Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen explained one way successful hedge fund managers are different from most people: They're willing to change their minds in the face of new evidence.
The vast majority of people hate being told they're wrong, Andreessen said, and consider their ideas almost like children. But the hedge fund managers who excel will listen and digest information, he said.
"Hedge fund people are the ultimate example because they can literally change their trades every day. They can be long a company on Tuesday and reverse that later in the week." Andreessen said in an interview with The Observer Effect published Monday.
In the case of a heated argument, even if they don't side with the other person, Andreessen said they'll acknowledge the differing point and thank the person.
"The reason they're thanking you is because they're gonna go back to the office next morning to reverse the trade," he said.
In the rare interview, which encompassed his working habits and the reaction to his recent exhortation to build companies to solve major societal problems, Andreessen said he's trying to be more flexible and get into fewer arguments.
"I've really been trying hard to...spend less time actually arguing with anybody. Because people really don't want to change their mind."
Read the whole interview on The Observer Effect here.
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