Challenges To Success – Critical Factors And Decisions

To be the best in our industry and profession,

We must seize opportunities and overcome challenges and dangers, and make the right critical choices at major crossroads of our life and business
We need to know ourselves, our clients and our business environment well and construct and implement successfully effective strategies

How do we spot the opportunities?
How can we identify the dangers before they become problems?
How we do we make the right decisions in our personal, family and business life?
How do we succeed and move from mediocrity to excellence?

SUCCESS ETHOS

1) The secret of success is not knowing all the answer

The secret is knowing all the questions
INSPECTION + INTROSPECTION = EXPECTATION + EXCELLENCE

2) Choice, not chance, determines destiny

“Man is not the creature of circumstances; circumstances are the creatures of men.” Benjamin Disraeli

Goals are a preview of future events and experiences in your life.
The difference between a dream and a goal is a plan.
Your success can only be as big as your dream.

A POEM

I bargained with life for a penny
And life would pay no more
However, I counted my scanty store
For life is just employer
He gives you what you ask
But once you have set the wages
Why, you must bear the task
I worked for a menial’s hire
Only to learn, dismayed
That any wage I had asked of life
Life would have willingly paid

3) Daily Targets and Activities

When you know clearly what you want, you will wake up every morning excited about life.

“It is not what you do each year, each month or each week, but rather it is what you do each DAY that determines your level of success.” Tony Gordon

4) Winners Find Ways

“We will either find a way or make one.” Hannibal

Faced with a wall, you can climb over it, break through it, tunnel under it, and find a door.

5) Winners Overcome Disappointments

“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

6) Winners Never Quit

….and quitters never win. (see Appendix I)

7) Action

Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge.
Let your learning lead to action.

8) Conviction

“One person with BELIEF is equal to a force of 99 who have only interest.” J S Mill

9) Courage

There are people who fear big waves and there are those who love surfing them.

10) Par Excellence

“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish”. Michelangelo

The greatest enemy of tomorrow’s success is today’s success.
Focus on self-development, not self-fulfilment.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU

Singapore will be the leading wealth management centre in the world
Singapore has the world’s fastest growth of millionaires
Singapore has all the world’s leading firms based here
IFAs have advantages over other channels
Singaporeans are still underinsured and unit trust investment is still small
Financial planning for fees is increasingly emerging as a viable business due to the educated population and increasing wealth
Inflow of HNWI expatriates in Singapore, e.g. British and European, QROPS,
Business-to-Business Agreements
Corporate Business – ASME, SHRI, SICCC
Social Media

DANGERS

Move towards fees only or fee-based. Both dangers and opportunities.
Increase in regulation and compliance, CKA, exams
Rising business costs – rental, transport, staff support
Commoditisation and disintermediation – clients going direct
Increasing complexity of products and need for professional indemnity, e.g. accredited investors
Increasing volatility of markets and uncertainty
Personal pitfalls
- Health (stress)
- Addictions
- Family
Loss of motivation – age, overcrowdedness, health
Loss of confidence – information explosion, clients’ knowledge
Lack of structure and priorities

MAKING RIGHT DECISIONS

Values and Principles
Relationships
Making the Right Decision at Work
Practical Wisdom

VALUES OF KEN BLANCHARD

The no. 1 ranked value is Ethical Behaviour
The no. 2 ranked value is Relationship
The no. 3 ranked value is Success
The no. 4 ranked value is Learning

PRINCIPLES

Think Well
- Proactive
- Purposeful
- Future-oriented
- Analytical
- Logical
- Intuitive
- Creative
- Relational
- Sequential
Focus, Specialise, Prioritise
- Concentration is learned through practice
- Focus comes from clearer vision
- Specialisation comes from a clear mission
- Priorities come from clear strategies and actions
Powerful Motivation
- Doing what you enjoy – mental
- Support by family – emotional
- Happy and healthy you – physical
- The spiritual dimension of our lives can have a big impact on our emotional being
- Get rid of
  - Excess weight
  - Anger
  - Cynicism
  - Prejudices
  - Grudges
  - Arguments
  - Pet peeves
  - Selfishness
Know your level (water finds its own level)
- Beware of
  - Overambition
  - Pride
  - Egotism
- Just because you are an expert at one thing does not make you an expert on anything
- No one can be a specialist in more than one or two areas
- Know yourself and do not envy
- When presented with options, we should work with what we do well and not be side-tracked
Read to feed your mind on
- Your business
- Your values
- Self-improvement
  - If you can read yet choose not to, you are really no better off than someone who is illiterate.
  - Every leader is a reader.
Write
- Your thoughts, plans, to-do lists, reflections
- Write your pros and cons before deciding
- Writing forces you to think more clearly
Evaluate
- Remember your past success and failures
- Gain understanding and learn what formed your personality, your drive, your skills, your intelligence, your emotions
- Beware of praise, prejudices, envy
Have a long-term vision
- Think and act long-term. You must have a long-range to help you from being frustrated by the short-term failure
- Marriage – avoid demanding but giving
- Children – avoid absence
- Health – avoid addictions
- Money – avoid debts
Have quiet time alone
- Relax
- Refresh
- De-stress
- Creative
- “All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.” Blaise Pascal
Beware of anger
- Anger
  - Anyone can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time for the right purpose, and in the right way, this is not easy.” Aristotle
  - Don’t get mad at the little thing.
- Cost
  - Broken relationship
  - Crushed spirits
  - Stress on our hearts
  - Hours spent on repair and reconciliation
    - Anger is one of the most destructive forces in life.
- Triggers
  - An event
  - Internal response
  - External expression
- Cause
  - We do not get our way
  - Someone offends us or puts us down
  - Disappointments
  - Confronted with the need to change or improve something in our lives
- Remedy
  - Identify your “hot spots”
  - Recognise your inner responses and emotions
  - Curb the external explosions
  - Strike at the roots
  - Why am I reacting?
  - Is it reasonable?
  - Is the incident worth the stress?
Be generous
- Giving – it is God who gives you the ability to produce wealth

Towards the poor, homeless, orphans, widows, and down-trodden:

“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Solomon

- Give time
  - Spouse, children, friends, co-workers, others
  - Funerals, baptism, birthdays, children’s games, concerts
  - Award presentations, graduations
  - Visiting ill and aged

- Give yourself

“To overcome discouragement, do not focus on yourself; get involved in the lives of other people.” Karl A Menninger, psychologist

Get involved and start helping others. There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.

WATCH OUT FOR ICEBERGS

Moral temptations
Craving wealth
Busyness

“Cultivate our spiritual garden. When this garden is in proper order, it is a great place and there is an abundance of busyness of defiling noise. The inner garden is a delicate place and, if not properly maintained, it will be quickly overrun by intrusive undergrowth.” Gordon MacDonald

What not to do – Don’ts
- Don’t be an egotist
- Don’t give up when life is hard
- Don’t get into debt
- Don’t spend more than you can make
- Don’t give up on your marriage
- Don’t cheat on your spouse
- Don’t cheat on your employer
- Don’t neglect your children
- Don’t neglect your parents
- Don’t abandon your friends
- Don’t drink alcohol excessively
- Don’t do drugs. Ever.
- Don’t smoke
- Don’t use profanity; there are other ways to communicate
- Don’t put other people down or speak badly of them
- Don’t be dishonest in business, finance or speech
- Don’t betray the confidence
- Don’t give up on God and religion

RELATIONSHIPS

Relationship Do’s (see Appendix II)

Treat people well
- Honour – who they are, not what they do
- Respect – regardless of their gifting, position, status
- Love – acceptance of their personhood
  - Golden Rule:
    - Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
    - Love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus
Compliment people (see Appendix III)
- Why criticise when you can compliment
- Be sincere. Don’t use empty flattery.
- Be truthful
- Don’t make a big deal out of it – just do it.
- Be an equal complimenter. Don’t play favourites.
  - “Catch someone doing something good and tell him.” Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson, “The One Minute Manager”
Be real
- Don’t pretend to be something other than what you really are.
- Be self-aware, be consistent.
- Be truly focused on other people, listen to them.
- Be genuinely caring and concerned.
- Get feedback from friends and family.
Be available
- “God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability; and if we then prove our dependability, He will increase our capability.”
- Open door policy
Disagree agreeably
- Help me understand a little more of your thinking.
- You may well be right. I need to think about it a bit more.
- I’ve thought that, too. Here are some ideas I’ve wondered about.
- Note: Your idea is really stupid. Let me straighten you out.
- Clarifying questions
  - Use equivocal and affirming expressions.
  - I appreciate knowing how you think.
  - That’s a good observation. I’d like to weigh it more carefully.
  - I see you have given that a lot of thought.
  - Have you considered …..
  - Never attack the person. Let him know that your acceptance of him is not altered.
Speak gently and be kind
- “A gentle response defuses anger but a sharp tongue kindles a forest fire. Kind words heal and help cutting words, wound and pain” Solomon
Say “thank you”
- Appreciation and affirmation motivate people more than money and rewards.
Call back
- He who is faithful in very little things is faithful also in much.
Don’t carry a grudge
- As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Make and keep close friends
- “Not just acquaintances or colleagues, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Solomon
Meet with a small group
- Choose to meet and share openly on marriage, children, work, personal strengths, and career issues.
Be loving
- People who truly love others leave an incredibly valuable legacy
- Learn to love and make love permeate your love and relationships
- Love your family, your employer, your employees, co-workers, neighbours
- Love never gives up

Making Right Decisions At Work

- Work hard
  - “All hard work brings a profit but more talk leads only to poverty.” Solomon
  - “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Theodore Roosevelt
  - Give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay.
  - Do more than just enough to get by.
  - Don’t give up when the task is difficult.
  - Help others in their work.
  - Keep learning how to do your work better.
  - Hard work reveals your character.

Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses. Some don’t turn up at all.

- Leave some things undone – WORK SMART
  - Not everything that can be done should be done
  - Not everything that can do should you do
  - Deliberate choices not to get immersed in businesses that consume time with little results
- Focus on contribution, not position
  - “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” Jesus
- Learn to write well and speak well
  - People judge you by your communication
  - Writing is a learned skill
  - Keep a brief journal and write something every day
  - Join Toastmasters Club
  - Teach a class
- Make lists
  - Help you organise your day or week
  - Offload your memory and free your mind
  - Help keep you from forgetting things you need to do
  - Help you hold on to information that otherwise might be irretrievably lost
  - Relieve anxiety
- Compete but don’t be competitive

Good leaders will always seek out people who are more gifted and skilled than they are to better the team or company

We develop our God-given gifts through education, practice, focus and training. We are stewards, not owners, of our gifts and capabilities.

- Do what you say you will do
  - It makes you a person of your word
  - It makes you a load lifter on your team
  - It makes you a more valuable employee
  - It honours your co-workers
  - It is the right thing to do

Otherwise, undependable, unfaithful, a slacker, poor worker

“Reliable friends who do what they say are like cool drinks in sweltering heat – refreshing.” Solomon

- Expect your leaders to disappoint you
  - Nobody is perfect. The best of men are but men of God.
  - We expect leaders to be perfect.
  - We expect visionaries, pioneers, innovators, and good managers to be positive role models.
  - To have razor-sharp judgement, unlimited energy and patience, exemplary families, faultless morals, available 24/7.
  - Sometimes they disappoint.
- Learn in-depth – don’t be shallow
  - Seek a tried and true expert who really knows his or her profession.
  - Don’t be a mile wide and an inch deep.
- Finish
  - If you have been entrusted with a task, see it through to the end.
  - People don’t get kudos for what they start, only for what they finish.

PRACTICAL WISDOM

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Robert Burns

The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” Thomas Carlyle
So many houses, so few homes
So many people, so few friends
So much rhetoric, so few words
So many listeners, so few heard
So many believers, so little faith
So many wishes, so little hope
So much passion, so little love
So much laughter, so little joy
So much sympathy, so few care
So much courage, so few dare
So many lessons, so few learn
So much effort, so little done
So many changes, so little difference
So many partners, so few agree
So much time, so few free

MOVING FROM MEDIOCRITY TO EXCELLENCE

Ideas from Dan Sullivan “How To Do Better”

Break through the present ceiling
- Forget the past successes and repetition and stagnation
- Think about the future prospects
- Act in the present for the future through innovation and growth
Break away from rugged individualism and discover unique ability in teamwork
Expect rewards only after creating value for others
Set BIG goals or targets
- Be prepared to impact relationships, organisational abilities and habits
Be clear about what you want to have changed in your life professionally and personally
Learn to get referrals
Delegate everything except genius
Escape the causes of complexity
- Too much happening, not enough time to think and learn
- Too little security, not enough opportunity
- Too few resources, not enough leverage
Create a monopoly in the marketplace around an experience that only you can create for your clients
- Make yourself crucial to the future success of your clients
- Build structures, process and thinking patterns that allow you to create unique values
- Always focus on creating increasing value for your clients, customers and prospects
- For example, provide leadership, relationship and creativity
  - Leadership provides directions to others in order to help them deal with feelings of confusion that arise out of living in an increasingly complex world
  - Relationship is providing a new sense of confidence when people feel isolated by change
  - Creativity is providing new capabilities when people are feeling powerless as a result of change
Help others succeed
- Help others ask the right questions and make the right decisions
- Help others plan for the future
- Help others seize opportunities

“It is not the products that keep customers coming back, but the value those customers receive that they feel unable to get elsewhere.”

THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL ADVISORY BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE

Increasing demand for risk protection and wealth advisory
Movements towards financial planning approach and fee-based compensation
Big potential for IFAs if they achieve sufficient differentiation from the other channels and have sufficient resources
Increasing costs and likely fee-based compensation will mean the need to go upmarket and move to accredited investor clients
IFAs will consolidate to keep up with higher paid-up capital and increase compliance and operating expense
Greater reliance on technology and social media
Need to specialise and work in teams within the company’s multi-platforms and multi-services
Need to upgrade the professionalism of both company staff and representatives
Need to access regional markets and expatriate markets
Need for business partnerships at representatives and company level

Winners Never Quit

Failed in business	1831
Ran for the local elections and lost	1832
Failed in business	1834
Sweetheart died	1835
Had a nervous breakdown	1836
Lost a second election	1838
Defeated for Congress	1843
Defeated for election	1846
Defeated for Congress	1846
Defeated for Senate	1855
Defeated for Vice President	1856
Defeated for Congress	1856
Elected President	1870

A Short Course In Human Relations

The six most important words
“I admit I made a mistake”

The five most important words
“You did a good job”

The four most important words
“What is your opinion?”

The three most important words
“If you please”

The two most important words
“Thank you” or “Forgive me”

The one most important word
“WE”

The least most important word
“I”

Compliment

After being married for 30 years, a wife asked her husband to describe her.

He looked at her slowly, then said,
“You are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K”.

She asked what does that mean.

He said, “Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot”.

She smiled happily and said,
“Oh, that’s lovely. What about I, J, K?”

He said, “I’m just kidding”.
His eye is still swollen but it will get better.

Purposeful

Future-oriented
Analytical
Logical
Intuitive
Creative
Relational
Sequential

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