Unlike most books about financial planning, this one makes no effort to convince you of anything or give you guidelines for your practice. Quips & Quotes: The wit and wisdom of financial planning is, first and foremost, about communicating important concepts with a few well-chosen words.

The nuggets of wisdom in Quips & Quotes — compiled by Ben Coombs, Jeanne Robinson and Bob Veres — are meant to improve advisors’ understanding of the world of financial planning and help them communicate more effectively with clients. Many of the quotes are from members of the financial services industry, identified simply by name. Those who are not industry members are also identified by their professions.

The book has 15 chapters, each focused on a particular topic. There is also an afterword by Coombs, a 43-year industry veteran.

My favourite quotes include:

> Leadership

• “The day people stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.” — Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state

• “There are three things that define leadership: example, example, example.” — motivational speaker Jeff Salz

> Progress and change

• “If I’m going to spend the rest of my life in the future, why not create the future I desire?” — management consultant Dick Zalack

• “If you want to adapt to change, you have to be willing to abandon what has always been successful.” — author Tom Peters

• “How many people in the audience have a ‘to do’ list on their desks?” [Many hands.] “Now how many of you have a ‘stop doing’ list?” [None.] “Great companies make great use of ‘stop doing’ lists.” — management guru Jim Collins

> Teamwork

• “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Learning how to say ‘no’ is one of the more important skills for creating an effortless, outrageous practice.” — business coach Tracy Beckes

• “Spinning more plates doesn’t increase your talent; it increases the likelihood of dropping a plate. It’s not whether you can do everything yourself; it’s how soon you’re going to realize you can’t.” — Kerry Walls

• “It takes dream work to make the team work.” — John C. Maxwell

> Pursuit of excellence

• “Where you are today is the result of choices you made yesterday. Where you are tomorrow is the result of choices you make today.” — Pamela Yellen

• “Integrity is what you do when no one is looking.” — Judy Harris

• “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock — perhaps a hundred times without a crack showing in it. Yet, at the 101st blow, it will split in two. And it was not that blow that did it, but all that went on before.” — Jacob Riis

• “How can you be burned out if you’ve never been on fire?” — Alan Parisse

> Financial planning

• “Build clients under management, not assets under management.” — Ross Levin

• “The stories that stir us most are stories about how the planner helps someone find his or her niche in life, not the ones about helping someone retire in leisure.” — Jack D.White

• “Get clients to understand they can do anything they want. But they can’t do everything they want.” — Thayer Willis

• “Never confuse standard of living with purpose in life.” — Ross Levin

• “Your clients are your consultants. If you’re smart, they run your business.” — Walt Disney World training manager Jeff Soluri

• “Expectations missed are killers of relationships.” — Jim Cecil, marketing consultant

> Market cycles

• “I don’t have a clue in which direction the next 10% or 15% price movement will take the market. But I know with certainty in which direction the next 100% movement will take it — and that’s all that really matters.” — Nick Murray

• “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” — source unknown

• “There is nothing quite so disturbing to one’s sense of well-being as to see a friend get rich.” — economist Hugh Johnson, on why clients have trouble during bull markets

Proceeds from this compilation, available in electronic format only, support scholarships for the Financial Planning Association’s one-week residency program, at which novices in the profession learn to use their technical knowledge to serve clients. To download a copy, go to www.fpanet.org/products/fpabookstore.cfm. You can support the future of the financial planning profession with a $15 minimum donation. IE

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