Browse all articles across people aspects of regulation and people development within UK financial services
Amongst all the valueless content I scroll through on a daily basis on Facebook, occasionally I come across something that actually makes me pause my finger from the ever-impressive swipe I have become so competent at. Just like this one that was floated past me the other day… Shoshin is a concept meaning ‘beginner’s mind.’
One of my favourite cocktails is a Vodka Martini. It has four distinct ingredients – vodka, vermouth, olives and ice – it’s delicious.
I love coaching – I love watching it, teaching it, observing it… and being coached. I love that you sometimes witness great coaching when you least expect it and hate it when someone misses a prime opportunity to make a difference. My youngest son practises Karate.
Demonstrating competence and regulatory compliance is a serious business. After all, the costs of non-compliance can be very severe. So, is it possible to harness the power of new learning technologies to reduce the business risks and bring genuine cultural change in your business.
For many advisers, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a necessary evil that is foist upon them by an over-zealous regulator. Proof of CPD is needed to obtain the Statement of Professional Standing (SPS), which is the current ticket to the disco for advisers.
There, got your attention from the serious stuff in this magazine. And, I promise, that is the only mention of the current POTUS in this article (unless I think of a cheap joke that I can slide in subliminally. If you notice it. There, a cheap joke. Told you. Wasn’t even subliminal. Or was it?)
Those of us who work at the front end of financial planning are very used to ensuring that our clients’ objectives are planned for. But how many of us actually plan how to meet our own objectives? How many of us are “for” performance planning, and how many of us are “against” performance planning?
Practitioner tips to ensure you maximise the investment you’ve made on internet generated leads. Fixing Meetings with Bought Leads It’s January and the mass hordes are flocking to the gyms to work off the pounds from Christmas and fulfil their New Years’ Resolutions.
I have that thing up there, our title dear reader, on a slide I use because, guess what, I hate clichés. It may have something to do with the great scene in Blazing Saddles (almost all the scenes are great) when one of the bad guys’ henchmen says “I’ll head them off at the pass!”
When I tell someone that I work from home, the standard response is, “don’t you get distracted?”, followed by, “aren’t you tempted just to get a load of washing on, or watch a bit of daytime TV?”.
A listening MOT Look at the following questions. How do these apply to you and the way you listen? Please answer honestly. Ask yourself… Are you doing something else while the customer is talking? Yes/No Are you thinking about the next call, going out that evening, what you will be eating for dinner?
Get some up front agreement We often use the phrase “contracting”. Don’t, it sounds like a lawyer and the formal contract. Not perhaps the right atmosphere to start a seminar with. However you do need to get things out in the open and agree expectations of you and the course and the group.
