Arrogant English' hubriS' comes from Greek hybris according to the dictionary, which means "arrogance from excessive arrogance". In addition, the word also implies arrogance and contempt for moral laws. The Greeks thought arrogance was an unforgivable crime. They said, "If God wants to destroy it, he will be arrogant. The Bible says: Pride precedes depravity, and madness precedes depravity. There is a proverb in Turkey called "God hates arrogant people. Arrogance also contains a hint of narcissism. Whitman wrote in My Song: "I found that only the fat attached to my bones is the sweetest. "
As Mark Twain said, "History will not repeat itself, but it will naturally rhyme". Many people who have been in power for a period of time think that they can always make an exception, and in the end they have become victims of arrogance. Napoleon, who failed to stop, was an obvious victim of arrogance. On his deathbed, victor hugo said, "God is tired of him". On the contrary, Muhammad Ali knew the danger of arrogance when he was sober. He said, "I said I was the greatest, but I never thought so."
What I admire about Peter Lynch is that he is not carried away by the media hype, so that he believes that he is really an investment genius who can become a superstar without hard work. Obviously, he knows that if he is arrogant, he can't escape the spell himself. In fact, according to media reports, Lynch wants to retire because he feels that his working hours are too long and his work intensity is too great. When he started his investment career at Fidelity, he almost never worked on Saturdays and Sundays. Later, he needed to go to the office every Saturday, even on Sunday. Later he found it necessary to go home and work overtime.
Success breeds arrogance, so it is not surprising that there are all kinds of professional arrogance. I have seen many very capable CEOs become overconfident and even narcissistic. They think that the company can still operate effectively by staying in the office less and going out to play golf, but this is absolutely impossible. When things get worse, they don't know why. There is also the arrogance of intellectuals. When a leader begins to believe that his decision-making is always correct and his vision is unique, he will only listen to his own opinions and hate challenging him to question his subordinates. Only the leader speaks and the subordinates are silent during the meeting, which is the performance of this arrogance.
In addition, when leaders who are extremely approachable and have personal charm begin to think that they can manage enterprises by charm instead of strict and faithful evaluation of their subordinates, the harm of arrogance is once again revealed. I know a company whose senior executives privately complain that the chairman of the company will always "try his best to get you out of his office with a smile on your face". But the problem is that now they have seen through this. Smiling can't last long, but distrust will last.
Arrogant people can be seen everywhere in the investment circle, especially young people. Older investors will talk big, but after all, the market has branded them with deep humility. After making several correct market judgments, an investment manager will begin to believe that he really has what Churchill called "all-round vision", that is, "the profound and unique instinct that can penetrate the surface of words and things-although faintly visible, it can accurately penetrate the brick wall and let people find the traces of prey before the public. Compared with this ability, professional knowledge, knowledge, degree, reputation, clear-headed and full of courage are not worth mentioning. "
Many investment managers I know used to think that they had "all-round eyes" and regarded "diligence" and "orderly thinking" as worthless. Some people become drunkards, some abandon their wives and are keen on courting women, some are addicted to other people's songs, and some are degenerate. However, the investment competition is so cruel, the performance figures are so ruthless, and their career steps have stopped.
There is also a group arrogance. The Bible Genesis records the first arrogant experience of mankind. In the land of cinar, arrogant people wanted to "spread our name", so they began to build a city and a pagoda that could "soar to the sky". They call this tower "Babel". God walked in the streets of this city, angry at the arrogance of this race. He confuses people's language and makes it difficult for people to understand each other. The effect is obvious. People who speak different languages have really abandoned their own cities and pagodas scattered around the world.
A country, an army, a company and even a track and field team will become a group of arrogant patients. Success breeds a fatal combination of complacency, overconfidence and arrogance. At the beginning of this century, the British empire was dragged down by arrogance, and the end of the song is the final interpretation of this. Many years ago, when everything was going well, companies such as New Haven Railway, General Motors, IBM and Xerox were also in high spirits. Now, the San Francisco 49ers and golden joe are facing the same problem. Morgan Stanley should also be careful not to be hurt by arrogance. I take my hat off to Peter Lynch here, not only because he is a great investor, but also because he doesn't suffer from the common disease of arrogance.