Taking someone else's thesis and deciding to follow it isn’t inherently bad, it’s a step up from blindly chasing a “call” with no reasoning behind it.

But what people often miss is how much of the outcome depends on how you execute it.

You need to align with or consciously adapt their:

- Holding horizon

- Entry method: Are they fully in? Planning to average up or down? Was it a size-on-confirmation play or early sizing?

- Position size: Is this a high-conviction allocation or a small flyer? Can they exit cleanly? Can you, without slippage?

- Risk tolerance: Can they sit through a -20% drawdown? Can you?

- Access & speed: How active are they? Do they have faster access to updates, info flow than you? Can they pivot quicker?

And most importantly, define exit and invalidation conditions:

- Time-based: If the thesis relies on attention or a narrative catching on, how long are you willing to wait before calling it? 1 month? 3 months?

- Price-based: Where does the structure break? What range invalidates your setup?

- Catalyst-based: What if the catalyst leaks early and price runs before the event do you sell into that strength? What if the event passes and the market shrugs, is that your exit?

- Macro override: A changing market regime can negate local setups, sometimes it's not about your trade.

You can’t predict black swans, but you can define how you'll act when chaos hits - predefine response plans, adjust size, or sideline entirely.

Same thesis, different execution = different results.