[quellhorst]

Warren Buffet mentioned something similar... If you were to invest in the future success or bet on the failure of someone, what traits do they have?

You probably wouldn't pick the smartest or dumbest and the traits are probably habits. You can learn good habits and unlearn bad ones.

[dissenter]

I once read this suggestion and was very surprised by the result when I applied it. My 'equity valuation' of someone was often in direct contrast to my 'general appreciation' of them as a person, and to such an extent that it was difficult to keep two such incongruous ideas in my head at the same time.

What was surprising was not the overriding tendency to appreciate people for economically unrelated traits, but the gross effectiveness with which I could evaluate someone as soon as I viewed them purely in terms of financial opportunity.

I was reminded of the experience I had had with the Socratic method. When first presented as an idea---"You just ask questions"---the Socratic method is comically simple, almost ripe for derision, and easy to dismiss. But applying it, and seeing it applied, you notice that it has a powerful effect. The thoughts we arrive at on our own are immeasurably more meaningful than the thoughts pressed on us by others.

By the same token, this method of evaluation was unexpectedly effective. As long as I was thinking critically about who I would buy stock in, I had a clear picture of who the most valuable people were. But just as soon as my own assets faded from consideration the ordering became very different.