Tobydad, as my girl and I are packing for our annual trip north I decided to take a break and see what goodies were on the forum today. I love that you have brought this topic to light. One of the qualities that most great traders share. 

I have read many a composition and have had dialog with those that know their stuff and the common thread is that they posses that quality of which you speak. The plan; yes one is needed and just like writing down your goals (like you have suggested many times) the plan must be developed and adhered to. Just as leaders must inspire others to follow the plan one must find the leader in themselves to do just that.

Is your book about trading, politics or based in an alternate genre? I too am working on a couple of books. "Trading" and a more light hearted concept "Trading forums". Let us know when your book might be available... I will still stop in from time to time to say hi. Keep up the good work. You seem to be demonstrating some solid leadership skills in the way you are teaching some of the newer traders...

Apsll.

I am glad that you responded before I leave in the morning. I remember you mentioning a while back that you were involved with youth football (my favorite sport).

You are dead on with your analogies to trading and how leaders respond to adversity. In order to be a success at most things one must first have a passion and stay loyal and dedicated. No quitting... If you quit because of a few bumps in the road then you’re not a leader and your passion was false. You regroup and asses the situation finding new ways to come back stronger.  "What one man can do another man can do" one of my favorite lines from the movie "The Edge".  It is a given that some are a success in the markets. Why not you.

See you in a couple of weeks TB... Take care

I was listening to NPR months ago and heard a delightful story. It (while possibly being fiction) was told by a daughter who was recanting a phone conversation with her elderly parents.  She asked them for some advise on their longevity.  Her Mom said, “Never make a left hand turn”. “No left hand turns?”, she said. “But what happens when you need to turn left?”. “Oh, we make three right hand turns”, said the Mom. “That’s funny. But you’re getting a bit forgetful Mom. What if you forget to go straight when you need to Mom?”. “Oh” said the Dad. “Then we just call it a day and go home”.

Tobydad I always enjoy your advice, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be making this post. But I’m curious to why you are equating leadership to being a good trader. I think that often times what makes one a leader can kill them in this market. Sometimes you just need to go home and sit.

Take care,

Yinzer

My primary focus was not really on leadership (at least for the context of this post); it was more on the fact of having a plan. The latter half of the acrostic is to Effectively Reduce the Stress of Hardship by Implementing a Plan. 

I attended a leadership conference last year. One of the guest speakers was Peyton Manning. When asked about the pressure one must experience when there are 2 minutes remaining in a big game and the team needs to score. They asked him if that was not unbearable pressure. He responded that there really was no pressure when one is properly prepared for the situation.

Sometimes the plan might be to sit it out, that's fine. But my point above all else is that to be truly effective in the markets one must have a plan of action. But it is especially true in the markets that we have experienced over the last year or so. (And I suspect more is coming.)