Thinking Against the Grain

One of my goals with these entries is to introduce readers to new, well-written books.

One I read this weekend is The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. Lewis is the brilliant writer who has also penned, Liars Poker, The Blind Side, and Moneyball.

The Big Short is the story of a dozen men who made fortunes betting against the housing market during the years 2003 – 2007. Hence the name of the book: shorting a stock or financial instrument means betting it will drop in price. Having read the book, I now have a much better understanding of credit default swaps and synthetic collateralized debt obligations and can explain them in five sentences or less to anyone interested.

What was much more interesting to me, however, than the mechanics of how these men did what they did, was Lewis’ portrayal of the men themselves – almost all eccentric in one way or another.

One (Mike) was a loner who grew up with a glass eye who would not stop playing football in high school even though his eye would periodically pop out during games.

One (Vinny) was so distrustful of Wall Street he believed every trader was going to screw him. Here’s one vignette I loved:

Vinny: “So, tell me how you’re going to screw me on this trade.”

Trader: “Don’t be ridiculous, Vinny, no one is going to screw anyone.”

Vinny: “I just need to know. I’ll still do the trade. Just tell me how you’re going

to screw me.”

And the trader told him, and Vinny still did the trade.

One (Steve) was so hateful of Wall Street conformists he would buck the trend any way he could. At one golf outing he showed up in running shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt. When the other players told him he had to change, he went to the pro shop and bought a hoodie.

Mike, Vinny and Steve were nutty. So nutty in fact they became enormously wealthy by ignoring the party line of everyone on Wall Street who maintained that the housing market could never fall on a national level.

The lesson for all of us is that it sometimes takes a really hard head to buck the masses – to think against the grain. But, those who are right, those are the ones who reap the rewards of a society that moves in herds.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

                                                                                  -George Bernard Shaw

Jim Randel is the founder of The Skinny On book series – what many people are calling “unique reading experiences.” His latest book, The Skinny on the Art of Persuasion, will be released in one week. Early reviews are outstanding.