To carry on from Strantor's hilarious "Let's give it up for the idiots!" thread, where he encountered a gaggle of idiots doing jobs better done by non-idiots, I'd like to start to build a list of professions where being an idiot is a job requirement.

I'll start it of with stock analysts. These people truly believe they understand the workings of every business on the planet and feel they can better determine where any given company is doing well or messing up better than the people that created and are running the business. They continually employ tired old phrases and axioms to make these judgments, and then using metrics as effective as a handful of chicken bones, have the gall to predict the future value of said companies.

A recent study by the CXO Advisory Group (http://www.cxoadvisory.com/gurus/) puts their accuracy at 47.4%. That’s right folks, that quarter in your pants pocket will beat the worlds best stock analysts!

A profession of idiots!

 

To carry on from Strantor's hilarious "Let's give it up for the idiots!" thread, where he encountered a gaggle of idiots doing jobs better done by non-idiots, I'd like to start to build a list of professions where being an idiot is a job requirement.

I'll start it of with stock analysts. These people truly believe they understand the workings of every business on the planet and feel they can better determine where any given company is doing well or messing up better than the people that created and are running the business. They continually employ tired old phrases and axioms to make these judgments, and then using metrics as effective as a handful of chicken bones, have the gall to predict the future value of said companies.

A recent study by the CXO Advisory Group (http://www.cxoadvisory.com/gurus/) puts their accuracy at 47.4%. That’s right folks, that quarter in your pants pocket will beat the worlds best stock analysts!

A profession of idiots!

I left my previous company when HR told me "our leaders get paid high salaries because they are willing to make important decisions with limited information". Sadly, they employed a floor full of financial analysts that worked closely with operations and business management - all the information was available so there was no reason to make decisions based on limited information. The company was borrowing money to sustain ongoing business and debt payments were the single biggest expense.

In summary, CEOs fall into this category.

 

Well I may not be a professional idiot but I do dabble in it from time to time.

What does that get me?

 

In summary, CEOs fall into this category.

That's consistent with the Peter Principle, which proposes that people are promoted to their level of incompetence.

 

Well I may not be a professional idiot but I do dabble in it from time to time.

What does that get me?

Hey, as long as your doing it for yourself, your golden!

 

Well I may not be a professional idiot but I do dabble in it from time to time.

What does that get me?

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

 

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

Yup, dirt.

 

I'm going to have to stay out of this one because it could turn political, quickly.

 

From 1990 until 2008, I made a substantial amount of money in the stock market. I believed that I understood what moved the market, and I made more good choices than bad. I pulled out of the market before the crash in '08, and felt very smug for quite a while. Since then, the market has recovered, and i missed it entirely. However, I don't regret my decision to get out because since '08, I am completely mystified by what moves the market. There is no longer any logic to it that I can see.

 

From 1990 until 2008, I made a substantial amount of money in the stock market. I believed that I understood what moved the market, and I made more good choices than bad. I pulled out of the market before the crash in '08, and felt very smug for quite a while. Since then, the market has recovered, and i missed it entirely. However, I don't regret my decision to get out because since '08, I am completely mystified by what moves the market. There is no longer any logic to it that I can see.

I agree that it doesn't make sense. It is almost like supply and demand - all it the mutual funds with statements in their charters that say, "will hold no more than X% of assets as cash" coupled with 401k programs that continue to push money into the mutual fund means that there is competition to buy stocks instead of buying them based on a reasonable forward-looking P/E or other indicator.

Index funds are especially problematic because cash gets pushed into the fund and their charter says the fund will mirror the S&P 500 or Russell index (or what ever).

Cheers.

 

"our leaders get paid high salaries because they are willing to make important decisions with limited information".

I have had a few conversations with former managers about this. Seem that they get paid well to take half assed guesses relating to highly important and expensive subjects at work but I get paid as little as possible for being a normal employee who has to continually make as highly educated as decisions as possible all day every day to keep my job.

 

Are you guys all referring to my boss? Nothing more frustrating than knowing that you can easily do a better job than your boss does.

 

Are you guys all referring to my boss? Nothing more frustrating than knowing that you can easily do a better job than your boss does.

Well, there IS one thing: when your know nothing boss has you fired because you continiously make him look bad.

 

Are you guys all referring to my boss? Nothing more frustrating than knowing that you can easily do a better job than your boss does.

It was a very long time ago when I first realized my boss could not help me do my job because he didn't know how to do what I do. I was disappointed, but then, I was only 22 years old. It was time to get over my belief that my boss knew more about circuits than I did.

 

Hey!!!

For the last 13 years of my working life I was a VP with directors reporting to me and managers reporting to the directors.

Was I an idiot?

I hope not! I came up through the ranks and had spent time doing every job in my division.

I did have to make tough decisions. They were never easy or done lightly, and yes I have blood on my hands. It's never easy to have to cut from a team of really great people. Especially in tough times as you know they will have trouble getting a job. You get very little in the way of sleep for a loooong time.

But I digress.

 

From 1990 until 2008, I made a substantial amount of money in the stock market. I believed that I understood what moved the market, and I made more good choices than bad. I pulled out of the market before the crash in '08, and felt very smug for quite a while. Since then, the market has recovered, and i missed it entirely. However, I don't regret my decision to get out because since '08, I am completely mystified by what moves the market. There is no longer any logic to it that I can see.

Investing is basically what I'm doing now. You're right. You can read and fully understand Benjamin Graham's book, follow the guidance of guys like Buffet and Munger and do your due diligence, but as soon as you think you have it figured out, something will happen that proves just how wrong you are. It can be very frustrating.

 

Well, there IS one thing: when your know nothing boss has you fired because you continiously make him look bad.

Hey now! I never made my bosses look bad. I just neglected to help make them look better than they were. How they looked in general was largely self inflicted.
I am just smart enough to understand I can't fix stupid.

 

Right. I can't make you look like a fool, you have to do that for your self.