Making Dreams A Reality
Past Events
Investing 101
by Betty Anne Howard
Strategies to Maximize Income & Minimize Risk
by Alex Goldmaker
Class Plus Retirement Income Program
Enhanced wealth accumulation and guaranteed retirement income for life
by Deborah Kearney
Bridges to Better Business Presentation
by Betty-Anne Howard, February 24, 2009
Introduction
Let me begin by telling you why I chose this particular format – using pictures, fairy tales and metaphors to convey my messages about Financial Planning strategies for businesses.
First of all, what you don’t know about me is that my Father couldn’t read or write. He was taken out of school in grade three when the Second World War was on to work on his family’s farm and never went back to school. Although I knew that as I was growing up, I didn’t really see how that limited my father (you start to better understand and see these things when you are an adult) – he even became the secretary of his local branch of the steel workers union and, if you ever want to hear the story of how he managed that, please come and talk to me at our display table. And, by the way, no one knew on that executive, that my father couldn’t read or write.
So, why am I telling you this? Seems that my passion in life and some of the principles I have taken with me throughout my career is a very strong desire to translate information and make it easier to understand, interesting and hopefully fun (because my motto is, if you’re not having fun then why are you doing it? Not that business is all fun because it’s not as a matter of fact it can be hell at times and I know that first hand based on my experiences in 2008).
So, I use pictures, fairy tales and metaphors to have some fun, make the information (hopefully) a little more interesting. What I also know as a teacher is that if you use different methods to convey messages, they are better retained. What we know is that after I’ve presented material to you, if that’s all I do, within a day all of the information has been pretty much forgotten. If I use pictures, images, and metaphors combined with say handouts with the information on that, well, that increases retention exponentially.
The other reason why I do this is because, quite frankly, otherwise this material is incredibly boring which is a major complaint that I have about the financial service industry and I am working on trying to change that. We’ll get to how I am trying to accomplish this, at the end of my presentation.
Leadership
The role of leadership is crucial to every occupation, every career, every business. I would like you to think about for a minute and examine who you are as a leader. How are you going to lead and, examine the values that you bring to your role as a leader.
As you can see, I have identified a number of prominent leaders, including; the ever charismatic, charming and “we have so many expectations for” – President Barack Obama, whose book, The Audacity of Hope, includes his personal reflections on those values and ideals that led him to public life.
Benazir Bhutto – former Prime Minister of Pakistan who was assassinated as a result of returning to Pakistan, based on her desire to lead her country with a dedicated commitment to democracy, human rights and an unyielding position on equality for women which pitted her against strong religious leaders and led to her assassination.
Mahatma Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of a form of resistance through mass civil disobedience founded upon his commitment to total non violence – which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom around the world.
Joan of Arc who as a teenager led the French army to many victories in the Hundred Years War which began in 1337. As most of you know she was burned at the stake at the age of 19 – the technical reason for her execution was something called “biblical clothing law” – she wasn’t supposed to be wearing men’s clothing. She was incredibly courageous for a woman of her time.
Muhammad Yunus – I adore this man. He has managed to turn many business concepts completely around in order to develop what he calls social entrepreneurship – he is a brilliant man who says things like, it’s the questions we ask that are important so rather than the banks saying; “are you a credit worthy” we should be asking of the banks if they are “worthy of our business”. I do believe that it’s important to think about the types of questions we ask to push ourselves to ask questions outside of the box and, to trust the process. I tend to get a little impatient and often times need to remind myself of this.
Let me give you an example. When I was in the process of developing my website with Erin Meisner, the woman I hired to help me with this – we were exploring all of the ways in which my website could reflect and project my values – I asked many of the people I worked with to describe how they saw who I am in this business – what words they would use. By engaging in this process, I was finally able to come up with a format and the words to use to convey the messages I wanted to send out to the world.
After doing that and getting all excited about it, I was asked by Romana King who is an editor of one of my industry magazines and also a writer for those magazines asked me who I was targeting as my client, as a result of what I was putting on my website. I was embarrassed because I hadn’t really looked at it that way and instead through my discussion with her, realized that my website, because of the messages I was conveying, would appeal to certain types of people, such as those who have a concern for the environment, climate change and also people who are wanting to focus more on social responsibility of corporations and other social issues – these are actually called ESG factors for Environmental Social and Governance issues that provide the framework for the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing. All of that to say that this really has been and continues to be a work in progress and I think that is a healthy sign for a business, one that can change and adapt over time.
Back to Leadership
I read this amazing book over the Christmas holidays called In Search of Leadership: How great Leaders Answer the Question “Why Lead?” by Phil Harkins and Phil Swift (I have ordered from Novel Idea and given away multiple copies of this book and it is one of our draw prizes at our display table) McGraw Hill 2009. I want to share a few of the quotes that I found particularly interesting. First of all, in response to the question, are leaders born or are they made? “Leaders are born”. They have special capabilities and attributes that give them a knack for leadership.” It is equally true that many leaders “grew into their leadership roles because of an historic opportunity, a difficult childhood, or the careful mentorship of a parent or a teacher”. All three are certainly true for me. In addition, the authors recognize that there are peaks and valleys and that the ‘low points’ are as relevant as our successes. “As long as you don’t become bitter or defeated, the school of hard knocks will teach you things that might benefit you in the future.”
Clearly many of us are going through very tough times right now, certainly as a financial planner “tough” couldn’t even begin to describe what last year was like for me, with the market meltdown. Hell would be much more apt. How did I get through that? This book certainly helped, among other things. Finding my voice and my passion for my work was another. According to one of the authors, Phil Harkins, ‘One theme regularly explored at the annual Global Institute for Leadership Development conference is “how leaders can find their voice and passion..(it) requires going deeper and engaging more of yourself. For leaders to achieve their potential, they must confront their values, beliefs, and, I’m beginning to realize, their spiritual purpose.” Moving from the head, to the heart and then to the soul. Whatever form that might take and look like for you, I don’t know. I had a conversation with Kathy Sage last year, the Minister for the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship and as I spoke to her about my work, she actually felt that my work was very much a part of my spiritual journey because of the value system that I bring into my work. Interesting perception and one that I continue to explore.
I would like to leave you with one final quote from this book; Vaclav Havel, who was the tenth and last president of Czecheslovakia (1989-92) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993-2003). He was also a writer and a playwright and he said; ‘The power of authentic leadership is found not in external arrangements but in the human heart.’ “Authentic leaders in every setting – from families to nation-states – aim at liberating the heart so that this power can liberate the world.” It’s not that any of us here are aspiring to “liberating the world” but I think we do a disservice to ourselves and our businesses if we assume that what we do DOESN’T have an impact on others and who knows, perhaps ultimately the world.
In one version of this presentation we actually had David Suzuki on the leadership slide and I think he got booted off to make room for Joan of Arc because I was concerned that we didn’t have enough images of women up there. And that is a whole other issue, women in business and leadership roles – which both Maggie Ashton (tax specialist) and I are trying to address, in a number of ways, but you’ll have to come talk to us about that or see our handouts on our display table.
And, at the mention of David Suzuki who has been a leader for decades in this country due to his concerns about climate change and global warming – I just have to mention that he too learned a very important lesson recently and that is; that fear and anger are not good motivators when it comes to encouraging our younger generation to start taking a role in this or any other issue. What David Suzuki realized when he asked his daughter what she thought she and her peer group could do to begin addressing climate change her response was – nothing. Hearing primarily pessimism from her parents had led to her feeling that was nothing she or her friends could do when in fact there are lots of things that can be done and are taking place. Which is why David Suzuki decided to travel around Europe so she could experience that first hand – if you get a chance to watch the Suzuki Diaries, it’s on the web, a CBC documentary, I would really encourage you to do so.
So many lessons for all of us to learn, recognizing that our perception plays a very powerful role in how we view our businesses and how we face the challenges before us today.
Speaking of perception let’s now move to our very first fairy tale.
Jack In The Beanstock
Things are hardly ever what they seem, when it comes to business, attitude and perception are very powerful business tools.
A family business that many of us may be familiar with, Jack’s parents were farmers – they worked hard and were very happy. The reality is, stepping outside of the fairy tale, our farmers are not happy right now for a variety of reasons. I come from a long line of farmers, stopped with my parents who left the farm – it was a hard life then and it’s a hard life now and we need our farmers. I have been really pleased with and impressed with the buy local produce movement and hope to see more of that in the future, including organic farming, the 100 mile diet and so on.
However, this is a fairy tale and they were happy because they possessed 3 magical treasures, they were; a bag of gold coins that could never be emptied, a little hen that laid golden eggs (that’s kind of like the tree that grows money, called the money tree) and an enchanted harp that played beautiful music.
Now this family encountered some very bad times, as can often happen in families – the father died (as a result of the giant taking their treasures) & a great famine struck the land – kind of like our current economic crises. Jack’s mother decided that she needed to sell their cow for $$ for food. So, not unlike Pinocchio, Jack got a little distracted, felt sorry for an old man he ran into (Jack had a good heart!) and gave him the cow in exchange for 3 “magic” beans – that his mother promptly threw out the window in disgust because these beans were certainly not going to feed them. This is where the moral of the story comes for me which is, you just never know what sorts of things you’ve been doing in your business that will in fact bear fruit along the way and not that I think that we should give away our services or products but you can’t always be sure what types of outcomes you may get from doing things with an open and good heart that may surprise you and lead to good things.
Sometimes we face huge challenges in our businesses, where things look bleak, like how Jack’s mother was feeling when he gave away their cow, and yet, there may be other things going on at the same time that may lead to a more positive outcome like the magic beans. You never know where you might find some symbolic magic beans (it may be a person, it may be a comment, it may be a change in perception) and what might grown from them.
Wonder Woman
Important to have a vision, a dream and to know what steps you need to take in order to get there.
Once again I was concerned about not having enough female characters in my slides so I was asking some of my colleagues, other Financial Planners who are part of a business coaching program that I am in and asked some of the men the fairy tales or cartoons that they remember from their childhood and one fellow, Steve who works out of Perth and Smith Falls said “Wonder Woman!” When I asked what Wonder Woman has to do with Financial Planning Strategies for Businesses his response was; “I don’t know but that’s who I remember the most as a kid, Wonder Woman”. So, I thought, I can work with this – recognizing that perhaps Wonder Woman represents a dream, a vision, that dream might be different if you are a man or a woman but nevertheless the point still remains that it all does start with a dream – that end point, your vision of where you want your business to go or be, 5 years, 10 years and perhaps even twenty years from now.
That vision is important and mapping out the steps to get you there is also an essential component of Financial Planning Strategies for businesses. Now, the reality is, I spent the first few years in my business, there, in it not spending time on it – stepping away from the business long enough to map out those plans, articulate my vision and asses how I am doing with those plans and am I getting closer to my vision of where I want my business to be. Once again it’s a process that takes time and work and well worth it.
As a matter of fact, my website states quite clearly that how we get to our destination is as important as the destination itself.
Of course, things don’t always go according to plan, that is life. Which takes me to, Batman and Robin.
Batman & Robin
Who is the Key Person inside your business and what would you do without them?
My Robin happens to be my much younger and he likes to add, better looking brother, who works with me. I am a planner and I should know better and the reality is that my brother got sick last year, very sick and it was quite scarey for me. Not only was I concerned about him, as my brother but then I had to be concerned about my business and, in an immediate sense, what was I going to do without him, how was I going to function without him and what if he wasn’t able to come back to work with me, what about our succession plans?! This experience illustrates the importance of key person insurance and agreements that are funded with insurance. Another key principle for businesses to consider.
And speaking of Succession Planning, let me take you to another story.
Pinocchio SUCCESSION PLANNING:
Who do I leave my business to and how am I going to do that?
Father was a “kindly old woodcarver” – who was lonely and had a good heart. I am assuming that he was in fact, in the wood carving business.
So, he carved a puppet – he was that lonely, and climbed into bed wishing he were a “real” boy because he needed someone to pass on his business to because no one else in the village knew how to carve wood. Thanks to a “beautiful lady dressed in shining blue” (just so you know, this is the Walt Disney Version!) she gave him life, but to become a real boy – & therefore a “real” son, he had to prove himself “brave, truthful, & unselfish”. Now I don’t know about you but if I am going to figure out and plan how to pass my business on to the next generation, and hopefully keep it within my family those are definitely the kinds of traits and characteristics I would be looking for – kind of fits with integrity, hardworking, honest and giving. So, I am sure you can imagine that Pinocchio’s father had great plans for his son, teaching him the wood carving business, and was getting some comfort thinking about that – including starting to imagine retirement!
However, as the story goes and as we see and experience in life, there are many distractions, shady characters, scoundrels in fact & villains who might alter your plans a little – in other words there are many challenges along the way with this plan, potentially. Rarely does it work out or turn out the way you had planned so I am big on contingency plans (especially if you get swallowed by a whale), which stresses the importance of having a plan and being flexible along the way, recognizing that things do not always go according to plan. Pinocchio actually comes to his fathers rescue, even though he got very sidetracked along the way, strongly influenced by others – he became a real boy & they all lived happily ever after.
I would like to end on one last story that I think really sums up my whole presentation.
The Little Engine That Could
Having a vision, taking a leadership role and thinking outside of the box allow you to achieve so much more.
There once was a happy little train (red), with a jolly load to carry & her cars were filled full of good things for boys and girls (food, toys, candies, all sorts of wonderful things) – oops, then she stopped and couldn’t go another inch – so that was that – her engine had broken down. Well, low and behold along came a Shiny new engine – a Passenger Engine, bragging about how it had carried more cars than they’d even dreamed of – started to sound like this engine was feeling a little demeaned by the request so he refused to help out. Then along came this big black strong engine but it was a fright engine that pulled big machines, rusty old engine – same story but one that made at least some sense to me, this engine was too old and rusty and wanted simply to rest. Finally along came a little blue engine that was used only for switching trains in the yard and had never been over the mountain but recognized the importance of ding what she could to help so she said, yes! “I think I can, I think I can” – so, she did it! What a difference a positive attitude, determination and a great desire to help out can make.
Picture of Erin Meisner, Jude and her dogs – thanking her for “making my dreams a reality”
Disclaimer: These are my opinions and don’t necessarily reflect those of Independent Planning Group who shall, will not and should not be held responsible for my views.
Making Dreams Reality: Taking a Global, Community & Individual Perspective
by Betty-Anne Howard
A Symposium hosted by Betty-Anne Howard, M.S.W., B.A. (Hon.), CFP, CLU, Independent Planning Group Inc.Making Dreams Reality: Taking a Global, Community & Individual PerspectiveBetty-Anne Howard, a Certified Financial Planner believes that Making Dreams a Reality is what Financial Planning is all about. She takes a unique approach, one that embraces diversity and considers not only individual needs, goals, and dreams, but also addresses the need to educate her community about their financial wellness and the many global issues that face us today and into tomorrow.
Read Betty-Anne Howard’s warm welcome.
In an effort to continue to show support for worthy causes in the community and to fulfill our desire to educate the community, a symposium was held: Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at Memorial Hall Kingston City Hall (216 Ontario St.) from 7:00 – 9:30 pm with all proceeds going to support the Gilda’s Club of Southeastern Ontario.
The Gilda’s Club www.gildasclub.org mission is “to create welcoming communities of free support for everyone living with cancer – men, women, teens and children – along with their families and friends. Gilda’s Club’s innovative program is an essential complement to medical care, providing networking and support groups, workshops, education and social activities. Gilda’s Clubs are non-profit and rely on the communities, which they serve for their financial support.”
The symposium titled: Making Dreams a Reality: Taking a Global, Community & Individual Perspective was an effort to educate the community by providing information and tools to help make the connections between how we live our lives, how we spend and invest our money, and the significance of it all. The keynote speaker was Chris Turner, author of the Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need www.thegeographyofhope.com. Chris spoke to the next generation of political, economic, social and spiritual institutions that could provide the global foundations for a sustainable future across the world.
Other speakers included; Sarah Smith (Jantzi Social Research) & Eugene Ellmen (Social Investment Organization). We would also like to acknowledge the generous support and donations from our sponsors, without whom this event would not become a reality.
View the Making Dreams a Reality Brochure.