Coaching
| May 2019 | Real Hero Report
Should I Rent or Should I Buy?
M
and there are certainly advantages and disadvantages to
I help people navigate this decision every day, and I am not afraid to
have provided some highlights to help with the decision.
and is much more than a simple comparison of the monthly rental
cost of a unit versus the cost of a mortgage payment. Insurance
fees, mortgage insurance premiums, and various other fees also
which you do not wish.
you can relocate much easier than you can if you own a home.
invest your money in an asset that usually will appreciate in value.
Would it surprise you to learn that Tiger Woods and Serena
Williams have personal coaches? I mean, after all, we are talking
about the preeminent athletes in their respective sports. In fact,
we may be talking about the preeminent athletes in the history of their
sports. I’ll have to admit that my first, knee-jerk reaction when someone
pointed this out to me several years ago was, “Why would these guys
need anyone to tell them how to perform? And besides, who knows
enough to tell Woods and Williams how to play golf or tennis better than
they already do?”
But after some reflection on what I’ve observed about the role of
an effective coach, I realize now that it makes perfect sense for these
two remarkably talented competitors to pay someone to coach them.
It’s a popular misconception that a good coach must be more skilled
at whatever sport or activity he/she is coaching than the individuals he
coaches. The truth is that it’s far more important for a coach to be skilled
at the craft of coaching.
What does that mean? I’m glad you asked, because I’ve given it a good
deal of thought over the last couple of years. I believe that a coach who is
skilled at his craft is:
strengths, weaknesses and key objectives of those he/she is coaching;
at sharing that knowledge in a way that fits each individual’s needs;
he/she coaches accountable.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, my keen interest in coaching is
not incidental to my responsibilities at First Command. In fact, effective
coaching has become central to much of what we. We invest significant
time and resources in coaching our Advisors to master the diverse skills
they need to serve as effective financial coaches to their clients.
us that helping people effectively pursue their financial goals cannot
consistently be accomplished simply by selling them investment or
insurance products–or even by providing them with a financial plan.
It can only be accomplished by forming the kind of trusting, long-term
relationships that allow Advisors to continuously coach the productive
their plans.
I suspect a typical advisor-client relationship is not altogether different
from the relationship that Serena Williams and Tiger Woods have with
their coaches. By necessity, both must be based on a foundation of
mutual respect and trust, collaboration and accountability. And though
coaching a famous athlete may be a more glamorous assignment,
you’d have trouble convincing any First Command Financial Advisor
that it’s more important than the work they do daily for deserving
military families.