Achieving Breakthrough in Trading
Posted by Asaf Yigal in Collaboration, Community Platform, tags: aha moment, andrew hargadon, brett steenbarger, collaborative forex trading, Forex traders, forex transparency, portfolio manager, Traders
Brett Steenbarger wrote a very interesting post a couple of weeks ago reviewing the work of Andrew Hargadon on achieving breakthrough in organizations and the importance of communication in achieving breakthroughs.
I especially liked Brett’s interpretation of the thesis to the trading domain “One of the greatest threats to trader success and longevity is isolation and insularity. Without the free flow of ideas from different sources and perspectives, individual traders become trapped in limited ways of viewing and doing… I have consistently found that successful traders and portfolio managers have well-developed networks of contacts.”
We all have these epiphany moments of “A-HA” when we achieve a breakthrough every now and then. It usually follows a discussion we had or a comment that someone made, which may be totally unrelated to the problem we’re trying to solve.
New Feature We're Building: "People You Should Know"
From a survey we did at Currensee in September of this year we found that 85% of the traders surveyed see great value in collaboration but only 50% of them do this today. They told us that they don’t really know who to trust and where to find people that actually trade, use similar techniques, and trade at the same time as they do. One of the features that we’re developing in Currensee (see screenshot) will allow traders to meet others by matching trading style, trading hours, holding time, preferred currencies, etc. We’re hoping to help more traders achieve frequent “A-HA” moments!
======
Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.
-------
Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.
Entries (RSS)
I like the idea of promoting collaboration, and since I am an isolated trader, it is potentially helpful. In the hope of providing constructive criticism, though, let me tell you why I probably won’t use your community as you describe it.
Although isolated and trading my own funds, my volume is more like a smaller institution. I trade many yards/month. I am not looking for pointers on how to trade. Importantly, I am also not willing to give many pointers on how to trade, because this is a zero-sum game.
I am much more interested in participating in a community focused on more peripheral trading issues. Examples would be: how to find more liquidity; which brokers (ECN’s) are best in which currency pairs; introductions to prime brokers; what the rumor mill is saying about various traders, or various brokers; what difficulties you have encountered in relations with industry participants; software issues related to automated trading; pros and cons of available software.
Perhaps it doesn’t make economic sense to build a community focused on these topics, since most people are more interested in trying to find an edge. I’ll keep watching and hope that you do come up with something that more professional traders can take advantage of.
[...] Collaboration – Lots of traders want it; not so many have [...]
[...] Collaboration – Lots of traders want it; not so many have [...]
I read your blog for quite a long time and must tell you that your articles are always valuable to readers.
Chris,
You brought us some interesting points and some interesting topics for discussions by the community.
I want to focus on one point you made “I am not looking for pointers on how to trade. Importantly, I am also not willing to give many pointers on how to trade” – Collaboration, as we see it, is not about looking for pointers or exposing pointers but about communication, brainstorming and establishing a network where people can keep their own creativity while meshing it with the creativity of others. As Brett said this better ” In the right kinds of networks, participants serve as knowledge brokers, combining and recombining ideas and perspectives”.
It’s like the experience that the Beetles had when the traveled to India, they didn’t come back copying Indian music but the experience influenced the music they created.
– Asaf.