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Browse: Home / microfinance
How do we save the soul of microfinance?
3 December 2014
David Hulme and Mathilde Maitrot on how microfinance can still be saved from moral bankruptcy
Posted in All Posts, Extra! | Tagged BRAC, Islami Bank Bangladesh, microfinance, microfinance institutions, South Asia
'Bottom-up' development in post-neoliberal Latin America
7 May 2014
Milford Bateman suggests that new forms of industrial policy are (re)emerging.
Posted in All Posts, Features | Tagged Antioquia, BNDES, Bottom-up, Brazil, chile, Codelco, de-industrialization, Ecuador, import substitution industrialization, industrial policy, industrial structure, informalization, Inter-American Development Bank, latin america, Medellín, microfinance, Milford Bateman, post-neoliberal, primitivization, SMEs
Think bigger
1 December 2011
Women in poor countries need resources to tap their entrepreneurial potential and ease the path to taking small ventures and building them up, according to Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Posted in All Posts, Features | Tagged Afghanistan, Bloomberg, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bpeace, building better communities, business development, Centre for Women's Business, conflict, Council on Foreign Relations, development workers in the field, economic productivity, éducation, El Salvador, entrepreneurial potential, environment, female entrepreneurs, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, gender equality, Ghana, Global, Goldman Sachs 10000 Women, Industrial Development, International Centre for Research on Women, international monetary fund, issue 8, Liberia, Making It magazine, market opportunities, Mercy Corps, microfinance, Peace Dividend Trust, post-conflict, poverty, reduced mobility, Rwanda, small ventures, social and cultural constraints, social investment, technical skills, UN, UNIDO, United Nations, United States, US Secretary Hillary Clinton, women
Promoting industry's innovation capacities
1 February 2011
How making industrial processes energy- and water-efficient, resilient, and sustainable, is essential to meet the industrial objectives of tomorrow
Posted in All Posts, Policy Brief | Tagged adaptation, Africa, AREED, Asia, Canadá, capacity, Centre for Electronic Governance, change, Chavuma, China, clean energy, competitiveness, design, development, dialogue, Egypt, energy, enterprise, Enterprise Europe Network, entrepreneur, EU, Europe, experience, finance, industrial, industry, information, innovation, institutional practices, International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Institute for Software Technology, knowledge, local banks, Lynn Mytelka, Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre, Macao SAR, microfinance, microsoft, network, organizational structure, process of learning, Republic of Korea, research, SMEs, sustainable, technology, the Netherlands, UK, UN Asia Pacific Center for ICT Development, UNDP, UNEP, United Nations, university, UNU Joint Activities Fund, UNU-IIST, UNU-MERIT, US, water-efficient, Zambia
The power of the community
12 November 2010
Milford Bateman argues that it is community-driven financial institutions rather than microfinance that can help poor people move out of poverty
Posted in All Posts, Features | Tagged 18th century, agriculture, aid, banks, Basque, Brazil, business, Caja Laboral Popular, CLP, community, cooperative banks, credit institutions, economy, emergencies, enterprise development, Europe, funds, global financial crisis, governance, history, income, innovation, International, italy, job, labour, ldc, least developed countries, London, Mali, microdebt, microfinance, Milford Bateman, Nigeria, Overseas Development Institute, Oxfam America, poverty, privately owned, Second World War, social, South Africa, Spain, sustainable, UK, WWII
Does microfinance work?
8 August 2010
With all the media hype surrounding new online lending platforms, such as Kiva.org, the time is right to ask if microfinance really is an effective poverty reduction tool
Posted in All Posts, Hot Topic | Tagged agriculture, Anis Chowdhury, Australia, debt, éducation, government, Grameen Bank, India, labour, liquidity-constrained societies, MFI, microfinance, microlender, Mohammad Yunus, Philippines, poverty, public health, rural industry, SME, sustainability, UN-DESA, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, University of Western Sydney, working poor, World Bank
The private sector and development
6 August 2010
There is growing recognition that the potential contribution of the private sector to development far outstrips the potential impact of aid.
Posted in All Posts, Policy Brief | Tagged Africa, banking sector, climate, climate change, developing countries, development, Fair Trade, Issue 3, microenterprises, microfinance, Millennium Development Goals, offset, Overseas Development Institute, poverty reduction, private sector, social responsibility, Washington Consensus


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New Public Call announced along with official allocation of 1.6 million BAM for financial support to 10 agricultural holdings
The European Union's EU4Business project granted financial support worth a total of 1.6 million BAM to 10 agricultural holdings, who will co-fund their activities with more than 1.3 million BAM. Official grant awards ceremony organised on 29 July in Sarajevo was attended by representatives of state and entity ministries in charge of agriculture, and marked a significant milestone in continued EU support to competitive agriculture and food production and creation of new jobs.
"This event concretely shows that the European Union is ready to support farmers and rural population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We need you to work with us and we want you to join the European Union. In the EU, farmers are the backbone of the economy and they should be the backbone of BiH. We have provided 3 million euros in grants through EU4Business and have in the pipeline 30 million euros for rural development and agriculture, one of the most important sectors, that has been long neglected. We hope this will encourage you to adjust to EU standards and strengthen the sector because it should not be forgotten that 60% of citizens live in rural areas," said Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Head of the Delegation of the European Union and EU Special Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Darko Tost, Executive Director of Agro Mašić d.o.o. Gradačac, one of the EU4Business grant beneficiaries, pointed out that farmers, with support of such projects, have the will, courage and willingness to cope with the risks they face in achieving competitiveness on the domestic and foreign markets.
Sukhrob Koshmukhamedov, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. stated: "There are 125,000 registered farms, with roughly 35% of the agricultural exports going to the EU. With the official commencement of 10 investments and the new public call launched today we aim to jointly support modernization of production and strengthening of competitiveness through the introduction of new technologies and innovations in the agri-food sector". Koshmukhamedov emphasized importance of partnership with the EU Delegation, state, entity and Brčko District ministries and agencies, as well as GIZ and ILO, in making a shared vision of stronger and resilient agricultural sector come true.
On the same day, European Union's EU4Business project also launched a 2.6 million BAM worth public call which will support investments in processing and marketing for projects related to vegetable, fruit, grape, olives, dairy and meet sub-sectors. All interested companies, cooperatives, entrepreneurs dealing with the food production and processing can access the public call via webpages of EU4Business www.eu4business.ba and UNDP www.ba.undp.org.
Dušan Nešković, Assistant Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized that the European Union is following the priorities set out in the Rural Development Strategy and that a part of the financial support for BiH is already visible in the field. He also added that public calls with more money for processing and rural development will follow and will be important for strengthening of both the agricultural activities and the corresponding institutional mechanisms.
The EU4Business project is jointly funded by the European Union (EUR 15 million) and the Federal Republic of Germany (EUR 1.1 million). The project is jointly implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Labor Organization (ILO), from April 2018 to March 2022.

subset: commoncrawl


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Scandicool in Denmark
With the We Are Next campaign, Zalando fosters its close ties with Scandinavia.
On August 6, Zalando kicked off the new campaign, "We Are Next" in Copenhagen. The campaign features five young Scandinavian talents: artist and model Blue Lindeberg, actor Valter Skarsgård, musicians Hugo Helmig and Tomine Harket, and budding filmmaker Mingus Reedus. The talents are all on the verge of establishing their careers and fearlessly stepping into the spotlight. Four of the five talents were present at the event in Copenhagen.
Besides engaging with younger customer segments through the local talents, the campaign aims to showcase the broad range of Scandinavian brands, which have joined Zalando over recent years. Zalando continuously strives to offer the favorite brands and local heroes of each of its markets. Director of Northern Europe at Zalando, Kenneth Melchior, opened the event by expressing his excitement about this first all-Nordic campaign in Zalando's history. "We have a lot of great models, designers and photographers in Scandinavia, and we managed to gather some of the most talented in one campaign."
Within the clean and modern Scandinavian surroundings of the National Gallery of Denmark, guests could enjoy the vernissage of the campaign images. The campaign is shot by supermodel Helena Christensen, who introduced the images by stating: "I knew this was a job I would creatively feel inspired by. I like curious minds, and kids and young people have that; they look at life and others from a fresh, open perspective. I hope to never lose my own curiosity." During the following lunch, the Danish singer-songwriter, Hugo Helmig, entertained with his hit single, "Please Don't Lie" and his brand new single, "Wild".
Scandinavian journalists and influencers were present to celebrate and record the role that Scandinavian design and style plays, also outside of the Nordic countries. For Zalando, the aim of the We Are Next campaign is to bring the "Scandicool" style inspiration to the rest of Europe, where the Scandi style has already been on-trend in recent years. Zalando has a large variety of Scandinavian fashion brands, which are in high demand, not only in the Scandinavian markets, but all across Europe.


text: Poignant, romantic, and mesmerizing, writer/director Woody Allen's latest masterpiece centers around Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), a former New York socialite teetering on an emotional tightrope, balancing between her troubled east coast past and a fresh start in San Francisco. Having moved into her sister's humble apartment, Jasmine ricochets between the tumultuous acceptance of her new limitations, and the dreams of reclaiming her past life's glamour. Join a powerful cast including Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K., ...WATCH


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8.6/10 Trustpilot
Situated on some of the most stunning beaches in Cancun, the 5-star Seadust Cancun Family Resort is perfect for all inclusive family getaways in sunny Mexico. The resort boasts a small water park with a Treasure Island theme, a Kids' Club and eight great-tasting restaurants.
Rooms at Seadust Cancun Family Resort are comfortable and spacious, so you'll have plenty of room for the whole family. They feature a HD Smart TV, a coffee maker, minibar and a private bathroom with a hairdryer.
Get your vacation started with a splash in the four pools! The little ones will have their very own area to enjoy which includes a water park with toboggans. If peace, quiet and essential relaxation are right up your street, why not spend the day at the spa where you can indulge in a range of tranquil treatments. But if you love an active vacation, there's no need to worry. The resort has loads of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. There are adult-only plans as well as clubs for the younger ones to make the most of. Head out onto the sports courts if you're feeling competitive or have a game of mini golf. There are plenty of dining options at Seadust Cancun Family Resort. From the adults only Atlantis to the New York style Deli Manhattan, the kids will even have their own buffet at Carrousel.
Thanks to the resort's seafront location in Cancun, you can spend many days swimming in the Caribbean Sea on great beaches like Delfines Beach and Kukulkan Beach. The Mayan Museum, Ruinas del Rey and Coral Market are also nearby the resort, if you fancy a step back into Mexican history and culture.
Deluxe rooms (3 adults and 1 child or 2 adults and 2 children) have 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds, sofa bed, air conditioning, flat-screen cable TV, iron & ironing board, hairdryer, bathroom with bath and shower and balcony with ocean view.
Also available: Deluxe rooms for sole use; Club rooms sleeping 2 adults with double whirlpool, walk-in shower, and coffee-maker; Family rooms with partial ocean view sleeping up to 2 adults and 3 children with 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds and bunk beds.
Food & Drink:
Please note: Club rooms are adult only. Guests staying in these rooms have access to a private lounge for breakfast, receive a complimentary Cancún Lagoon Cruise (once per stay, operates Mondays only) receive fruit and wine in their room on arrival, have use of bathrobes during their stay and a mini-bar in room restocked with soft drinks, beer and bottled water. Guests over the age of 18 years can use the facilities at its sister hotel, the Golden Parnassus (transport included).


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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'The Okie Corral' started by u4ea, Feb 18, 2010.
Who's gonna say it??
I heard about this, and someone said 1000 yards, and I was like now way, not possible to bounce back that far.
But, if was only 100 yards, then yes, bounce back would be possible.
It seems some people on YouTube are claiming it is fake. I dunno, it sure looks real to me. Is this possible? I've never shot a sniper rifle.
Yup, it's been posted a few times my friend, no harm no fowl though
If its fake, its was done well. I love how you can hear the round or fragment whistle as it comes back.
I'll keep settin' em up, you keep bringing 'em home!
+1... I have probably watched this video a thousand times since it first came out, trying to catch a mess up, but I really think that it's authentic.
LOL. Looks like I am the idiot today. Carry on.
Nope,......you just posted something that some of us have seen posted about 50 times.
It happens,.........no worries!
Has anyone seen the one with the DEA Agent?
It is possible for bullets to bounce back. I've been hit by a 10mm round off a bowling pin (ankle no injury) and had a friend take a 45 acp in the neck (again no injury). Since targets are usually directly in front of you and perpendicular to the impact path I would expect the video to be real.


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If and is in the fourth quadrant, find
We have already learned some properties of the special angles, such as the conversion from radians to degrees. We can also calculate sines and cosines of the special angles using the Pythagorean Identity and our knowledge of triangles.
First, we will look at angles of or as shown in [link] . A triangle is an isosceles triangle, so the x- and y -coordinates of the corresponding point on the circle are the same. Because the x- and y -values are the same, the sine and cosine values will also be equal.
At , which is 45 degrees, the radius of the unit circle bisects the first quadrantal angle . This means the radius lies along the line A unit circle has a radius equal to 1. So, the right triangle formed below the line has sides and and a radius = 1. See [link] .
From the Pythagorean Theorem we get
Substituting we get
Combining like terms we get
And solving for we get
In quadrant I,
At or 45 degrees,
If we then rationalize the denominators, we get
Therefore, the coordinates of a point on a circle of radius at an angle of are
Next, we will find the cosine and sine at an angle of or . First, we will draw a triangle inside a circle with one side at an angle of and another at an angle of as shown in [link] . If the resulting two right triangles are combined into one large triangle, notice that all three angles of this larger triangle will be as shown in [link] .
Because all the angles are equal, the sides are also equal. The vertical line has length and since the sides are all equal, we can also conclude that or Since ,
And since in our unit circle ,
Using the Pythagorean Identity, we can find the cosine value.
The coordinates for the point on a circle of radius at an angle of are At (60°), the radius of the unit circle, 1, serves as the hypotenuse of a 30-60-90 degree right triangle, as shown in [link] . Angle has measure At point we draw an angle with measure of We know the angles in a triangle sum to so the measure of angle is also Now we have an equilateral triangle. Because each side of the equilateral triangle is the same length, and we know one side is the radius of the unit circle, all sides must be of length 1.
The measure of angle is 30°. So, if double, angle is 60°. is the perpendicular bisector of so it cuts in half. This means that is the radius, or Notice that is the x -coordinate of point which is at the intersection of the 60° angle and the unit circle. This gives us a triangle with hypotenuse of 1 and side of length
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Starward Limited Edition Wine Cask Malted Barley Spirit
STARWARD was born from a simple idea, borrowing knowledge from the past and marrying it with the best of what Australia has to offer this iconic spirit category: its barley, its barrels, and its climate. It is the temperamental climate that allows STARWARD distillers to take advantage of Melbourne's 'four seasons in one day' climate to age their spirits in different wine casks – a process that founder David Vitale calls 'elemental maturing'.
A limited-edition spirit drink (too young to gain its whisky badge) from the Starward distillery in Australia. Aged in wine barrels from the famed Barossa Valley region, this has aromas of Shiraz, marzipan, plum and hazelnuts, followed by flavours of dark fruits, liquorice and chocolate-coated coffee beans.
Starward Malted Barley Spirit
To find out more about this whiskey go to https://starward.com.au/
To see our full range of spirits go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/?s=spirits
David Vitale, our founder, started off with a simple vision; create a uniquely Australian whisky we can offer the world with pride. Born and bred in Melbourne, he was inspired to create a spirit that reflects his home town – from its culture to it's famed 'four seasons in a day' temperature swings. It is a city surrounded by some of Australia's leading wine regions – all within a day's drive – and is regarded as the microbrewing capital of Australia.
It seems obvious now that all the ingredients for a modern Australian whisky were close by. But, in 2007, when he first started, the idea of an approachable, affordable Australian whisky – served neat or as a cocktail with food – was a big leap of faith. While Australia had a well-established small-scale ultra-premium whisky scene, David pioneered an affordable, approachable and distinctly Australian whisky.
The result is STARWARD. A modern Australian whisky, elementally matured for three "Melbourne years" in Australian wine barrels, that pushes the boundaries of what whisky can be.
£58.00 a bottle
Out of stock
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Critical Skunk was created by the well-known breeder, popular as Mr. Nice Seed Bank. After crossing the cult-classic Afghani and Skunk #1, Critical Skunk has gained a wide public admiration for its smooth blend of laid-back relaxation and happy vibes.
Critical Skunk Specifications: A Quick Breakdown
Type: 50% Sativa – 50% Indica but leaning more on its Indica character
Flowering Period: 6 – 9 weeks
Climate: warm climate but lower temperatures are also welcome
Yield: High; 3-6 oz. per square foot
Flavors: a fierce mixture of funky, skunky, fuel infusion with a distinct earthy body and hints of spices
THC Level: up to 19%
Height: Medium
Growing Difficulty: Moderate; not well-suited for beginners
What are the Effects of Critical Skunk?
The effects of Critical Skunk start straight in the head, clearing every trace of mind clutter and intrusive thoughts.
Gradually, the high embraces the entire body. A feeling of happiness and well-being promotes deep conversations, switching to brief moments of introspection.
Feeling creative and aroused, many users report to experience an increase in sexuality, too.
However, higher dosages are less likely to put you in the mood for love. Expect to get the munchies soon after the first onsets of the high pass by.
What are the Medical Benefits of Critical Skunk?
Treating stress and eliminating pains are at the very top of the list of medical benefits which Critical Skunk provides.
The later onsets of the high promise an escape from insomnia, too.
Cramps and depression are also reported to be well-address with the use of this strain.
What are the Negative Effects you can expect from Critical Skunk?
The most common negative effects you may stumble across after consuming Critical Skunk is the feeling of dryness in the mouth.
Your eyes can feel itchy or bloodshot, too but that's rarer.
Depending on your personal prudence to marijuana, dizziness and/or paranoia might occur.
Tips for Growing Critical Skunk
Critical Skunk marijuana plants are a blessing for cannabis enthusiasts, promising excellent yields and quality.
The two major concerns you want to keep in mind include keeping track of the humidity, as the fat buds tend to be very susceptible to molds.
On the other hand, the strong odor of this strain might be an issue, too.
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A pioneer in the Philippine spa and wellness industry, Nurture Wellness Village is a Philippine Department of Tourism accredited resort which has been a consistent recipient of Trip Advisor's Certificate of Excellence (2014-2016) as one of the Best Hotels and attractions in Tagaytay. Tagaytay City is known as a favorite vacation destination due to its cool climate all year round. Selected to be an APEC 2015 destination, Nurture has been named One of the 28 Most Relaxing Spas in Asia by CNN Go and one of the Top Seven Spas of the Philippines by Asia Spa Magazine. Located deep amidst coffee orchards, Nurture offers a distinctive brand of "Ecotherapy" or healing by and through nature. It provides a unique Filipino wellness experience, from its unique Ifugao native huts to its Filipino themed décor to its therapeutic Filipino themed spa treatments, to its Filipino fusion cuisine in its restaurant.
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Destinations like Las Vegas, Hawaii, and the Grand Canyon are on the "must-see" bucket list of many travelers. Check out the Pinterest boards Maverick has put together for the best travel tips, fun facts, and destination information.
With so much of the world to explore picking a travel destination takes some planning. These Pinterest boards focus on locations like the Grand Canyon, destination weddings, and "can't miss" spots in Hawaii like the Hana Rainforest.
- VALLEY OF FIRE: Experience the beauty of the red rock formations at the Valley of Fire. Maverick Helicopters chooses the most romantic locations for your special day.
- THE VALLEY ISLE: Get a taste of the beauty and culture of Maui including insider guides, a look at all the great food, and hidden spots you should see.
- DESTINATION TRAVEL: Discover helpful information about the Grand Canyon like which rim you should visit and how you can get to the canyon from Las Vegas in four hours or less!
Las Vegas has a rich history. With so much to see and do more than one Pinterest board couldn't encompass it all. From dining, to sightseeing tours and show packages, these boards have everything you need to plan the perfect Vegas vacation.
- LAS VEGAS STRIP IN ALL ITS GLORY: Enjoy the beauty of the Las Vegas Strip complete with aerial views from Maverick's helicopter tour.
- VEGAS INSIDER: Travel hacks, maps, and guides for Sin City that every visitor should know.
- FINGER LICKIN GOOD: Vegas food guides and locations detailing some of the best places to grab a bite in Las Vegas.
- HAPPY HOUR: Looking for the best spots in Vegas for drink specials and a night on the town? This is the board for you.
Looking for more great content? Try some of our other blogs for information and insider tips.
- Vegas Helicopter Tour: See What Our Guests Are Saying
- Best Time to Book a Grand Canyon Sightseeing Tour
- The Maverick Difference – How Our Customer Service Stands Above the Rest
Convenient travel tips, ideas, and hacks to make your next getaway the very best it can be.
- AMONG MY SOUVENIRS: Whether you're packing for your whole family or just yourself, these guides will help you prep, pack, and plan.
- FAMILY LIFE: The travel tips you need for your next family vacation.


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Putting things into perspective
There is a feeling that most voters have entrenched themselves, built walls around them, accepted the status quo and simply engaged in a war of attrition that makes no sense.
If there is one thing I do not quite understand in this crossfire war is the gullibility on both sides. The tensions are so high I struggle to understand what is really happening. That in itself should be worrying some people.
I cannot share the same enthusiasm and blinded passion as many upon the call of the two political parties' battle cries.
On one side we have the Labour Party, which professes to have all the economic solutions and to have brought unimaginable prosperity. And on the other side, the Nationalist party, which has offered to save this country from corruption.
Now let us put things into perspective.
The Labour Party under Joseph Muscat has accelerated and opened new frontiers for business. It has given the construction industry a green card and invited it to have a bite at Malta's townscape and countryside. Everyone has indulged and the big estate agencies – even those that have taken an 'uptight' stance against Labour – have had a gorgeous killing spree.
They have done away with red tape and speed-tracked projects. And yes, they have created more of an equal playing field.
From a left-wing party it has turned into a neo-liberal pro-business party.
Labour has also been blessed by low oil prices, high tourism figures and an open-arms policy to investors.
The PN was also blessed with a string of cock-ups, namely the Panama papers that revealed the companies of Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.
Now, the companies were opened in a tax haven and – though there were no transactions – the secrecy and coincidence led to recriminations and accusations that the two, a minister and a chief of staff were up to something sinister: kickbacks.
All this would have gone away had the Prime Minister accepted their resignation or pushed them to resign. Mizzi resigned from his deputy leadership bid but was still assigned a ministry without portfolio.
The Panama papers stuck like a sore thumb throughout the last twelve months of the government's administration.
All through this time, the questions about another Panamanian company – Egrant – kept coming. The issue being, who was behind this company.
Brian Tonna from the audit firm Nexia BT declared it was a shell company and that it was his. The opposition basically called him a liar. But in April, a whistleblower claimed that the beneficiary was Michelle Muscat, wife of the prime minister. A claim created by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, loved by the PN diehards but derided by so many others.
What happened next is history or is lost in translation.
Magistrate Aaron Bugeja has heard most of the testimonies and searched the offices of Nexia BT and Pilatus. He has even engaged a foreign firm to look into databases and there are conflicting rumours as to whether the report is ready or not.
What is sure is that the Prime Minister has put his head on a block and insisted that it is untrue and a fabrication and he has invited Simon Busuttil to take paternity of his claims and resign if the allegation is found to be false.
Nonetheless this has left the Nationalist Party ample opportunity to claim that Castille is home to a criminal gang and that this is the most corrupt government Malta has ever had.
The whole episode in itself has unleashed a resurgence of old wounds as well as new ones. Old flames have been rekindled that have exposed the old hatred between the followers of the two parties.
Social media has been inundated with insults, abuse, vulgarities, lies, accusations and hateful messages.
The divide has widened and the arguments no longer make sense.
There is a feeling that most voters have entrenched themselves, built walls around them, accepted the status quo and simply engaged in a war of attrition that makes no sense.
The proposals have not only been sidelined but have been entirely lost in translation.
In a small country where the tensions ride high, the impression is that everyone has something to lose.
What we have surely lost is the serenity and tranquility and this is evident among friends, family and communities – even places of work.
The blame cannot be apportioned to one side. It is the fault of the political class, which cannot imagine how redundant this kind of situation is. But memories do not evaporate. Many people are still unwilling to forgive the Nationalists or trust them and the same argument stands for the PN or Labourites.
Elections in Malta are serious matters. But they should not be. That they are, is because most people depend so much on the benevolence of politicians.
It is a sad moment. And I cannot tell you how happy I am that it will be over so soon.


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I love this movie.
I love the Japanese culture. It is so simple, yet the knowledge of them so complex. They are smart and cunning, not to froget extrememly handsome. I imagine what it would be like to be in Japan, for they have everything new and also everything old. I ponder and ponder and ponder. I came to this conclusion: I am to go there one day, hopefully one day soon. I pray this, for this is my very wish!


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3. Myth: We need GMOs to control weeds and pests.
In reality, GMOs have created severe problems of pests. The seeds produced by this technology have the capacity to either withstand heavy dosages of chemical pesticides or to create their own pesticide inside plant.
Approximately 154million acres of genetically engineered soy, sugar beets, canola, alfalfa and cotton were developed to resist chemical herbicide sprays. Nearly 1/3rd of that area presently quays superweeds, that are not even killed by GMOs chemical.
4. Myth: GMOs are safe for the environment.
GMOs are greatly influencing several species such as Monarch butterflies. Glyphosate chemical has reduced the reproduction of Monarch butterflies as this chemical destroys milkweed plants that are the only food for baby Monarch butterflies.
Neonicotinoid insecticides are coated in GMOs that stay inside the pollen. These neonicotinoids cause neurological issues in bees.


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We have done several multi-day treks...Mont Blanc, Everest, Routeburn, Milford, Kepler, Abel Tasman...but had never heard of the W until the daughter and her husband of college friends Ken and Susan did it last year. Vicki, the trekker among us, was smitten, and I certainly knew of the Torres del Paine, one of the world's great alpine scenes. So we hauled all of our backapacka gear with us to South America and did the W in a leisurely 7 days and 6 nights. We enjoyed fair weather most of the days we hiked, chilly (!), but dry and with little of the legendary Patagonian wind. It rained two of our nights in the national park and then throughout our final day's hike-out to the catamaran and bus back to Puerto Natales. Very lucky. There is much literature in print and on the web about the W, but perhaps the best source of information is the daily 90 minute talk given at Erratic Rock (a hostel/cafe/gear rental shop in Puerto Natales). The young German woman who does this is excellent on all aspects of the trek, transportation, weather, gear, food, the reservations system, etc. And very entertaining too.
|It's called the W because of the trail's shape; alas, it's not a loop,
and there is much back-tracking
|At the Torres del Paine mirador
|What if John Goodman had played Saruman?


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Do you think you're a good listener? How about a "deep listener?" Even if you say yes, we guarantee that you can learn a lot from our guest on the latest episode of YAFPNW.
Sandi Bragar, CFP® and partner at wealth management firm Aspiriant, has just about perfected the art of listening and creating meaningful dialogues with clients. Sandi and Matt discuss what deep listening entails, why the first meeting with a client is important, and much more.
The client experience and first meetings
When does the client experience begin? You might think it's when they sit down to talk to you or when they first enter your office. However, it starts before they're even technically a client. Whether they find you through a Google search or thanks to a referral from a friend, that's when the client experience starts. And that's where we need to start making our clients feel comforted, secure, and heard. That's how long and fruitful relationships with clients begin.
"We want to make sure that they know off the bat that we're there for them, that they're important as individuals and as people," said Sandi. "We're there to serve them."
The first meeting with a new client is the most important and the most exciting, Sandi said. Her three-step approach helps to build a trusting relationship with clients and allows her to learn what they want, what their values are, and how she can help them. Letting clients share their emotions, explaining what the planning process will cover, and in-depth discovery is key to a first meeting.
Planners may think that asking questions and ticking off items on their agenda is the best way to glean information from clients, but that's not the case. Framing questions the right way and deep listening are much more effective.
The art of deep listening
What is deep listening?
"To me, when you're not listening deeply, you're thinking more about what you're going to say next while the other person you're talking to is speaking," said Sandi. "So, effectively you're not listening at all."
And if you're not really listening to your clients, you can't have a productive conversation that will help the both of you.
Deep listening means having a curious mindset. You want to know all about this person or this couple. What's important to them? What makes them tick? It also means asking broad, open-ended questions that spark great dialogue. "Who are the most important people in your life? What are you passionate about?"
Finally, deep listening goes beyond listening to words. It also means paying attention to a client's body language, tone of voice, or level of engagement. Are they sitting up straight and talking a lot with their hands? Are they sitting rigidly with their arms crossed and avoiding eye contact?
Listening and paying attention gives you so much insight into relationships with your clients: if a meeting is going well based on their body language and words, how they're feeling about the agenda, what their values are, and so on.
Helping clients by paying attention
Deep listening is essential to being a good planner. And it can be really tough keeping your personal opinions in check, as well as offering solutions to your clients right off the bat instead of listening. Truly listening takes practice, but it's one of the best ways you can help your clients.
"Our job isn't to know all the answers. And there might be situations that we're in that make us uncomfortable when we ask questions," said Sandi. "But getting outside of your comfort zone will allow you to grow that much faster and be a much better planner sooner."
Learn more about deep listening, Sandi's career, and asking clients the right questions by tuning in to the full episode!
[tweet_box design="box_10″ url="https://buff.ly/3cb7h9V" float="none" excerpt="Our job is not to judge our clients. Our job is to listen and to understand…There's a lot of room for judgment, but we have to stay away from it. That is not our job. – @sandibragar on #YAFPNW"]Our job is not to judge our clients. Our job is to listen and to understand…There's a lot of room for judgment, but we have to stay away from it. That is not our job. – @sandibragar on #YAFPNW 203[/tweet_box]
What You'll Learn:
- How Sandi began her career
- What Sandi does at Aspiriant
- What the client experience entails
- The importance of the first meeting with a client
- Framing conversations and creating dialogues
- What "deep listening" means
- Gauging interest and success with clients
- Struggles as a new planner
- Working with new planners
Show Notes:
In this episode of YAFPNW, Matt Fizell, CFP®, and Sandi Bragar, CFP®, discuss:
- Her work at Aspiriant
- "Honoring the man who forever changed the financial planning profession" MarketWatch on Dick Wagner
Follow Sandi on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @sandibragar.
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Episode Transcript
Matt: All right. Thank you everybody for joining the podcast today. Today I have Sandi Bragar with me who is the managing director at Aspiriant. Sandi, welcome to the podcast.
Sandi: Hi Matt, thanks so much for having me. I'm delighted to be here.
Matt: Yeah, it's great to take a little break from all the COVID-19 panic out there. So, it should be a fun conversation today. But before we jump into talking about communicating with clients, why don't you give me a brief background into your career path and what you do with your firm today?
Sandi: Sure. So, I will be celebrating my 21st anniversary at the firm in a couple months. So, I'll be legally allowed to drink at company events, which is really exciting. I found my way to Aspiriant by following my passion. When I learned about financial planning as a college student in the nineties, I knew immediately that's what I wanted to do. The idea of being able to help people make really good financial decisions just really appealed to me.
Sandi: And so, I quickly put myself on a path to get there. Rather than going right into planning after college, I had an opportunity through the business economics program I was in, to work for Ernst & Young. And so I took that opportunity. I thought getting a CPA credential next to my name would just help me in the world. So, I spent three years auditing companies, which was so boring. I had no passion at all for it, but I learned a lot of really great things.
Sandi: And I had started my career in San Francisco, so as soon as I got my audit hours I stopped working for Ernst & young and I pursued another passion of mine, which was to move to New York City. I'd always wanted to live there as a child. And so, I had my auditing hours. I didn't know anyone in New York, but I convinced a friend to move there with me and I decided that I was going to be a financial planner in New York.
Sandi: And I had come with a bunch of magazines where I had highlighted the name of every single financial planner at that time in New York City that was ever quoted in personal financial magazines. And I called each of them up and organized informational interviews. And I was so disappointed Matt, because all of them wanted to offer me career opportunities, but they could only do so if I could bring in business to serve that. That was the message I was getting.
Sandi: And I was in a new city, a new profession. I didn't know anyone and I had no idea how I could survive and really make a go at the career I most wanted. So I begrudgingly went back to uncle Ernst and asked for a job in the tax department and was able to secure a role in the personal tax department, which really was a wonderful experience for my career ultimately as a planner. I learned so much about the tax code, way more than I ever wanted to know, but it's really come in handy.
Sandi: And so, I did that for a couple of years. Got New York City out of my system, decided to move back to San Francisco. And because I was working for a partner at the time who was just, our styles were very different and I wasn't a happy camper, and by that time I'd done a lot in networking within the financial planning field, I called someone that I knew who was working at the firm that's now Aspiriant and got myself a job interview there. And the rest has been history. It's been a wonderful path.
Sandi: Today in the firm I wear two hats. One hat is working directly with clients. I work with about 40 individuals and couples. They're all high net worth and have very complex situations. The other hat I wear in our organization is as a managing director in our planning strategy and research group. That's a mouthful. So we just call it PS&R. And at Aspiriant PS&R is responsible for everything related to the work we do for clients outside of what the investment team is doing.
Sandi: So, we're in charge of the client experience, we're in charge of making sure all of our wealth managers across the firm are well-versed in all the planning techniques. We come up with positions on certain topics should clients have mortgages, when do clients need long-term care insurance, those sorts of things PS&R is involved with. And so, I have a lot of fun in both of my roles being able to think and help clients directly and then also all the clients we serve across the firm indirectly in that PS&R role.
Matt: Yeah, that's certainly a lot going on there. And I'd really like to dig into, what is it that you're looking to provide in a client experience? I think that's one thing that often gets overlooked, right? We talk about investments and all these topics that we get to talk about, but what exactly do you mean by client experience?
Sandi: So for us, the client experience starts when the client first reaches out to Aspiriant before they're even a client, right? Whether they're coming to us through a referral from a friend or someone they know who might or might not be a client of the firm or whether they're coming to us through one of our marketing-driven efforts and they're just coming through the website. We want to make sure that they know off the bat that we're there for them, that they're important as individuals and as people.
Sandi: And when they eventually come and walk in one of the doors of our offices, we want them to feel really comforted. We go to great lengths at Aspiriant to make sure that the clients know we're in business because they exist. We're there to serve them. And so, it's really important to us that we have close relationships with our clients, we know not only what their financial objectives are, but really what are their values and what's most important to them in life and how can we best serve them and help them realize all of the components of their vision?
Matt: When you're looking at that first meeting, what is the most important objective in that meeting and how are you going about to complete that objective?
Sandi: Yeah. So, the first meeting for me is the most important and the most exciting because we're really kicking off an engagement that we expect will be decades long. Right? So it's new, it's fun. And the overall objective that we have is to really learn who the clients are and start beginning to build a very trusting relationship with them. And Matt, as we think about the client experience in that first meeting at Aspiriant, we've broken it down into three different steps. And I'll tell you each of the steps and then I can speak more specifically about them.
Sandi: The first step is to acknowledge that the clients might be coming to us feeling some strong emotions. So, we want to acknowledge that with a client. Step number two is to frame the conversation in that initial meeting so that the client has some expectations of our process and what we're going to cover as we continue through the initial planning process. And step three is the initial in-depth discovery process. And that really is the key to the first meeting. That's where we spend the most amount of time. But the other two steps we think are really important lead ups to the discovery.
Sandi: So, let me talk about each one. So, with the first step, acknowledging the clients might be coming to us feeling some strong emotions at that meeting. This is a moment, at the very outset of the meeting, once we've greeted the clients, we've gotten them really comfortable in the room. We say things to acknowledge that other clients have told us that when they've met with us for the first time, they felt some strong emotions and that's perfectly normal. And so, if you're experiencing emotions too, just know it's normal.
Sandi: And we invite you to share during this meeting and any other meeting that we have together, the emotions that you might be feeling so that we can be aware and we invite you to tell us what we can do to make you feel even more comfortable. And the reason why we do all this Matt is because at Aspiriant every other year we gather together as a company. So, there's about 200 of us spread across the country in 11 different offices. We gather together for two days.
Sandi: The purpose of the gathering is to connect as a team, to learn together, to socialize, to celebrate. And the last morning of achieve is my absolute favorite because we always invite clients to come in and tell their story of being an Aspiriant client. And at the very first achieve where we had invited clients to come tell their story, the couple who came was a couple that I serve, that I've worked with now for the full two decades that I've been at the firm.
Sandi: And I learned something new at that achieve that I'd never known about them before, which was that when they came to us for that very initial meeting, the wife, and I'll call her Jill, the wife shared that she was feeling really nervous. Jill had been the CFO of their family for decades. Her husband, I'll call him Jack, just to be cute about it, was a CEO of a public company. He was really busy running the company. It was her job to make the household run, including the household finances.
Sandi: And she was concerned, she shared, at that first meeting that she would be judged that maybe she wasn't doing the right things, or making the right decisions, or that she didn't know as much as she needed to know. And that really struck me because I remember that first meeting and it seemed like a perfectly normal meeting to me. I had no idea she was having such strong emotional concerns. And so, I've realized over time talking to more and more clients that this is normal. They don't know what to expect. For us, it's business as usual. We're in the client service business talking to clients about personal finances, but for them it's a brand new experience.
Sandi: And so, we now start by just acknowledging that with clients and inviting them to tell us about their feelings if they have any.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's so interesting and I've certainly seen that as I've progressed through my career that we're so excited to get to the data and a financial plan can make perfect sense on paper, but if we don't understand how our client's feeling, they might not be able to logically process that they're going to be okay.
Sandi: That's right.
Matt: Have you may experienced that as well?
Sandi: Yeah. I've had clients who just like Jill that I was explaining or that I was just telling you about, have had that experience. I've had other clients come in that they're really excited and that they feel like everything is great. I've had other clients come in and they're fearful that their resources just aren't going to be sufficient enough to achieve their ambitions or they're really concerned because they've done everything financially for the family and they have concerns of what happens if something happens to them? Will their spouse and other family members be able to pick up pieces?
Sandi: So, there is a lot of emotional stuff going on. To me, I find that at the stage I am in my career very interesting and sometimes more interesting than some of the planning aspects. And I really do think that we as planners need to allow clients the opportunity to share how they're feeling so that we can respond and we can keep that in mind because those feelings are a big part of the financial planning process.
Matt: What is your process of developing the questions to ask and what are some of the questions that you found really help your clients let that emotion out and help you do your best job as a practitioner to get them to take action on what they want to take action on?
Sandi: So, that comes into step three of that initial meeting, which is the in-depth discovery process, but let me first say that our second step after we've acknowledged the client's emotions, normalized it and invite them to share them with us is to just to frame all the work that we're doing. Because I think clients need that framework before we can launch into asking questions and learning about who they are. They need to know why we're asking these questions, why we need to know the information.
Sandi: So, after we've given the clients that overview, then we start the discovery process in depth. And for us, it really is about asking a lot of questions, but I think the art here, Matt, is to ask the questions in a way that the clients don't feel like they're just being asked a bunch of questions. Right? The goal is to have a dialogue with them. And the overarching objective of that dialogue is for us to understand who are these people, what values do they have? What's most important to them? What's the purpose of their money and how do they like to communicate? How can we best work with them to get to the objectives that they want?
Sandi: And so, in order to do all that, we will frame the conversation with the clients in four different categories. And this is just something that we do Aspiriant. It helps guide the conversation and help give the client some order. Because I don't know if you've ever done this, Matt, if you sit down with someone, you say, "Hey, what are your goals and objectives?"
Matt: I don't know.
Sandi: It's hard to answer that question, right? I don't know. I've never thought about it. Right? So, we'll frame it and say, "Hey, client, we really want to know a lot about you and different aspects of your life. So, we're going to start by exploring what your current lifestyle is like and if and how you might want it to change. We want to talk about any capital investments that you see on the horizon. It might be a house purchase or a change in houses, airplanes, yachts, artwork, anything that you have that is a big ticket item, or anything that you want to achieve or purchase that's a big ticket item. We want to talk about that. We really want to learn a lot about your family and we also want to discuss philanthropy and what role, if any, it plays in your life."
Sandi: So, we put that framing together. And within each of those categories, we will begin to have conversations with clients drawing off of questions. Now, I'd mentioned earlier that one of my jobs in our PS&R group is to support the wealth management works that we're doing across the firm. So, my team has put together a list of the best of questions in each of the four categories I mentioned and said that list is not meant to restrict our wealth managers. Quite the contrary. It's meant to be a jumping point for wealth managers so that as they're preparing for the initial meeting with new clients, they can have some questions to help get the conversations started and they can think in advance as they're reviewing the questions' matrix about other questions that would be specific to the client they're meeting with that they want to make sure that they ask and understand.
Sandi: And so, I haven't counted them, but there's probably a hundred questions, if not more, across these four different categories. And I'll just tell you a few of them, if you'd like to hear.
Matt: Absolutely. And I'd like to focus too, for those who don't know, Sandi was a mentor at FPA Residency that I was in attendance at last fall. So, what makes a question good and what makes a question bad? Because they say there's no bad question, but as I learned in front of the room, there are bad questions.
Sandi: I think there's probably better questions. I don't know if it's good and bad, but what are the better questions? In my opinion, Matt, as we're beginning this discovery process with clients, the clients are the very, as we see them, we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg, right? And so, I think really good questions allow us to acknowledge what iceberg we're looking at and then dig below the surface. So, I'll just use that as an analogy.
Sandi: And so, I like to start at the 30,000 foot level. So, here's one of the questions that I would pose. And again, I'm not even going to pose it as a question, but I'll say, "Hey client, tell us what are you most passionate about?" That's pretty easy for someone to be able to open up and talk to us about. And then we'll allow, they respond, we'll go deeper and we'll just continue to ask and probe and learn more.
Sandi: I might ask a client, "Who are the VIPs in your life? Tell us about them." And I think VIPs is really important, especially more so I think in a prospecting situation because you don't really know what the prospect's personal situation is, whether they're married or whether they have a family. And so, by keeping the question in the VIP level, you really allow the client the opportunity to respond in the manner that best suits them without embedding any judgment in the question. Right? Because how awkward would that be? "Well, tell me about your kids." "Well, I don't have kids. Are you saying that I should have kids? Those are the sorts of things that can happen internally in someone's mind if we're not careful about how we're asking the questions.
Sandi: So, for clients who do have children or other family members that they're supporting, one of my favorite things to explore is, what expectations do your family members, your children have of you? And what expectations do you have of them? Right? So, that's very tip of the iceberg question. It creates the client some guidance of the boundaries where we're working in, right? We're talking about families and expectations, but the playing field is wide open for them to discuss whatever is on their mind. And then as they respond, I can jump in and say, "Tell me more about this, tell me more about that." And I can really learn a lot that way.
Matt: Yeah. So, ask questions without making assumptions, which can be really hard for some of us planners who like to make assumptions all the time, right?
Sandi: Yes, yes. And even after 20 years, I find myself making assumptions and it's a really hard habit to drop, but I think that's right to really engage clients while in this discovery process, you need to be able to make them comfortable, ask those wide open questions and then the real key beyond that is to practice deep listening skills. And deep listening will allow us really the opportunity to take a lot away from the conversation.
Matt: Just for those who haven't been in residency, could you explain what is the difference between deep listening and not being a deep listener?
Sandi: Not being a deep listener, I'll respond to that one first. To me, when you're not listening deeply, you're thinking more about what you're going to say next while the other person you're talking to is speaking. All right. So, effectively you're not listening at all. Whereas deep listening, I think there's three different skillsets that come into mind that are underneath the hood of that particular ability. One, is having a curious mindset. So, when you're talking with a client and you're deeply listening, you should be curious and wanting to know who is this person or this couple? What makes them tick? What are their values? What's really important to them? What are their preferences? What are their priorities? Who are the people who are most important in their life? Right? So, being curious and listening for those answers is a way to make sure that you're listening deeply.
Sandi: I think another aspect of listening deeply is asking those broad open-ended questions that we were talking about starting with the 30,000 foot level questions and going further from there. And then third, I think deep listening involves just a lot of different aspects. So, listen to what the client's saying, both with their words and their body language, right? Is the client engaged in the conversation? Are they at the edge of their seat? Are they animated? Are they moving their hands around or are they just being very reserved and looking very uncomfortable?
Sandi: Noticing their body language is going to help. Understanding their words is going to help. Are they talking really fast and really excited or are they responding slowly and seeming uncomfortable?
Matt: It's sometimes very difficult to do what you just said about being curious because most meetings have agendas and I think sometimes we get very trapped in our agenda. So, how do you have that balance of having an agenda and making sure you're being on topic with these three stages of this meeting, but still allowing for some of that spontaneous conversation that you just didn't plan for? And do you ever get to the point where you're in a meeting and it's gone too far and you can't get to all three points?
Sandi: For us at Aspiriant, the way we design every single client meeting is to allow time at the beginning of each agenda for personal updates. And that is a mini-discovery exercise. So, regardless of whether we talked with the client last week, or last month, or last quarter, by allowing time in the agenda to hear the client's personal updates, we're giving clients a chance to really share with us what's on their mind, what's happened, what's most important that's going on in their life right now, what concerns they might have.
Sandi: So, I think that's really important. And when we move through the rest of the agenda and we discuss different topics, we'll also check in about the topic with the client. Why is this important to you? What are your thoughts about this? And so, we're giving them the opportunity to think through and share with us what's on their mind before we go into the detail of it. And I think that's really important because if you allow clients that time and space to tell you what's on their mind, it will help you get through your agenda topics because you'll be speaking to what's most important to them as opposed to what you think is most important.
Matt: Unlike most of the things we deal with, we can't really measure the success of this. So, what are some indicators that you see? I mean, obviously you mentioned the body language, and the way they're talking, and the way they're sitting in their chair, but are there other ways that you measure the success of business? And you can feel that in the meeting where you're saying, "Hey, this is going well."
Sandi: It depends on what meeting it is. So if we go back to the initial meeting where we're doing discovery with the client, I know that meeting's gone really well if the client's doing most of the talking. Right? If I'm just there saying, "Tell me more," and guiding the conversation, but they're really doing all the talking. I know a meeting's gone well if a client gives me feedback at the end. There's nothing better than feedback and if the client doesn't give it, I'll ask for it.
Sandi: I will know that the meeting's gone well really just based on the client's psychology, what they're sharing, right? Are they engaged in the conversation or not? Do they feel like it's important? I'll know the meeting's not going on well if the client is falling asleep, right? Has it ever happened to you? The worst thing.
Matt: Have you ever put a spreadsheet on a presentation before their eyes roll over nine times out of 10. Right?
Sandi: For me, it's usually the situation. There'll be a couple, one spouse is much more interested in investments and wants to go deep and the other spouse could care less. And so, we'll get into the group and talk about investments and that spouse is just really nodding off. Right? And that's just have a burning sensation in my stomach when that's happened. I'm like, "Oh, we're not serving both of the clients well, this is terrible."
Sandi: So, we've learned to ask questions of clients will know by that point now which client is more interested in investments or and which one isn't and we can head it off at the past by either suggesting that we have a more in-depth conversation with just one of the spouses later or getting the permission by the spouse who's just not interested to check their phone or do something different during the conversation.
Matt: How do you pull that spouse back in and at least keep them informed so they don't go home and say, "Oh, I didn't really understand that and now I have concerns about that." Or maybe it's just a concern they're not talking about. So, how do you keep them engaged even in a topic they're not particularly interested about?
Sandi: Yeah. So, at this point, with more practice and experience under my belt because of the discovery work that I've done and just noticing how engaged or not engaged particular clients are in different discussions. If I'm heading into an investment conversation and I know the spouses feel differently about it, I might jump in at the beginning and just say, "Hey, we want to review the investment portfolio with you. We know spouse A that you really like to go deep and spouse B, you'd like to stay higher level. So, based on everything that's happened in the markets over the last six months since we looked at it together, what questions do you have and what's most important to both of you that we cover today?" Right?
Sandi: So, we'll have materials available, we can cover whatever they want to cover, but by asking that question, that allows us to respond to what the client's needs are as opposed to our assuming what they want to know and providing the information based on our assumption.
Matt: We have a couple in particular that we have this very scenario playing out, but what we do is we'll meet with the husband before the meeting day to go through the super nitty-gritty parts of the spreadsheets and then we just avoid that in the client meeting itself.
Sandi: Yeah. I think working with the couple to figure out what are each of their needs and developing a plan that works for each of them on meeting those needs, that's the best we can hope to do as their trusted advisors. And I think clients really appreciate that.
Matt: That's what they're paying us for. Right?
Sandi: Yeah, for sure. So, we talked about body language and listening to words, I think using eye contact is really important on our end, so in order to listen deeply, sometimes we just have to look into the client's eyes if it's something really important that they want to share. And sometimes that's not the right thing to do because it'll just freak the client out and we all know having someone look at you directly in your eye can get you off your game, especially if it's happening too often and for a prolonged period of time. So, that one that you have to experiment with and learn the right time to be doing that.
Sandi: I think how we sit in our chair is really important to how we listen, right? Are we slouching or are we sitting back? Are we in a physical position to receive information? I think having empathy for the client, just really understanding, nodding our head when they're telling us something that's of importance to them, I think that's a really nice way to listen. And that helps the client feel heard.
Sandi: A tricky one, and we've talked about this a little bit earlier, is withholding judgment, right? Our job is not to judge our clients. Our job is to listen and to understand. And this one's really hard. It can be really hard on topics like politics that come up or in some philanthropic areas or even just how clients feel about paying for experiences for their children or not. There's a lot of room for judgment, but we have to stay away from it. That is not our job.
Matt: We don't always know 100% how people are feeling, we can get some of that information, but you'll never fully understand. And I think that's something I certainly struggled with in the early part of my career.
Sandi: Yeah. And I think sometimes you need to go into that meeting. I find sometimes when I'm meeting with clients who we might not be on the same page in terms of our own outlook in life, I just have to spend a few minutes before I go into the meeting thinking about who the client is, what's most important to them and really just breathing and allowing myself to be there for them and just suspend any of my own thoughts or feelings. That helps us a strategy that I found to be helpful.
Matt: You've referenced so much to the amount of experience you have. And obviously, you've been at your firm for quite some time, but what were some things you struggled with as a new planner?
Sandi: Yeah. So, there are a lot of struggles. Right? It's hard. There's so much you need to know as a financial planner to serve clients well. And I'm someone who just likes to master things. So, I had a lot of frustration early on thinking, "Well, I can just master this. I'm smart. I can figure it out." But I think I didn't appreciate how it does take time and a lot of different experience. And I think one of the things for me personally is that at the beginning of my career, I was so focused on getting the technical aspects of the job down, right?
Sandi: I struggled with estate planning. That was the hardest area for me. How am I ever going to understand how estate plans work and all these different trusts? And that was great. I needed to know how trusts work and I needed to know all the estate planning rules. But I think now looking back, I would have been better served if I really was more focused on, "Well, what is the client's need from this estate plan? Why is it important to them? What are they hoping to achieve with it in terms of being able to make provisions for their family or the people in organizations they care most about?"
Sandi: So, there's that distinction that took me a really long time to understand and appreciate. So, that's one of the things. I think one of the things I experienced and that I see with new planners is that we know so much, right? So we don't know everything. But we know a lot and when we get into a client meeting, it's so fun to be able to share with the client everything we know. But oftentimes clients don't need to know what we know. They just need to know enough of what we know in order to make a really good decision for themselves.
Sandi: And so, that was something I struggled with. Like buffing up the whole kitchen sink of everything I knew about Roth. The client just really wants to know, should they put money in a traditional IRA or Roth IRA?
Matt: Right. They came to us asking for a glass of water and we gave them a fire hydrant. Right?
Sandi: Yeah. I mean, it's so easy to do that and anyway I had gotten so excited and I see some of the new planners within our firm and then in my experience at FPA residency as well.
Matt: Do you think the way we're educated has something to do with that? It is so focused on all the complexities of tax law and estate planning and investments. Do you think that fuels some of this struggle that we have as new planners?
Sandi: I completely agree with you and I am hopeful that as the profession continues to evolve, that the training and teachings will evolve too. And I know that's a direction that Dick Wagner was really trying to push the profession in and that disciples of his work are doing. So, that excites me. I do wish that I had taken a psychology class. I wish the curriculum for planning went above and beyond the technical and included skills around communication. And a lot of that is what we try to allow people to experience at FPA Residency, which is a wonderful, wonderful program. But it's a week-long program. I think there's more the profession could be doing to help planners be ready for this important work we do with clients.
Matt: What are some of the advantages that you see in a new planner versus a veteran planner when you look at the makeup of your firm and working together in teams?
Sandi: Hey, Matt, before I answer that question, can I share a story with you?
Matt: Absolutely.
Sandi: I've just started thinking back on my career of regrets that I might have. There is a regret that I feel really badly about and I've learned a lot from, and that was in working with a couple, and I still work with the surviving partner, but it was a gay couple. We've worked with them for a couple of years. The bread winner, they weren't married, but the bread-winning partner had been diagnosed with cancer early on in our relationship with them and it was pretty clear that his life was not going to continue much longer. And so, we did a lot of really great planning work to review the estate plan and to make sure that the surviving partner was going to be okay and that all the financial planning pieces were going to fit together.
Sandi: I regret that at the time I didn't spend more time with the partner who was sick to find out what was on his mind. What was he experiencing, what was he feeling? Right. I didn't want to go there. I didn't know how to go there. And I think if I were in that experience today, just having gone through the experience I did with the two of them, I would be much more empathetic and be much more curious and would be much more open to listening. But at the time I was really afraid, I think, of learning something that I didn't know how to properly handle and deal with. So I could handle the estate planning stuff by that point, just fine. But that's a regret of mine.
Sandi: And I share that because I think in the work that we do for clients, whether it's as momentous as that example, or whether it's something that's much more mundane, I think being open to just giving clients that chance to talk and tell us what's on their mind and what's most important to them will allow us to plan better for them, and not potentially miss things.
Matt: Not to be insensitive, but in all the practice cases you'll do for the CFP, people just die, right?
Sandi: Yeah.
Matt: How do we deal with that spouse, that partner as that's unfolding. And I think that's something you can only learn with experience. That's a really great experience.
Sandi: Yeah. So I share that for the new planners listening just to know that our job isn't to know all the answers. And there might be situations that we're in that make us uncomfortable when we ask questions. But getting outside of your comfort zone will allow you to grow that much faster and be a much better planner sooner. So, I know there's scary times and sometimes it feels like you're jumping off the cliff, but jump to it. Give yourself that opportunity. If you have a good relationship with the client, you two will find a way or you three will find a way to get through it together.
Matt: Another big takeaway I had from Residency was being comfortable in the silence. You don't have to have the answer immediately.
Sandi: Absolutely, absolutely. Right? Sometimes clients just need to get things out of their heads. And I think just to bring this back to the current time period we're in with the COVID virus running rampant around our country in the world I'm finding in conversations with clients that they just need to get all the thoughts in their head out of their head, right? They're not looking for me to tell them what's going to happen because they know I won't know. My firm won't know, but they just need to be listened to and they need to be heard.
Sandi: And sometimes, as you mentioned, it's about just allowing them to speak and just being there to absorb what they're saying without saying anything in return.
Matt: And we'd never know what's going to happen tomorrow. The second they walk out that door, what we talked about is virtually useless.
Sandi: Right. It's a feeling that they have, right? So getting back to the question you asked about client experience, it's that feeling that they have leaving your office, which is going to make the most difference to them. And we haven't gotten here, so I'll just quickly mention, I told you how we start all of our meetings. We give clients an opportunity to provide us with their personal updates. We end all of our meetings by giving the client an opportunity to reflect on their biggest takeaways from the meeting. Right?
Sandi: It's those takeaways that I find that allow the clients to connect the conversation we had to their emotional feelings. And so, if it was a really good meetings, as they're reflecting back on the conversation to us, they're feeling relief, they're feeling good, whatever that positive need that they had at the beginning of the meeting, if we've satisfied it, they're feeling that satisfaction as they're reflecting the meaning back to us before they leave the office. And that's what sticks.
Matt: That feeling is something they can only get from a human, right? You can get information and answers anywhere, but it's not going to give you that feeling of being heard and being seen and feeling like you're actually going to be okay.
Sandi: Absolutely. Hallelujah brother.
Matt: So, I just want to repeat my last question here. We talked about a lot of the struggles and a lot of the things that we as new planners need to learn. What are some of the positive things you see about having a new planner as part of the firm amidst your veteran advisors?
Sandi: Working with new planners is so much fun for me. I love the opportunity to work with someone at the outset of their career and help crush their experience and their guidance. And so, I think new planners come to the profession with so much to offer including a beginner's mind, right? New planner regardless if your brand new to the workforce or whether you're a career changer you're coming to the planning profession with a beginner's mind. You're like a sponge trying to absorb everything.
Sandi: And I think that's great because it allows you the opportunity to see things differently than your colleagues might be seeing. I find that new planners have energy and excitement. Sometimes after you've done something many, many times, it loses its shine. And to be able to experience the same old thing with a new excited professional, it makes the whole process even better and exciting, whether it's refinancing a mortgage or helping a client figure out what life insurance policy they need.
Sandi: Every planner has their own unique personality and perspective and life experiences. I find it really exciting to be able to coal all of those out of new planners and help them see what's inside of them and what makes them the amazing people that they are can have such a positive impact on the clients that they're serving. And I think another thing about new planners is that they have a long career runway. Right?
Sandi: And so, there's a lot of time that I think is exciting to be able to not only develop the technical side of what you need to know as a planner, but also the emotional side that we've been talking about so much today.
Matt: Whether you're a career changer or just fresh out of college with a 30,000 foot view, there's so much more to learn than just what's in the CFP material if that's what you're pursuing. And I think that's what's the most exciting to me.
Sandi: That's right. And as I've seen the profession develop and evolve, because remember back when I was getting started, you could only get a job as a financial planner really if you could sell new business, right? It's much different today. And I think that's wonderful in so many respects. But I find when talking with new planners that they get really focused on their careers and what needs to happen in order for them to advance. And all of that's important, but I think the most important thing is to focus on the clients you're serving, right?
Sandi: If you really understand who the clients are that you're serving, if you really care about them, if you're bringing to them everything that they're needing, your career is going to work out marvelously. You're going to have so much fulfillment and satisfaction and you're going to be able to achieve so much. But if you lose sight of the client, I fear people just get lost that way.
Matt: Yeah. And I mean this can be an incredibly lucrative career. You can have a ton of impact on the profession and in your firm. But spoiler alert, meeting with clients is probably the most fun in my opinion.
Sandi: It's a connection, right? Having a relationship with other people that you care about and who over time will really start to care about you too, there's nothing better. It's so wonderful. And the amazing thing is that the clients will evolve and they'll change what's important to them on the day they meet you is going to be different than what's important to them 10 and 20 years later. So, the relationship always evolves. It gets more interesting usually over time.
Sandi: And I don't know. I get a lot of satisfaction from that. I'm tickled. I pinch myself every day that I get to go to work and do what I do. I think it's the most fun and most interesting work out there.
Matt: Well, we can definitely hear the excitement and it's so refreshing to have these conversations and just hear it from someone like yourself with so experience that there's a lot to take away from this outside of what people normally look for in a career. But thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciated all the insight you had, not only for myself, but for all of our audience, and I'm sure we'll be in touch soon.
Sandi: Matt, thanks so much. This is a lot of fun.


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Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Those were the days: when bus travel and hitchhiking were in flower
On Friday, Dec. 16, 1966 (I had to check this on a perpetual calendar website), I and several friends from the University of Kansas "took off." One of the guys had rented an "in transit" car (a full sized Olds, quite luxurious then) to be driven from KCMO (aka Metropolis for Smallville fans) to Longview, WA. At age 23, I had been raised in the DC area and never been west of Topeka, KS. That would change quickly. We were lucky to have mild, dry weather.
By 3 AM we could see the lights of Denver from I-70 as we drove past the old Stapleton airport. We took US-40 to climb through the mountains (the Eisenhower Tunnel, a favorite hangout of writer Stephen King, had not been started yet) and the same came out as we got through the Front Range and in one of those open space parks we played in the fresh dry snow powder. We drove straight through, reaching the Salt Lake Desert Saturday night. I took a long turn driving through Nevada that night and almost fell asleep. I remember the reflectors on the road at the California border near Tahoe. We got to San Francisco Sunday. We crashed in sleeping bags on the floor of one of the students' home in Palo Alto (I slept 12 hours to catch up). Monday we headed north (we diverted to Bodega Bay and ran around on the beach -- the site of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds"), finding common Pacific Northwest rain at night and reaching Seattle Tuesday. We headed north and crashed in another friend's house in Vancouver BC (aka Metropolis II, where Smallville is really filmed) with the weather still rainy. Wednesday morning I would fly home to DC. A prop plane to Seattle, a DC 9 to Chicago, and a 727 to National. The whole process took only about seven hours.
In retrospect the 5-day car trip seems a bit like a "Sam and Dean" adventure from Supernatural. I remember some of the car radio music: "Lady Godiva," "Chestnuts Roasting over an Open Fire" etc.
Over Thanksgiving 1967, I would take another western trip. A grad student friend would deliver me to the Greyhound station in Lawrence, KS, for the bus to Tulsa. I would meet a friend in Bartlesville Thanksgiving morning. I remember the brown, barren appearance of the Oklahoma plains in November. By that night I would be crossing the Divide again, at Sandia Mountain before entering Albuquerque. I remember Gallup, and I stayed with another friend in a dorm at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff Friday night. (The bus station warns of "high elevation" 6900 feet, and there was some snow around). Saturday, I met an old chum from my William and Mary fiasco (described already on this blog) in Los Angeles, and spent the night at his family's home in Pasadena. He was the guy who claimed to have written 57 symphonies. Now, I never knew about the credibility of this, but at W&M he had played a piano rendition of an (that is, his) E-flat major piano concerto, about 30 minutes, three movements, and I could reconstruct it today. I was sort of Hummel-like (lots of octave passages; it had a lugubrious arioso slow movement in g minor), and I think it was authentic. (Just see my drama blog for Dec 2006 for a much more credible news story about music composition.) I left LA by bus Sunday night and was back on campus Tuesday morning, missing only one day of class. I remember Gallup on the way back. And I remember the Topology hour exam that Tuesday morning.
The last of these youthful trips would occur in January 1968, after finishing and passing my Master's orals. I had been teaching algebra as an assistant instructor, and took the students' final exams with me and graded them on the bus to western Kansas, where I visited an old roommate who lived in Tribune (almost on the Colorado border).
When I returned home to DC at the end of that month I had just a week or so before being inducted into the Army in Richmond, on February 8, 1968. Tom Brokaw says that 1968 was the pivotal year that would lead to our cultural wars, and I think he is right.
In the thirty-plus years that would follow (two years Army, 30+ years of work), I would run around the western states many times (including job interviews before leaving the Army),usually with rental cars. I would make it to Europe three times, but never the other continents. (Russia is on the list now. Maybe Dubai. Oh, it would be wonderful to be able to rent a place in Spain and just write novels.) Travel would get more complicated, as one had to "secure" one's life before leaving. And now, there is all the 9/11 security. In grad student days, though, I had few possessions and nobody worried about dorm or apartment security. Those days are sadly long gone. As one song went (I heard it a lot of times on the radio in Army Barracks), "Those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end." But they did.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 7:35 PM
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The Swiss Church Art Committee is a group of experts with different backgrounds who programmes the arts events at the church and develops new ideas to further the dialogue between church and contemporary art. The Art Committee consists of the following members:
Daniella Rossi (Fine Art professional)
Daniella Rossi is the founder and Director of Rossi Asiaghi Ltd., which works with emerging artists to develop their careers through corporate and institutional exhibitions, commissions and educational programming.
Through Rossi Asiaghi, she also supports an annual art award to help artists fund exhibitions, materials and studio space.
Daniella has spent over a decade in the art world between New York and London, working with private clients and public institutions to build, manage and sell large collections. She has launched gallery and project spaces and also led a commissions programme at one of the world's leading arts universities. Daniella holds a PhD from Cambridge University.
Ruth Gordon-Jaeggi (Dancer)
Ruth Gordon was born in Lucerne in 1950. When she was 4 years old she started ballet lessons with Bice Scheitlin. She also studied piano at the Conservatorium from the age of 9. From the age of 16 Ruth danced at the Zurich Opera House, as well as at the Opera House in Cologne and Berlin. She then moved to London for further studies at the Royal Academy of Dance.
A traffic accident in 1984 cut short her career as a dancer. Ruth took up teaching and founded the ChouChou children's ballet company. In 1993, she was awarded the Maya Plisetskaya Silver Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Dance and Teaching the Legat Style.
Now a pensioner and a mother of a wonderful son Ruth will contribute with her knowledge and life experience to her newly appointed role at the Swiss Church. She says: "I'm very much looking forward to creative and happy times!"
David Mollin (Artist and Writer), Adviser
David Mollin heads the annual curating prize in collaboration with the Goldsmith College. He has a PhD in Visual Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and currently teaches at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. David works collaboratively with Swiss artist Salomé Voegelin on projects that focus on invisible connections, transient behaviour and unseen rituals. Their work reconsiders socio-political, architectural and aesthetic actualities through the possibilities of sounds, voices and words.
David Mollin and his partner Salomé Voegelin have been awarded the Art and Architecture commission from the Kunstkommission Bern, Switzerland in 2017. The project Kleefeld – Klangfeld will make the environment of a newly renovated local school into an 'instrument' to be experienced as a sonic field.
David Mollin was a member of the Arts Committee and the Consistoire of the Swiss Church between 2009 until 2014.
Peter Yardley-Jones (Director of Music and Organist)
Emily Rose Simons (Venue Manager, Musical writer)
Reverend Carla Maurer


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In the following, engineer Ahmad Mirzakhani, chairman of the board of directors of the Ra'ad complex, said:
Promotion of technical and vocational training tailored to the physical conditions of people with disabilities, the expansion and development of higher education courses and the implementation of applied rehabilitation research ,including the Ra'ad complex executive programs.
In this ceremony , Davoud Ameri and Amir Berenjkar ,two Iranian photograghers who their photos have been received title of 10 selective photos of world on disabilities field by UN , were appreciated.
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Also Majid Kakush -the champion of the world in the field of Archery who won the 2016 Rio Paralympic tournament-was appreciated.
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On Thursday 16th April the Bridgwater Town Council will meet for the final time before the election on May 7th and crucially the parting shot to prepare the ground for the incoming council will be a discussion on the recent public meeting about Northgate following the Tesco debacle. But also on the agenda will be joined up proposals from Military Boats people Paul and Rhian Childs whose innovative ideas for the docks could have a bearing on future plans for the Northgate site.
The meeting , which will be held in the Council Meeting room on the first floor of the Town Hall is at 7.30pm, is open to the public and people can register to speak with Town Clerk Alan Hurford in advance of the meeting or turn up and listen to the discussion.
Northgate up for discussion
Town Council policy for the Northgate site has consistently been in opposition to Tesco and in favour of retaining the green space of the Brewery Field whilst supporting a Leisure and Recreational solution for the area that compliments but doesn't detract from the existing town centre.
The Public meeting held at Trinity Hall was in accord with this view and crucially insisted on continued public consultation, a theme that was picked up at this weeks Community Assets Panel, chaired by Westover Councillor Brian Smedley who explained "The Community Assets Panel is a Forum set up to bring together Town Councillors and members of the public with an interest and expertise in our Heritage and was formed in co-operation with the Bridgwater and District Civic Society. The meeting was adamant that consultation was the order of the day and that the secrecy of Sedgemoor District Council throughout these projects and in any future developments should be challenged. We need the people of Bridgwater to be involved from the start with any new plans and proposals for Northgate and anywhere else that principally affects our town."
The Community Assets panel heard that the Town Council's attempt to get the Magistrates court listed as a Community Asset had been rejected by Sedgemoor District Council and that the court itself had been bought at auction. Cllr Smedley said he had made a point of immediately contacting the new buyer who was keen to co-operate with the community in developing the site and was prepared to attend a future meeting to discuss ideas for the building.
Saving our Heritage
The meeting also lamented the fate of the Hope Inn, which, although demolition had been halted by a stop order, nothing further had been done to prevent the building falling into further disrepair. Cllr Smedley said "The lesson for both of these sites is to act quicker and well ahead of possible demolitions or sales and crucially to bring the community with us with well advanced ideas and plans otherwise we're saving these places for nothing. We need to identify buildings at risk well in advance and have a plan as to how to take them forward."
Derek Gibson of the Civic Society flagged up the Bridgwater Hospital site on Salmon Parade and said he felt this would make a wonderful riverside hotel. Alan Hurford, Town Clerk, advised that planning permission for the nearby Eastover Hotel was already well advanced and the use may be in conflict.
Glen Burrows of the Civic Society noted the potential threat to many Public Houses in Bridgwater and whilst not sure if we could try to register all of them as community assets, pointed to the imminent threat to the Mansion House, an iconic building in it's own right and in a prime location, but also urged identifying other notable buildings with key amenity space which could become under future threat and cited for instance the Castle Club in Castle street-the former Legion site, which has a large public meeting and performance space within its compound.
The meeting also looked at recent County promises not to demolish the Union Workhouse building on the Northgate site and wondered how long the stay of execution would last and which buildings would and should be saved and to what use they could be best put. Derek Gibson pointed to various 'Bridgwater Vision' statements in the past which had referred to the site but had been steamrollered over by District and County in the quest for 'the maximum price'.
Cllr Smedley said "County have undertaken not to demolish the workhouse building and in recognition of public concern have agreed to consult first. Sedgemoor have said that it's now too premature to consult, but clearly they're awaiting a mandate from the elections on May 7th as they've identified June as their new start date. In view of all that's gone down so far I think the public would be very advised to 'keep an eye' on Sedgemoor District Council."