If you don’t know where you are, a map is not of much help ... If you don’t know where you are going, any port in a storm will do. To navigate successfully, you need two points: First where you are, and then where you are going. The next step is developing a plan to get there. Take a Future Funded Ministry Plan as an example.
We’ve all been-and will continue to be-bombarded with political harangue from every source imaginable. When you listen to the sound bites sitting in for solutions (which is what they are: Sound Bites) they are neither solutions nor clear problem definitions.
These thoughts come to mind because of two real life experiences I am facing now. One deals with fee disclosure in retirement plans, and the other involves figuring out travel priorities. When you have to go to Seoul, Bangkok, Pakse, Trieste and Hamburg … that is a problem. When there are many retirement plan participants and plan sponsors that don’t appreciate the expenses of their plan; that too is a problem. Particularly if you are the CEO of a Retirement Planning company. It just so happens I am: Envoy Financial.
Here is what I’m thinking ... On the fee disclosure side there are a few options:
- Make sure everybody knows the information is coming. Got that underway!
- Encourage the Retirement Plan Oversight Committees to Engage in the education and communication process. Now, that is easy to say, but difficult to do. Easy to write an email or make a phone call, but how do you create a sense of urgency and importance without sounding like a “pushy salesmen” or even a “compliance guru” … whatever that is.
- Wait for the “bottom up” questions to force engagement by the Retirement Plan Oversight Committee members. Most likely this will be the source of most of the energy on this subject. I’m a little worried about being the “fall guy.” An easy out is, “They did not tell us.” Well, perhaps the webinar I just completed will make a difference.
Overall, I’m glad for the problem. Transparency in our industry has always been an issue. For once, at least, I think the government got it right. That’s certainly something to be thankful for in this very “political” season. It is more than a “sound bite,” they identified and implemented a real solution. And I am so proud to find some Retirement Plan Oversight Committees dedicated to the cause and hard at work on the communication solutions. Good job! Here’s hoping you are the lead horses in a growing herd!
Now to travel ... Business as Ministry sounds pretty cool. I’ll be talking about it in future blogs, but no kidding, it’s work. Seems like work was mentioned in early Genesis. So, let’s see ... LAX to BKK, to Ubon Ratchitani, to…well, you don’t really care. It is my problem.
So, are you clear about your location and your destination both eternally and next week? You know, both of those are Real Life Experiences.
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Living with Trusted Advice together,
Bruce