Whether it's in marketing or in trading markets, uniqueness counts for a lot. It's not always easy to predict who will make money as a trader, but it's not hard to predict who won't. The ones who won't succeed are the ones who are like all the others. They look at the same things and trade the same ideas. I've worked in many trading firms, from prop shops to hedge funds. Across settings, the correlation of returns among traders is disconcertingly high. When given the freedom to make their own decisions, many traders decide to abdicate critical thought and follow others.