Contributed by: Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD
Recently one of the most quotable fellas of our time, Yogi Berra, passed away. It is impressive how much meaning can be captured in a short sentence like, “You can observe a lot by just watching” or “It ain’t over till it’s over.” One of my favorite quotes is from Roy E. Disney, brother of Walt Disney who is credited as saying, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” If you have been to our web site and visited my profile, you have seen a play on the quote that I use:
"When your vision is clear, your decisions are easy."
I know, you’re thinking: Sir, I knew Roy E. Disney and you are no Roy E. Disney. However, whenever faced with a challenging issue, whether it is personal or business related, I find it helpful and even therapeutic to go back to vision or values as Roy suggests.
The Center developed a set of values years ago to help us make decisions and we not only talk about them but strive to live them each day. Recently during an All Staff meeting we reviewed and discussed our values, what they meant to us, and how we could embrace them even more.
Our values are more than words; they serve to guide us in our everyday actions. Everything that we do is about our clients and our team with values leading the way. Our Center values include:
Congruence between Words & Deeds
Compassionate and Effective Leadership
Passion for Excellence
Strong Work Ethic
Professionalism & Competence
Balanced Life
Commitment to the Financial Planning Process
Continuous Learning and Personal Growth
At our meeting recently we dug into the meaning behind a few of these values:
Compassionate & Effective Leadership
We are compassionate leaders to our clients, to our communities, and to our families. Leadership isn’t bestowed by position or title – one can exhibit compassionate and effective leadership regardless of role or “boss” title.
Passion for Excellence
One team member shared, “It is all encompassing.” A passion for excellence means you act with integrity, continuously learn, have strong work ethic, etc.
We also talked about giving future space to consider other values such as Service to Others/Servant Leadership and Intellectual Curiosity.
Without a strong set of values and vision of what’s important in your life – you might just live out one of Yogi’s classic observations:
“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.”
Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD is the Managing Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. and is a contributor to national media and publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal and has appeared on Good Morning America Weekend Edition and WDIV Channel 4. A leader in his profession, Tim served on the National Board of Directors for the 28,000 member Financial Planning Association™ (FPA®), mentored many CFP® practitioners and is a frequent speaker to organizations and businesses on various financial planning topics.