Daily Inspiration: “I can’t give you a magic formula for the future – only a magical attitude!”

“I can’t give you a magic formula for the future – only a magical attitude!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Today I’m in Fort Lauderdale, where I’ll speak to a group of financial planners and investment advisors for high net worth individuals. I’ll be giving them an overview of the disruptive trends of our time, with a view to where we might see the winners and losers in the next economy.

I do a lot of talks like this – over the years, I’ve often been engaged to come in to small, intimate leadership meetings within the financial management industry, or to speak to equity capital groups.

This has included private equity firms like Sterling Partners, AEA Investors and Berkshire Partners – companies with portfolios and investments in private companies worth billions of dollars.

Then there was the time I spoke to a group of 200 family office representatives in Athens, Greece, in 2015 – the people who manage the money for the world’s wealthiest individuals. I didn’t have a list of who was there, but I do know that the Bill & Melinda Gates Family office was there, along with the family office for the Google founders.

And I have even done smaller, more intimate events with a view to the future. Sometime back, the Wrigley family office group and me in for a private meeting …. All of these talks go beyond the usual rah-rah motivational pap that motivational speakers often provide to such an audience, and which often does little to advance the mindset of the financial planner.

Instead, I’m giving them a real roadmap to what comes next, so that they have a useful filter by which to judge the decisions they are making on behalf of their clients.

Years ago, the National Australia Bank had me in for a talk to a group of financial planners and wealth managers. I summarized by thoughts – from 2010! – into a post:

14 Key Innovation Strategies for Financial Advisors & Financial Organizations

14 Key Innovation Strategies for Financial Advisors & Financial Organizations

I think I pretty much nailed the trends, since so much of it remains relevant today!