Swing Coach
One of the things he was already on to was the value of collaborative problem-solving. One of the problems is that too many trainers are career institutionalists and methodologists who lack experience in innovative problem-solving.
That is a paraphrase of Gavriel Gefen's eulogy of Ralph Winter. The thought captures and identifies (in my opinion) the chronic problem in virtually every endeavor. The current stock market bubble and Gefen's description are connected.
Relating a very personal story represents a risk for me, but I'm taking that risk for you.
On the wings of a prayer I transitioned out of my first career. "Lord, teach me about money." Although I had managed large, institutional budgets for many years, including capital construction projects, I felt like I did not know how money works. Entering the field of financial services my hopes soared high that my prayer would be quickly answered.
Well, it was answered but not as I had anticipated. What I learned (to my dismay) was that many financial professionals do not seem to understand how money works either. What they do know well are financial products, and they are highly motivated to sell them.
Please, do not misunderstand. I am not implying deception or fraud. No; not at all. What I am recounting is my experience. Within the financial world, most people do what most other people are doing. Why? Because most other people are doing it. Therefore, it must be right.
Do you read financial columns, watch financial shows on television, or listen to them on radio? Boil all the words down to their essence, and they are all saying the same things. I am not advocating against any of it. My point is the "experts" have cogent ideas about what to do with your money, but none of them ever explains how money works. In that void, I believe, is the key to your most effective and efficient financial strategy.
I learned to drive a car when I was 16 years old. I did not learn how automobiles work, however, until I had a break-down and was left stranded along the side of the road. I am not a mechanic now, nor was I then. But understanding the basics of automotives helps me maintain my automobiles in better working order.
The great challenge to financial professionals is public ignorance. People have investments, but they do not have depth in their knowledge and grasp of investing. That makes it very difficult to rely on a reasoned approach to sales, especially in the fiercely competitive market that is financial services.
The fallback position is to promote emotional decision-making. Two emotions are most often exploited: fear of loss and greed for gain. A lot of time is spent training sales reps to fan the flame of those emotions in the customer, and then direct that energy toward a sale. I hate it! My conscience and I could not live together when, in a corporate culture, I was working those angles.
I tried digging deeper, looking for the rationale why we recommended specific products and services. I was either brushed off or put off bluntly and told I needed to sell more, and then I would understand. The breaking point for me came one cold, dreary January morning; a Friday. During a training meeting my sales manager and the trainer got into a heated, extended argument over arcane intricacies of selling mutual funds. Re-read that sentence; it says "selling mutual funds." The issues dividing them were not about how funds work, and which were best; but rather about how to make them attractive to prospective buyers. That afternoon I took a career detour to give me time to figure things out.
A brief hiatus convinced me that I truly enjoyed helping people achieve financial success. I returned permanently to the profession of financial services and, the prayer still working, was led in a fresh direction. Shortly thereafter I was introduced to Don Blanton and the Circle of Wealth®. He and it were what I had been looking for. Don was the first person I had met who really understood money and how it works. He is now my mentor, in a select group of professionals from across America.
The financial service industry continues to chase rate of return as the best solution for clients creating wealth in their lifetime. The financial services industry is also looking for that perfect product that solves all of the clients' problems. Brokers and advisers continue to tell their clients, "My product is better than your product for building wealth. Work with me and you will have a better portfolio." Little attention is paid to plugging the holes in the leaky bucket (wealth transfers) and working on making money more efficient. Efficiency requires strategies. Strategies require uncommon thinking. Uncommon thinking is what we provide to our clients. We are paid to see things our client's don't see.
Don Blanton said that. It is illustrative of my awareness that God answers prayer. Simply chasing rate of return, especially in a tax-exposed manner, is an exercise in risk and little more. The current stock market bubble will burst soon enough. Will you know in advance, and in time to re-position your assets? Is there an alternative to the endless game of "guessing winners"?
That is a paraphrase of Gavriel Gefen's eulogy of Ralph Winter. The thought captures and identifies (in my opinion) the chronic problem in virtually every endeavor. The current stock market bubble and Gefen's description are connected.
Relating a very personal story represents a risk for me, but I'm taking that risk for you.
On the wings of a prayer I transitioned out of my first career. "Lord, teach me about money." Although I had managed large, institutional budgets for many years, including capital construction projects, I felt like I did not know how money works. Entering the field of financial services my hopes soared high that my prayer would be quickly answered.
Well, it was answered but not as I had anticipated. What I learned (to my dismay) was that many financial professionals do not seem to understand how money works either. What they do know well are financial products, and they are highly motivated to sell them.
Please, do not misunderstand. I am not implying deception or fraud. No; not at all. What I am recounting is my experience. Within the financial world, most people do what most other people are doing. Why? Because most other people are doing it. Therefore, it must be right.
Do you read financial columns, watch financial shows on television, or listen to them on radio? Boil all the words down to their essence, and they are all saying the same things. I am not advocating against any of it. My point is the "experts" have cogent ideas about what to do with your money, but none of them ever explains how money works. In that void, I believe, is the key to your most effective and efficient financial strategy.
I learned to drive a car when I was 16 years old. I did not learn how automobiles work, however, until I had a break-down and was left stranded along the side of the road. I am not a mechanic now, nor was I then. But understanding the basics of automotives helps me maintain my automobiles in better working order.
The great challenge to financial professionals is public ignorance. People have investments, but they do not have depth in their knowledge and grasp of investing. That makes it very difficult to rely on a reasoned approach to sales, especially in the fiercely competitive market that is financial services.
The fallback position is to promote emotional decision-making. Two emotions are most often exploited: fear of loss and greed for gain. A lot of time is spent training sales reps to fan the flame of those emotions in the customer, and then direct that energy toward a sale. I hate it! My conscience and I could not live together when, in a corporate culture, I was working those angles.
I tried digging deeper, looking for the rationale why we recommended specific products and services. I was either brushed off or put off bluntly and told I needed to sell more, and then I would understand. The breaking point for me came one cold, dreary January morning; a Friday. During a training meeting my sales manager and the trainer got into a heated, extended argument over arcane intricacies of selling mutual funds. Re-read that sentence; it says "selling mutual funds." The issues dividing them were not about how funds work, and which were best; but rather about how to make them attractive to prospective buyers. That afternoon I took a career detour to give me time to figure things out.
A brief hiatus convinced me that I truly enjoyed helping people achieve financial success. I returned permanently to the profession of financial services and, the prayer still working, was led in a fresh direction. Shortly thereafter I was introduced to Don Blanton and the Circle of Wealth®. He and it were what I had been looking for. Don was the first person I had met who really understood money and how it works. He is now my mentor, in a select group of professionals from across America.
The financial service industry continues to chase rate of return as the best solution for clients creating wealth in their lifetime. The financial services industry is also looking for that perfect product that solves all of the clients' problems. Brokers and advisers continue to tell their clients, "My product is better than your product for building wealth. Work with me and you will have a better portfolio." Little attention is paid to plugging the holes in the leaky bucket (wealth transfers) and working on making money more efficient. Efficiency requires strategies. Strategies require uncommon thinking. Uncommon thinking is what we provide to our clients. We are paid to see things our client's don't see.
Don Blanton said that. It is illustrative of my awareness that God answers prayer. Simply chasing rate of return, especially in a tax-exposed manner, is an exercise in risk and little more. The current stock market bubble will burst soon enough. Will you know in advance, and in time to re-position your assets? Is there an alternative to the endless game of "guessing winners"?
Stay Connected!    |
 |
 |
 |
 |
