The future is created by us, so get creative
According to Robert Storm Petersen: “It’s hard to make predictions – especially about the future.”
Petersen is a gentleman of whom I know little more than a) his was the first quote about future gazing that Wikipedia spewed up, and b) he sounds like a Scandinavian rock god circa 1986 – or, more likely, someone who had aspirations of rock deity but settled for a small but profitable carpentry business in Hammersmith.
I rather think the best way to predict the future is to invent it but, as I mentioned recently, innovation has (understandably) not been top priority for an industry unsure of what tomorrow looks like and which is fixed on survival. But there are enclaves of creativity. At a recent advisers’ event five ideas were mooted, underlining that some of the best innovation is often incremental, not necessarily game changing:
Use low-cost staff (backed extensively by technology) to service more ‘transactional’ clients until their circumstances warrant a more holistic service – by which point they have already established a relationship with your business.
Make better use of technology that already exists. Skype et al can save a lot of time and not all clients (even HNW ones) want to take time out to meet their advisers all the time. This nicely highlights the next point…
Segmentation should be about what the client wants, not what service level their wealth bracket matches. Some of the wealthiest clients don’t want much support while others have relatively small funds under management but are happy to pay for full service. Ask!
Develop a pseudo family office by being the hub co-ordinating other professionals. This will also enable you to catch younger generations.
Ensure you have a succession strategy.
The future is not something we enter; it is something we create. It’s a lower, slower world, and costs that were insignificant now stick out in a higher-risk environment.
But that can’t stop us innovating because, as John Galsworthy – neither rock god nor carpenter – said: “If you don’t think about the future, you cannot have one.”
