Stephen H Baum Leadership

Jim Cramer has been famous for his stock market analysis and his schtick of frenzy (shouting, sound effects and subtext of we-can-all-make-a-pile in the stock market.).  His publicity has been nothing short of genius. Something else is short.

Yesterday, with the Dow down to 9900 or so, it was New Cramer vs. Old Cramer as the current version advised us to sell what remains of our holdings and lock in our losses (if we need any the money in the net 5 years). He added: it could go down another 20%.

Where was Cramer in August of 2007 when the CEOs I coach were feeling the beginnings of the recession and the Dow was at 12,455? Or in July or August 2008 when a lot of smart money reduced equity holdings to a minimum and the Dow was 13, 378 and 11,543 respectively?

Now is not a great time to add to the panic and lock in your losses unless you really need the cash.