Coburn Ventures Podcast

Today we’re back with a fourth stock disaster. We will sprinkle these in sporadically throughout the year for you in the hopes you can learn from our mistakes and our responses to those mistakes. Interestingly enough, we all might acknowledge that stock disasters are not commonly shared internally even though we are in an industry with a high failure rate: we are not engineers building bridges who need the failure rate approaching zero, we are more like baseball players at bat: 1 in 3 will get the job done and be considered high performing! Beating the market can be done while also striking out repeatedly! Perhaps ignoring the strike outs just isn't a complete way to look at the work we do! In that vein, lets jump into today's beast offered up by Pip: General Instruments. 

For our third edition of Stock Disasters, join us in a reflection that uncovers the dangers of hubris, (sometimes anointed by your very own manager), guardrails to help when you want to trade and run, and finally, seeing clearly when you have a management team that is taking the company in one direction and one direction only... whether you see it or not. Let's jump in.

Dr. Morris Pickens, a sports psychologist who works with golfers and business leaders, shares insightful strategies for navigating pressure-filled environments. He introduces the concept of the 'athletic moment' to help investors build supportive routines. The discussion delves into the mental game, drawing parallels between sports and investing while emphasizing emotional composure. With practical techniques for managing distractions and enhancing focus, Pickens reveals how to cultivate core competencies for sustained excellence in both fields.

In this discussion, behavioral scientist Matt Wallaert sheds light on the nuanced differences between coaching, performance reviews, and 1-on-1s. He emphasizes how mislabeling these interactions can demotivate employees. The conversation also highlights the importance of accountability and psychological safety in the workplace. Wallaert advocates for clear performance metrics and empathetic leadership, arguing that understanding diverse communication styles is crucial for effective team dynamics. His insights aim to make review season more constructive and less daunting.

In this engaging conversation, Amber Gentry, a nutritional psychologist, tackles the differences between abundance and scarcity mindsets and their impact on leadership and personal well-being. She shares personal anecdotes on how embracing an abundance mindset can unleash creativity and collaboration. The discussion critiques the misleading marketing of nutrition bars, advocating instead for a return to whole foods. Gentry encourages listeners to overcome scarcity mentalities for a more fulfilling approach to food and life, emphasizing mindfulness as a key to navigating challenges.

Part of what we know about AI is that, when we look back in a few months, our understanding of how to use it today is going to seem so elementary. But for now, we want to continue pausing, getting our bearings and being very aware of our questions and our thinking on it, so we continue this week placing waypoints. This episode includes just a few thoughts from us and then moves into contributions from our community. I hope you enjoy it!

In a captivating discussion with Dr. Morris Pickens, a seasoned sports psychologist for pro golfers, the conversation delves into the concept of the 'athletic moment.' He explores how mental preparation is crucial for peak performance, paralleling it with decision-making in investing. Topics include mastering the psychological barriers golfers face, embracing the right mindset, and balancing the thrills of competition with personal life. Dr. Pickens' insights shed light on how mental strength shapes success in both sports and finance.

Today we’re back on the topic of decision-making biases. We will go through three more of the most common: representativeness error, search satisfaction and commission bias. Before we jump in, I’m going to do a brief explanation of each one, so that it's easier to listen to the rest of our conversation, you’ll have the definitions in mind. Also, a point of context I've been thinking about...if we jump into examining our biases before we have a bit of experience under our belt, it might cause a low-grade analysis paralysis! For our newer investors, please do listen, but don’t worry if you feel like you want to treat this as something for the back of your mind rather than an inspiration to make changes or adjustments. For the rest of you, these two conversations and the piece on biases are actually designed to provoke and provide a few slight changes, if you’re willing… so let's jump in..

Welcome back! We're here for part two of our conversation with Jeff Cardon and Steve Salopek. This week we discuss what they would be doing in today’s market, more on comp and culture, and the stories behind certain decisions that influenced the creation of their teams and companies. Finally, we end with a topic that may be interesting to many of you, so keep listening all the way to the end! Let's jump in...

For the past few weeks, we have been discussing distinct elements of the investment process, and now we get to sit down with two friends and industry veterans to talk about it all. Many of you know both Jeff Cardon and Steve Salopek, both happen to come from the small-cap world and are long-time investors, portfolio managers, and leaders in the industry. They are both now retired, and with some time and space away from the industry, they have some interesting insights.  Our conversation covers a whole lot, with great stories interwoven. We move from investment decision-making to structuring money management firms to teams, compensation and culture. What are we waiting for? Here’s Part 1 of our conversation... let's jump in.