Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1 Intellect, Instinct, and Guts: Understanding the Psychological Profile 7
A History of Success 14
The Ability to Take Risk 15
Creativity and Originality 16
Self-Awareness, Self-Control, and Resilience 17
Teaching Traders Self-Assessment and Self-Control 18
Teamwork and Leadership 19
Putting It All Together 21
Case Study on Finding the Right Candidate 21
Job Requirements 21
Potential Candidates 22
The Bottom Line 25
The Perfect Candidate? 26
Chapter in Review 27
CHAPTER 2 Planning for Action: The Importance of Goal-Directedness 29
Making a Plan 30
Case Study on Setting a Goal 31
Case Study on Having a Variant Perception 35
Personality Factors and Goal-Setting 42
Recognizing Goal-Directed Individuals 44
Case Study on Recognizing Goal-Directedness 47
Fred's Strengths: The Three Cs 47
Fred's Weaknesses: The Three Is 48
Goal-Directedness in Turbulent Times 50
Own Your Stuff 51
Review the Game Films 51
Switch Gears? 52
Be Realistic 52
Stay True to Your Strengths 52
Maintain Focus 53
Chapter in Review 54
CHAPTER 3 ''Fire in the Belly'': The Ability to Take Appropriate Risk 57
A Picture of Successful Risk Management 57
Trading Philosophy 59
Handling Drawdowns 59
Head versus Heart 60
Reviewing Risk Statistics 60
Examining Personality Factors 63
Learning to Upgrade Your Performance 71
Chapter in Review 77
CHAPTER 4 Thinking Outside the Box: The Importance of Ingenuity 79
Case Study on the Satisfaction of Creative Thinking 80
The Strategic Thinker 81
Case Study on Learning to Be Creative 82
Idea Construction 88
Developing a Variant Perception 88
Case Study on Creative Thinking 89
Idea Evaluation Checklist 92
Defining Expectational Analysis 94
Case Study on Knowing the Business 95
Case Study on Expectational Analysis 100
Raising Your Conviction 103
Idea Velocity 105
Idea Timing 105
Idea Completion 106
The Psychological Dimension 109
Case Study on Communicating Effectively 111
Chapter in Review 114
CHAPTER 5 Separating Emotions and Decisions: The Ability to Be Self-Aware 117
Case Study on the Emotion of Drawdowns 118
The Source of Fear 121
Case Study on Trading Stress 123
Self-Esteem and Self-Discipline 125
Learning from Drawdowns 128
Case Study on Self-Assessing During Drawdowns 129
Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable 131
Case Study on Being Comfortable with Discomfort 132
Teaching Traders Self-Assessment and Self-Control 136
Managing Stress Well 136
Chapter in Review 140
CHAPTER 6 Nurturing Team Players: Listening, Learning, and Working Together 143
Characteristics of a Team Player 144
Responsible 144
Positive and Encouraging 145
Competitive 148
Coachable 149
Finding Complements to Your Team 151
Case Study on a Comparison of Traders 153
The Importance of Communication 155
Chapter in Review 159
CHAPTER 7 Leadership: Directing Success 161 Empowering a Culture of Change 162
Case Study on Creating a Culture of Change 162
Encouraging Responsibility 171
Case Study on the Challenges of Responsibility 173
Exploring Potential Leaders 176
Case Studies on Finding Potential Leaders 177
Endeavoring for Success 183
Case Study on a Failure to Lead 184
Chapter in Review 189
Index 191
