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TIP #17 “The Bounce = New Ideas”

Keith Renninson • Mar 20, 2021
Mastermind Group
Photo Credit Dylan Gillis from Unsplash

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”.  I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional.  Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE.  So lets get started!

Over my career, I have seen more than my share of market fluctuations where resilience played a big role in my business:
•    Much turmoil was created by high inflation, the Arab oil embargo, and the Iran hostage crisis of the 1970’s
•    The financial market crash of 1987 was big at the time (I was in the middle of my CFP training then)
•    The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the World Trade Center attack on 9-11-2001
•    And then there was The Great Recession in 2008

All of these events, and more, greatly affected insurance and investment counselors.  We had to get really creative to make a living.  Remember I started with New York Life in 1975 after my tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1971.  It was an exciting time to be in the business albeit scary.
The process of being resilient should include all of the TRIP traits to give you a well-rounded game plan.

But, how do you get it started?  Is there a way to jump-start the creative engine?  Yes, one way is to form a mastermind group or study group.  In the late ‘80’s I was part of a study group of agents getting different designations such as their CFP or  CHFC and we would do case studies together using real life situations that we were facing.  I formed lifelong friendships from this group, and it helped me in many instances where I had a problem client, technical issue with a policy, or was looking for a creative way to meet a need.

Mastermind groups are commonplace today.  But finding the right mix of members is tricky.  If you fit in one well, great, but if it doesn’t feel right, leave and find or form another one.  Be a leader and put it together with people who are committed to the process and want to  make it work well. 

Additionally, have some ground rules like:
•    Keep it classy, strong and resilient with forward thinking
•    Meet in different offices each time
•    Stay on topic and generate new ideas with a sense of adventure
•    Have an agenda for the meeting
•    Stay away from politics as much as possible…discussion of legislation still works though
•    Have goals that fit the times and your needs
•    Above all have fun and be productive

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be resilient, and use the bounce-back factor to your advantage with a new study group or mastermind!

Goodbye!

Keith......

Keith Renninson's Tenacity Blog

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