Thirty years ago this very day, I began my career in the financial services industry…..Thirty years.
After just the first three days of the start of my new career, October 19th happened. Anyone with an adult memory or knowing a little of financial history knows this week also marks the thirtieth anniversary of the single largest one-day drop of stock market prices in history. It wasn’t duplicated before and it hasn’t been duplicated since. On that Monday, almost one out of every four dollars of common stock in the United States simply disappeared.
The financial commentators of the day, referred to it as Black Monday, but it was actually the fourth day of a brutal decline which started on the previous Wednesday, and gathered shocking momentum on each of the next two days. The total four-day decline, measuring from the previous Tuesday’s close, was a total drop of 28.5%.
I can remember thinking to myself – Welcome to your new career Mark!
After that, I also experienced the tech boom of the 90’s, and then the tech bust.
Then there were the falling markets of 2008 and nine, when we experienced a 57% decline that brought about the worst U.S. economic recession since the end of World War II.
What has this taught me throughout the years? Using a baseball analogy, don’t get greedy, by trying to hit homeruns, or triples. Instead, try to get onto base. Occasionally, hit a double and if you’re a player, listen to the third plate coach. Sometimes it’s better to stay put, then to try and run for home. Three decades has provided me with the wisdom of understanding how this all plays out. Isn’t that the kind of coach you want for your team?
