Posted By 
By Darren Coleman
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
If you’ve been playing Lingo Bingo during this Great Disruption, then the word “Pivot” must occupy the centre square on everyone’s playing card. It is simply the business word of 2020 and it means a fixed point on which things oscillate or rotate. It’s a term commonly used in sports like basketball or football when a player stops rapidly and then moves in a different direction. And we use it because in order to keep moving our businesses forward right now we have to do precisely that.
For me the first few weeks of the pandemic felt like some kind of weird reverse camping trip. Why? We had to make due with limited supplies, were in familiar yet oddly strange surroundings, and likely didn’t have enough toilet paper. Fortunately, family and friends were safe, everyone was home, and we mostly had to contend with a series of inconveniences rather than anything really serious. I appreciate this has not been the case for a great many.
Back to business. Or rather, back to trying to figure out how we’re going to keep doing business because so much has changed. My staff and I were working from home, trying to create new processes and procedures, making sure our remote systems were 100%, and trying to source everything from new computer headsets to home office chairs and other items so we could remain productive. My focus, as leader of a large and successful wealth-management team, was to keep everyone functioning at a high level and ensure clients were engaged since they too were going through a unique and challenging experience.
In short, we had to pivot.
Walking with Charlie: a video blog
One of the best things I did throughout all this was walk my dog. Everyone needs to take a break when working at home, so I would take my dog Charlie for walks. One day I decided to bring my GoPro with me. I would use the great trick of YouTube (which is to create what I call “mass intimacy” and talk to many even though it feels like I’m talking only to you). It would allow me to share my thoughts and comments with our clients and professional network.
This video blog was intended to be a bit of fun, and a way to stay in touch with clients quickly and efficiently. What with COVID I wanted to lighten the mood and also provide a philosophical framework for how we are thinking nowadays, and how we are processing the changes all around us.
In my first video, I encouraged viewers to find positive changes they can make while in lockdown. Instead of binge-watching Netflix, perhaps they could attend to those chores they’ve been avoiding or take up projects they’ve been putting off. Maybe organize the photo albums or learn to play the piano, for example. The point was to keep people moving in a positive direction to counter all the negative news flow we are experiencing.
It’s my belief that this pandemic is a health crisis for some: and a financial challenge for many more. In later videos, I discussed a variety of topics, such as how to be a better consumer of news, and how to handle the financial hitchhikers we encounter in life. I also provided some education as a way to increase financial literacy by sharing cash-flow budgeting techniques, along with key questions you should ask of your professional advisors.
Other subjects were such things as how the values around money affect our relationships. The content of the videos was intended to be conversational, casual, and insightful.
Pandemic as a fire drill for Retirement
One of my key messages was that this pandemic is like a ‘fire drill’ for retirement. All the plans and assumptions we made about how we’ll spend our time when not going to work are being tested in real-time. We’re now more home-bound than we are used to and spending more time with our family than we are used to. And we are actually seeing if our ideas for reallocating those 40 to 60 hours a week are really working out as we had thought.
For example, imagine if you had planned to spend your retirement travelling or playing golf. Those things haven’t been possible. So what now? Indeed, I mentioned this idea about Covid being a fire drill for retirement when I was interviewed for an article in Forbes by Dr. Joe Coughlan, who heads up the MIT AgeLab and is the author of ‘The Longevity Economy.’ He is considered the world’s leading authority on longevity and was doing an article for Forbes on how Covid-19 affects one’s retirement.
My goal with those videos was simply to find a new way to connect with clients. After all, the old ways don’t work now. The disruption to our regular processes caused by the pandemic pushed me to be creative and recognize that taking on new projects would be time well spent. Most importantly, with all of us adjusting to a new environment this would encourage risk taking. My feeling was that it’s okay as a service provider to experiment right now, provided the intention is to serve clients better. For example, curbside delivery may not be as good as browsing through Home Depot, Best Buy or your local garden centre but it’s better than the store’s doors being closed. My videos are an attempt to do likewise.
Since starting my little vlog series – I call it ‘Walking With Charlie’ – I have been overwhelmed by all the positive response. Clients really appreciate the content, and many people who have seen it are delighted to have a positive distraction during these tough times. Indeed, one of my clients who is quarantined in a care home let me know that she appreciates the opportunity to see me walk my dog virtually. Indeed, this is her way of getting out.
I believe that clients will remain loyal to businesses and professionals who keep trying to stay in the game. And they will reward them, too. It is very easy right now to hide behind the disruptions, the fear, and all the inconveniences caused by the pandemic. It seems that many businesses and professional people are doing just that, and maybe sealing their fate in the process. But those who keep their focus on building, nurturing and expanding relationships – yes, even now – will not only get by but achieve success.
The rewards are always there for those who take risk: those who tilt at windmills and challenge the status quo. Sure, we may not win on every occasion, but the smart ones are those who see failure as tuition payment for future success. It’s been said that Fortune favours the bold: and we certainly need bold leaders now to pull all of us through this.
Darren Coleman is the principal of Portage Cross Border Wealth Management of Raymond James, based in Toronto.
