Interesting Article and thoughts...

Hi All,

Attached is an article from Investment News talking about “Next decades (the 2010’s) hottest industries? Retirement planning near the top.” It talks about the baby boomers and how they are now at or coming to the age where retirement planning is critical and second on the list of winning industries in the coming years. It also speaks about Trusts and Estates as a corollary to retirement planning. All these are right in the wheelhouse of HBW when you consider our expertise lies in all the areas and the need for recruiting to support the demand. So, if you have ever wanted to be in the right place at the right time, there is no better place to be than our industry and particularly HBW with all the tools we have to capture and support this market and this opportunity!

I also want to share some ideas about how we can excel during these most challenging economic times. I have been reading about Winston Churchill, and I believe he is one of the most interesting characters in the history of mankind. Further, Churchill led England during the most perilous times of the 20th century, World War II.

There is a short biography about Churchill by English writer Paul Johnson, who has the advantage of being likely the last biographer who actually knew the great man. The story of Churchill is about how a man fights on in the face of overwhelming failures, frustrations and overwhelming opposition and scorn. These are the lessons we need to learn to succeed in what is the toughest business and economic environment in the last at least 70 years.

The author identifies five “Churchillian” attributes that guided his eventual success: 1) He aimed high, but never cadged (begged or groveled) or demeaned himself to gain office or objectives. 2) There was no substitute for hard work – even though he was brilliant. 3) Churchill “never allowed mistakes, disasters – personal or national – accidents, illness, unpopularity and criticism to get him down. His powers of recuperation, both in physical illness and psychological responses to abject failure, were astounding.” 4) Churchill wasted extraordinarily small amounts of energy on hatred, recrimination, malice, revenge, grudges, rumor mongering or vendettas. Energy expended on hate was energy lost to productive activity, and 5) he always had something other than politics to give joy to his life.

Of course, there are so many other attributes that made Churchill a great man, but it seems to me that the above principles are definitely transferable to our lives and how we all need to overcome adversity in everything we do. As I observe our top performers, as well as successful people in most walks of life, they all seem to embody most or all of these attributes and behaviors. Another behavior that I observe among top producers and successful people is that unlike unsuccessful or very low producers who are often very focused on themselves, successful producers are most often focused on others and how they can be a benefit to the world they live in. In other words, successful people are outward looking, concerned with the needs of others while unsuccessful people are inward looking concerned with their own needs.

This is true regardless of endeavor. Families, friendships, associates, teammates, whatever, are always best with people who care about other people. Selfish, self centered people are always the most frustrating and difficult to deal with. What is also very interesting and seems contradictory, but is really not, about the differences among top producers compared to low producers is that top producers seem to look to themselves for answers and take personal responsibility for their lives, while the less successful look outside themselves for answers, take little or no personal responsibility and blame others, outside factors, anything but themselves for their lives. I can’t stress enough that successful people seem to be learning based, always trying to grow and learn as a person, while unsuccessful people seem to be knowledge based, they know everything already and are often closed to new ideas.

I just finished another great book, How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins, the author of bestsellers, Good to Great and Built to Last. Collins lists 5 principles on why great businesses fail. I would take it further and say many of these principles are why not just businesses but any enterprise fails. One of the principles is mentioned above; successful people and enterprises have a learning culture while companies that are failing have a knowledge culture, based on hubris, excessive pride thinking their success is a matter of how great and smart they are. They know everything, lose humility and believe they are special and deserving, as opposed to being appreciative and concerned that success is fleeting and they have to continue to fight for every edge to maintain their success.

At HBW we say that one of the most important keys to personal success is to work harder on yourself then you do on your business. Success follows personal development, it doesn’t precede it. If you are receiving this writing, it is because you either already are, or are on your way to becoming a top producer/builder in our business. The principles we are speaking of are timeless. As you work to build your organization, we work to build a great company. It is important that we look for every edge while also realizing that in spite of the vicissitudes of life, like Churchill would say, we will never give up, never, never, never. We have set out to build a great, world class organization and circumstances do not dictate our goals and objectives. You should expect success to be harder, take longer, and be more frustrating and challenging than anything you have ever attempted. If this were not true far more people would be successful. Therefore, we will all win in spite of our circumstances, not because of them.

In this New Year, 2010, begin to become all you’re capable of being. Make this year and this decade the year and decade where everything changed. It only takes a few highly motivated and determined people to change an enterprise, a business and even the world. Let this be the time where you decide, as Churchill extolled, never give up, never, never, never!

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