Reflection: When Everyone Agrees

Remember the last time you sat down at the dinner table and had a full discussion with the entire family about an issue...any issue. Yes. There were differences...and sometimes surprising ones.

Some years ago, in the small book on the Traders Little Book, I wrote a post on "Differences" and how they are essential to markets...and how I learned that at the ripe old age of 40. (Click on the post for the post.)


In the area of politics, I remember the old news show "Meet the Press" with Mr. Spivak or Tim Russett. One of the remarkable things about the show was the differences that were examined, and how any pandering for unanimity was always shown to be phoney. Differences were what mattered.

I have come to a conclusion about this. That in the normal world, folks differ---and the difference is healthy...and if you are ever in a meeting where everyone agrees...there is usually a ballet going on....ya...a little like "Strictly Ballroom". After all, if everyone agrees on Wall Street....such as "It is going to the moon"--they are always wrong....That is mania.....the sellers or shorts take care of that....Differences make markets...that is the way of the world.

Here is the bottom line...In any political process, if the goal is to make it so there is no disagreement...something is very wrong with the process itself...no correction can occur for error...there is no listening going on....For efforts that have listening sessions where no listening occurs...there is a problem waiting to show itself.