But one thing can be said about him: he was successful.

During his 20 plus year tenure, GE’s market capitalization rose from $13 billion to $400 billion. Revenues grew from $27 billion to $127 billion. And earnings grew tenfold.

In 2000, Fortune magazine said Jack Welch was “Manager of the Year.”

The Single and Solitary Rule to Welch’s Success

What was the key to his success? Certainly more than one factor contributed to it.

But if I was to name one singular and solitary reason for his dominance I’d say it would be his ability to make quick and sound decisions with limited information. Welch understood that it is impossible to have complete information before making a decision. And he understood that too much analysis can be paralyzing, leading to indecision and procrastination.

I bet he would have been a great day trader!

When day trading, you need to make decisions fast, sometimes in a split second. There's no way that you can have ALL the information you want when making a trading decision. You make it with limited information, and yes - sometimes you are wrong.

But if you are, quickly realize the mistake, get out of this trade and MOVE ON. Don't beat yourself up over a losing trade. It is said, that as a business manager at least half of your decisions are wrong. The best managers are those who admit a mistake, learn from it and move on.

The same applies to trading. Don't strive for perfection. You will NEVER have a 100% winning percentage. Losses are part of our business, and the key to success is to REALIZE that you are wrong, GET OUT OF the trade as quickly as you can and MOVE ON.

Keep making quick decisions and don't overanalyze a trade. Otherwise you will end up in "analysis paralysis", and you either don't pull the trigger at all or you always enter too late into a trade.

* Demian Farnworth is Senior Web Writer for an international humanitarian aid organization and blogger for Fallen and Flawed.