Investor John Arnold told Patrick O’Shaughnessy there were two things, early on, that helped him become one of the greatest investors.
First was, “a lot of retained earnings, and then new investors came in.” Makes sense. If you have a great idea with lots of room to grow, let it grow!
Second was committed capital, “Whenever we had a down month or a downtime period, which we had, they weren’t calling to redeem, but they would call up and say, do you need more capital?”
This is an idea we’ve seen before, notably with Buffett – but this time it hit different: is this how I act in my relationships? The answer wasn’t good.
When my daughters are being teenagers, do I lean in and offer more love? When they’re frustrated, am I a good set of ears? When there’s a down period, do I ask them if they need more?
Hearing Arnold talk about it make complete business sense. Like, heck yeah, let’s do this together. But I didn’t feel that in my relationships: too short, poor listening, too transactional.
Oof.
But now we have that question. Guidance. Are you committed capital?
The Waiter's Pad 