Both my parents smoked. Like chimneys. As kids, we’d munch down our morning cornflakes surrounded by last night’s dirty ashtrays. The perfect Christmas present for Dad was a sparkling new ashtray. Little did we know the dangers of smoking. Kind of...
I’ve run three marathons and a dozen half-marathons. I take my running gear whenever I’m travelling overnight. I love what running does for me. That’s thanks to Pete Talty. Regardless of the conditions, Pete was always there. 6am every Saturday, waiting at the bottom...
My wife Anna loves book club. She comes home from their dinners with a new thought-provoking discussion sparked by the book, regardless of whether she liked it, read it or hated it. Their latest was Lessons in Chemistry, which also recently began as a series on Apple...
I’m a rugby union tragic. I loved playing the game until one too many concussions meant I shouldn’t run on ever again. I love watching local games. A highlight of my sporting year used to be watching our Wallabies in national games. Unfortunately, our team...
How do advisory firms methodically create and manage deep client trust? While protecting profitability and reducing dependency, building advice platforms and skills for advice teams to build deep trust in their client relationships is the third of six principles...
I know the problem with my golf game. The guy holding the club. My instincts want to hit the ball too hard because my ridiculous golf brain believes ‘bigger is better’. On the odd occasion when my instincts produce a great shot, it’s usually a fluke....
I can still see the surprised looks on their faces. It was November 1989, during a three-day “Agent As A BusinessPerson” workshop MLC asked me to design and facilitate. One of the last sessions for the twenty-five accountants and financial planners had...
Every August, I spend an evening at my old school answering questions from Year 11 students as they share their post-school career options. My sessions are generally Q&A events for kids interested in small businesses. Last week’s questions ranged from what...
These are interesting times. Interesting is probably an understatement, thanks to regulatory reform, ridiculous compliance guidelines, depleted advice talent, and increasing demands from teams and clients. Advisers don’t need more hassles – particularly...
The problem with super is super. Since the 2002 Financial Services Review, there have been at least a dozen enquiries, commissions and reviews into Australia’s superannuation, insurance, investment, and financial services industries. Last week APRA and ASIC jointly...
