Many years ago, a fund manager met me to discuss a company I happened to be familiar with.
Before the meeting, he told me, “I am a little slow. Could you share a short note on the company that I can read at my own pace, so I come prepared for the meeting? I absorb better when I read slowly.”
Recently, I learned that this ‘slow’ investor has one of the best investment track records in India.
We often equate intelligence with speed. I myself remember feeling intimidated by a college classmate whose hand would go up a microsecond after the professor asked any question, while most of us were still processing the question.
But over time, I have realized that life is not a game of speed chess – more than speed, what often matters is depth.
Can you get to the bottom of things? Can you think through problems from the first principles? Can you understand things well enough to explain them without jargon?
These are the things that truly matter. So take your time. There is no clock running. It is ok to be ‘slow’ – but it is not ok to be shallow.
– Rajan