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January 09, 2009
Clients, and the psychology of the Madoff affair.
Trust is only earned in a deeply personal way--it cannot be garnered and granted by someone else.
See "The Gullible and Bernie Madoff" at Neil Senturia's The Baby Blog. Senturia, a well-known Southern California entrepreneur and consultant, argues that "every gullible act occurs when an individual is presented with a social challenge". Put another way, it's a Groucho Marx thing: Madoff's most raving fans were investors he at first ignored; if he and his organization had pitched them, and asked them to join "the club", the investors might have ignored him.
Senturia: "Beware of doors that only open with a secret knock."
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at January 9, 2009 03:32 AM