Investing in strangers’ human capital
Family wealth advisors say you should invest in your family’s human capital. But what about investing in the human capital of strangers? The “human capital contract” is coming to the U.S., according to “Betting on Bob” in today’s Boston Globe. How does it work? Writer Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow explained that “…investors agree to cover the costs […]
Build your team–and your client base–with book clubs
You can train your staff using a book club, suggests Kirk Hulett of Securities America Inc. in “Move Over Oprah,” published in Practice Management Solutions (Nov./Dec. 2008). Hulett got me thinking. How about running a financial book club for your clients or prospects? It could deepen your relationship with them as you learn more about […]
Vanguard is using LinkedIn
John Ameriks of The Vanguard Group has posted a question on LinkedIn that’s running under a Vanguard banner. Plenty of financial professionals post questions on LinkedIn, but this is the first time I’ve seen one running under an advertisement. Click on the banner, and you go to the Vanguard home page. Will we see more […]
Another great way to annoy a reporter
I agree with Ed McCarthy about “Seven Ways to Annoy a Reporter,” a sidebar to his “Sharpening Your Media Skills” in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning (available online only to subscribers). Let me add another: Publish on your blog that “I’m talking with Reporter X about Topic Y for the […]
Should you say "No" to "Please"?
People feel passionately about “please.” “Common sense might tell you that adding ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ to an email will always make it more polite. Common sense would be wrong.” That’s according to David Shipley and Will Schwalbe in Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better. I decided to ask […]