MY BIGGEST LEARNINGS FROM 2018

As the great and wise Dr. Seuss said, “The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” As humans and as advisers we need to continually learn and grow. If we don’t, we stay in the same place for years and stagnate. You’re growing, or you’re going. 2018 feels like it has been a particularly strong ‘growth’ year. It’s been one for contemplation and growth and I feel like, after being tested fairly significantly, we have learned a lot and come out stronger.

There have been many learnings for me 2018; some from observation, others from pain. Some are new but many reminders. In no particular order, here’s just a few:

• It’s tough to go against the crowd, and it never gets easier.
• Clients appreciate direct feedback.
• Real value comes from real listening. And listening with your ears alone can be misleading. Human beings don’t always use words to explain what they really mean, and often don’t even know what they really mean.
• The internet was built to be unstable and accessible, and that makes it impossible to keep the bad guys out. We need much greater security around assets.
• Geopolitics is never the core issue behind price changes.
• I wish I was interested in fewer topics.
• Push your strength too far and it becomes a weakness.
• Access to the right investments is the most undervalued service.
• The most valuable advice is often the most surprising.
• Talking is easy; communication is difficult.
• The most common thing about clients is that they’re all different.
• Nobody values the foundations no matter how hard they are to lay.
• I can spot a typo from 30,000 feet.
• Busy does not equal productive.
• It can take a while, but assets can’t remain overpriced forever.
• Sometimes the process of making a decision can be fun.
• Even though I have done eight years of study, I’ll have to do another two.