In and on

There are two very distinct ways to work towards anything. The first way is to put your head down, complete tasks, deal with issues as they come up. It is a very effective way to get things done, and a lot of what gets accomplished it the world is completed this way. This is working ‘in’ it.

The other way is to step outside of the day-to-day tasks, and look at the where you are, where you want to go, and figure out whether the path you are on is the most effective and/or efficient. It is a reiterative process that constantly recalibrates and refocuses effort in the right direction. This is working ‘on’ it.

You need both modes to accomplish things, in a perfect balance. Too much of working ‘in’ it, and you end up just doing ‘busy work’ that, in hindsight, really didn’t help move you or your team closer to the goal. Too much working ‘on’ it, and you end up with a great plan that never gets done.

This is a very important distinction for financial advisors. You are best able to help clients step outside of their day-to-day and plan to get to a specific goal by following a specific path, and you add value by constantly re-evaluating and changing the plan based on where they are today. But you also need to be able to motivate them to work ‘in’ it, to consistently move along the right path. Help them step outside their plan when they need to be objective and realistic (How easy was that when the markets were down 40%? It’s called work for a reason). Help them re-engage in their plan, and take the right actions now (How many of your clients added more money to their plans when everything in the market was on sale?).

Always ask yourself and your clients whether you should be working ‘on or in’ it., and find the balance between.

No call to action

I started this blog, promising to end each with a defined ‘call to action’. If you look back, I stuck with that for only a few posts. Why?

I realise that my value to you is not to tell you what to do. My value is to make you think, to consider, to step outside of your day-to-day activities and see things a bit differently. Perhaps I’m just validating what you already know. Perhaps you choose to ignore me. Or perhaps you think about something you read for some time, and it helps you make a new choice, to forge a new path to success.

This is hard for many people. We live in a world where we expect to be given a ‘turnkey’ solution where we just need to show up, follow steps A to Q, and the result will happen. Rinse and repeat.

I’d like to think that you are more than just an automaton, more than just someone who follows a set of directions (I can find plenty of people like that working in factories and bureaucracies). You live in a complex world that is always changing. Q sometimes disappears before you even get to F. You are a human, with a unique gift. You can stop, consider, make a choice, and try in a new direction. You can make your own map.

I can’t lay a path out for you to follow, as that would be my path – not yours. All I can do is show you a new destination, point out some of the more interesting way points, and send you on your way.

Remember to send me a postcard when you get there!

Direction, not speed

Accomplishing a goal (whether it be a financial, personal, business or otherwise) is a question of two key things: direction and speed. And I have found that you can only control one or the other.

Direction is about defining where you want to go, and the path you plan to take based on where you are today (I mean ‘you’ in the singular sense. While a destination may be in common, people always start from different points. Expending energy on trying to get others to follow your specific path is wasted). It is an exercise in higher thinking, of seeing a better future and hope.

Speed is important, but relatively uncontrollable. Like direction, it is hard to get someone to go faster than they are capable. People can be held back by their skill level, unforeseen events or just by their need to be more careful along the way (that last one, when combined with an unclear direction, is a killer). Speed is affected by events you have no control over, and by the lower thinking functions (“Slow down, I’m afraid” and “Run! I’m scared”).

Understanding this will help you in many areas, especially when working with teams.

As a financial advisor, I’d suggest focusing your time, attention and skills on helping clients set and maintain direction. Make no promises about speed, and help clients understand neither of you has control over it (Did you take the blame for the last market downturn in any way? Your client had an expectation that you control speed. Lesson learned).