From: myfirstmillionpod
The journey to success in investing and life often involves building strong relationships and adopting effective personal practices. Guy Spier highlights the profound impact of handwritten notes and strategic network building as key elements in his own development and success.
The Power of Handwritten Notes
Guy Spier emphasizes the transformative power of handwritten notes, a practice he adopted after encountering it in Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion [00:30:08]. The book recounts the story of the most successful car salesperson who achieved this by writing thousands of cards a year, essentially saying “I like you” to customers [00:30:12].
Spier adapted this concept to “thank you” notes, committing to writing at least three notes daily before leaving his office [00:31:21]. This discipline was a way of demonstrating his desperate desire for success, being willing to try things he hadn’t before [00:31:00]. Despite initial skepticism from peers, he persevered, unafraid of “looking like a fool” [00:32:50].
A crucial insight from this practice was that the act of writing the note changed his internal state, making him genuinely care more about the people he was writing to [00:33:39]. This illustrates the principle of “doing it and you’ll feel it later” [00:33:50]. This aligns with the concept of the reticular activating system (RAS), which trains the brain to notice things it’s looking for, thereby making a person more interested and grateful [00:34:43].
Noteworthy Examples
- Warren Buffett: Spier reveals that Warren Buffett himself practices this by sending personalized holiday cards to people like Spier, demonstrating that he “freaking understands this stuff” [00:37:08]. These gestures, though seemingly small, create a significant impact and foster a sense of connection, leveraging the principle of reciprocation [00:39:45].
- Kobe Bryant: Similarly, Kobe Bryant was known for remembering personal details about people and making seemingly small, thoughtful gestures like calling a trainer’s mom on her birthday [00:40:53]. Kobe viewed these brief interactions as investments that would lead to people positively sharing their experience with thousands of others over time [00:42:10].
Building a Strong Network
Spier’s experience highlights the critical role of building a strong personal and professional network. He describes how he sought out people who knew what they were doing in investing to “reverse engineer” their success [00:06:13].
The Posy Study Group
A pivotal example of network building for Spier was his involvement in “the Posy,” a study group formed by Whitney Tilson [00:01:30]. This group consisted of five or six individuals fascinated by Warren Buffett and eager to improve their investing skills [00:03:30].
- Structure and Benefits: They met regularly, sometimes weekly, to present and deeply discuss written stock ideas [00:03:57]. These meetings led to follow-up business and social interactions, such as visiting companies [00:04:41]. Critically, many of the “best ideas” and “meta information” emerged from the unstructured discussions within the group [00:05:01].
- Learning from Others: An important lesson from the Posy involved his investment in Farmer Mac. Spier had a long position in the company, believing it to be similar to successful government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [00:08:18]. However, through the group, Whitney Tilson connected him with Bill Ackman, who had taken a massive short position in Farmer Mac due to its borderline fraudulent nature, not truly being a mortgage-backed security [00:09:31]. Ackman’s detailed analysis, which revealed only a few large, risky business loans within the securities instead of many diversified mortgages, exposed Spier’s lack of in-depth due diligence [00:11:00]. Spier immediately sold his shares, learning a crucial lesson about rigorous analysis and the value of diverse perspectives within a network [00:13:06].
Strategic Networking
Spier emphasizes the importance of approaching interactions without an agenda. His first meeting with Monish Pabrai was profoundly different because he decided to approach him without any specific goal other than learning [00:19:54].
He also highlights the concept of a “pilgrimage” – consistently placing oneself in environments where desired qualities or knowledge can be absorbed [00:57:30]. Attending the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting annually, even if not fully embracing every aspect of Buffett’s life, serves as a powerful “gravitational pull” in the right direction [00:57:39]. This regular exposure to the desired “tribe” helps to gradually align one’s own habits and thinking [00:58:40].
This idea of learning through emulation, or “cloning,” is a deeply human trait, akin to how children learn from parents or apprentices from elders [00:51:05]. Spier’s approach to learning investing by ordering and studying the annual reports of companies Warren Buffett invested in, even before he bought them, reflects this deep immersion [00:46:18].
Ultimately, Guy Spier’s experience reinforces that building a strong network and cultivating intentional, positive personal habits are fundamental to sustained growth and success.