the process for your success

Having a clearly defined investment plan is vital if true investment success is to be attained. Unclear or unrealistic expectations can derail even the most conservative of investments. Therefore, our initial objective is to help you develop your game plan including: your purpose for investing, your income and liquidity needs, your investment time horizon, tax considerations and other issues critical to your individual situation. Thomas Capital Management, LLC (TCM) applies a disciplined approach to the process of information gathering, needs analysis, and investment objectives required to manage individual portfolios. TCM seeks to identify what the investor needs and wants, and then outlines a plan that can achieve those goals.

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Is There a "Formula" for Success?
Yes. While I don't believe there are any secrets to success, there are a couple of simple formulas that can serve as good reminders of what's necessary to be successful. One of them is Effort x Effectiveness = Results. Simply put, you have to put out a high enough volume of work at a high enough degree of effectiveness in order to achieve your goals. If you feel like you are working hard, but not getting the results you want then you either are not being effective or the amount of time that has elapsed has not yet been enough for the desired results to occur. If you believe you are effective and not achieving results you probably just need to look at your calendar and you will likely discover you are not investing enough time in results-producing activities. You may be busy, but success comes from being busy doing results-producing activities. These two things go hand-in-hand, effort and effectiveness, because you tend to become more effective at those things you do frequently and consistently. This is especially true of the activities required to be a successful financial advisor building an Ideal Client Community. Ie: Serving clients, getting referrals, following-up with referrals on the phone, and conducting the initial client interviews that lead to referrals becoming clients.

 

A formula which I developed that may help you be more productive is Success = words on-purpose + time on-purpose. My experience is that successful people live and work "on-purpose." They are good with words and manage their time well. Being on-purpose with time means that you plan your work and you work your plan. The most productive time-planning is when you know your priorities, place them on your calendar as appointments with yourself and others, and honor your calendar. Consider how seldom an unscheduled interruption is more productive than what you would have been doing if you had planned that time to do something highly productive on-purpose.

 

Far less productive is working from a to-do list. And the least productive way to manage your time is to go work with a mostly blank calendar and attempt to stay focused on the most important tasks throughout the day. Given that life, business, and the financial services industry in particular are distraction-producing machines it is difficult to be successful without managing your time and high-payoff-activities on-purpose.

 

Can you think of anything in your personal or professional life that would not be enhanced by managing your time and priorities on-purpose?

 

What about words on-purpose? I sum this up as knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. You could call it being articulate. The financial services profession is all about human interactions. Interacting with your clients, referrals as prospective clients, staff, subject matter experts who help you serve your clients, your company leaders and support personnel. It means talking with people. It means asking good questions. It means being a good listener. It means connecting what people tell you about their needs, wants, goals, and values with your value proposition. You will be most productive when scripted. At the very least you must have talking points you can instantly and effectively articulate. Who wants to trust their financial future to someone who stumbles over their words? It doesn't matter that you are smart if you don't sound smart. Politics aside, I find it interesting that President Barack Obama has gotten flack for using the teleprompter and he and his staff get criticized for being on the same page with their talking points. You can laugh if you want, but knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say propelled him into the Oval Office. What might this do for you?

 

Can you think of anything in your personal or professional life that would not be enhanced by being able to choose and deliver your words on-purpose?

 

The bottom line is that success is rarely, if ever, an accident. Successful people use their time and words on-purpose.