Mental Strategies of Top Traders

Ari Kiev (Park Ridge, NJ)?is a psychiatrist who specializes in stress management and performance enhancement. Kiev has had a distinguished career in psychiatry. He is president of the Social Psychiatry Research Institute and is recognized worldwide for his pioneering work in transcultural psychiatry, suicidology, and psychopharmacology. Kiev has counseled Olympic athletes on how to achieve states of peak performance in athletic competition. In recent years, Kiev has worked with many traders on issues of stress management, goal setting, and performance enhancement. He has worked extensively with Steve Cohen's multi-billion dollar SAC Capital Advisors.

• Acknowledgments xiIntroduction 1CHAPTER 1 Intellect, Instinct, and Guts: Understanding the Psychological Profile 7A History of Success 14The Ability to Take Risk 15Creativity and Originality 16Self-Awareness, Self-Control, and Resilience 17Teaching Traders Self-Assessment and Self-Control 18Teamwork and Leadership 19Putting It All Together 21Case Study on Finding the Right Candidate 21Job Requirements 21Potential Candidates 22The Bottom Line 25The Perfect Candidate? 26Chapter in Review 27CHAPTER 2 Planning for Action: The Importance of Goal-Directedness 29Making a Plan 30Case Study on Setting a Goal 31Case Study on Having a Variant Perception 35Personality Factors and Goal-Setting 42Recognizing Goal-Directed Individuals 44Case Study on Recognizing Goal-Directedness 47Fred’s Strengths: The Three Cs 47Fred’s Weaknesses: The Three Is 48Goal-Directedness in Turbulent Times 50Own Your Stuff 51Review the Game Films 51Switch Gears? 52Be Realistic 52Stay True to Your Strengths 52Maintain Focus 53Chapter in Review 54CHAPTER 3 ‘‘Fire in the Belly’’: The Ability to Take Appropriate Risk 57A Picture of Successful Risk Management 57Trading Philosophy 59Handling Drawdowns 59Head versus Heart 60Reviewing Risk Statistics 60Examining Personality Factors 63Learning to Upgrade Your Performance 71Chapter in Review 77CHAPTER 4 Thinking Outside the Box: The Importance of Ingenuity 79Case Study on the Satisfaction of Creative Thinking 80The Strategic Thinker 81Case Study on Learning to Be Creative 82Idea Construction 88Developing a Variant Perception 88Case Study on Creative Thinking 89Idea Evaluation Checklist 92Defining Expectational Analysis 94Case Study on Knowing the Business 95Case Study on Expectational Analysis 100Raising Your Conviction 103Idea Velocity 105Idea Timing 105Idea Completion 106The Psychological Dimension 109Case Study on Communicating Effectively 111Chapter in Review 114CHAPTER 5 Separating Emotions and Decisions: The Ability to Be Self-Aware 117Case Study on the Emotion of Drawdowns 118The Source of Fear 121Case Study on Trading Stress 123Self-Esteem and Self-Discipline 125Learning from Drawdowns 128Case Study on Self-Assessing During Drawdowns 129Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable 131Case Study on Being Comfortable with Discomfort 132Teaching Traders Self-Assessment and Self-Control 136Managing Stress Well 136Chapter in Review 140CHAPTER 6 Nurturing Team Players: Listening, Learning, and Working Together 143Characteristics of a Team Player 144Responsible 144Positive and Encouraging 145Competitive 148Coachable 149Finding Complements to Your Team 151Case Study on a Comparison of Traders 153The Importance of Communication 155Chapter in Review 159CHAPTER 7 Leadership: Directing Success 161 Empowering a Culture of Change 162Case Study on Creating a Culture of Change 162Encouraging Responsibility 171Case Study on the Challenges of Responsibility 173Exploring Potential Leaders 176Case Studies on Finding Potential Leaders 177Endeavoring for Success 183Case Study on a Failure to Lead 184Chapter in Review 189Index 191