Becoming an expert crook
Of course Bernie Madoff was highly skilled at his craft. He had spent many years practicing till he became very well skilled at crookery
(LAK reporting on behalf of the New Bretten community
We New Bretten islanders have had to be cautious. Some of us have even accused others of being too careful, doomsday predictors. We had a chance to invest with Madoff and decided not to do so. That decision left us open to all kinds of criticism. I argued that the Madoff track record was too good to be true. Now I look back and try and understand how so many smart people could be duped.
Books, articles, interviews, film clips have documented the Madoff’s Ponzi scheme drama. Victims have told their tales of woe and disbelief. We are treated to a reality drama complete with pictures and stories about Madoff, his family, colleagues and friends.
How could he have done his deed conning so many savvy people? How could he have gotten away with his scam despite many warnings sent to finance industry regulators about the odor coming from the data in his books? How could he have become such a skilled crook plying his craft for such a long time?
The reason is simple. Madoff possessed a formidable basket of skills. He acquired them the same way that other experts acquire their skills. Chess masters, wine tasters, tennis champs, highly valued mechanics, scholars in all sorts of disciplines may have some ‘native’ talent but the bulk of what they know has been learned by long and well designed practice. It helps to be smart but that is not nearly enough. For Madoff to become an expert scam artist required many years of training that included skills such staying cool and controlling anxiety and stress, reading and predicting behavior, knowing how to select and engineer contexts (social situations), selecting the right mix of compatriots, complex interpersonal skills, and then of course he also had to learn, over learn, all kinds of knowledge necessary to navigate the world of finance. Madoff was a star and deserves a big round of applause along not just boos. Look at the 22 year old Bernie smiling as he acquired his craft and now wouldn’t you sign up for his seminar on investment strategies in the 21st. century?