• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Masters Advisors

  • About Us
  • Our Approach
  • Our Services
  • Corporate
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Client Log-in
Client Log-in Contact Us

The Master’s Minute

Helpful Tools and Tips

The Master’s Minute – What Constitutes Good Advice?

October 6, 2020 by Garrison R. North

Being in the business of advice-giving, we are continually thinking about the most effective way to advise our clients. How do we communicate most effectively? How can we increase the success rate of the implementation of that advice? How can we learn the art of when to speak and when to listen? I think a few tenants of advice-giving can serve us well in solving this puzzle.

  1. Advice is Personalized – Generic or generalized advice is normally only effective for items that are universally accepted as social norms. For example, “don’t speed” or “treat others the way you wish to be treated.” Personalized advice considers the individual factors of your situation. For instance, “diet and exercise” is a good mantra for losing weight, but the type of diet and amount of exercise needs to be tailored to individual needs to be most effective.
  2. Advice Comes After Listening – Listening first is necessary to give quality advice. We need to understand the context of the situation and the nature of the person across the table, before having a well-founded opinion that accurately reflects the many factors involved. So, in theory, “spend less than you earn” is a wonderful philosophy. But we must keep in mind the individual values, goals, and resources of a client. Those factors will ultimately determine how best to optimize savings and cannot be learned without first listening closely.
  3. Advice Considers Options – Instead of jumping to the first conclusion, good advice considers many options before reaching a path to pursue. After listening and personalizing the situation, all potential paths need to be considered, filtering each one through the lens of the goals of the person looking for help. To avoid analysis paralysis, we need to stay focused on the ‘best’ advice, rather than the ‘perfect’ advice when weighing options and factors.
  4. Advice Reaches a Definitive Conclusion – Good advice doesn’t leave multiple options on the table at the end of the conversion, but rather reaches a definitive path to pursue. With a multi-factored situation, such as financial advice, we have to be concrete with our actions but we must also be sure to not hold onto them too tightly if situations change. We want to be confident in our conclusion today, but open to evaluation into the future.

How else can we filter good advice from bad in our everyday lives?

Filed Under: Blog, Master's Minute

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Behavioral Finance
  • Blog
  • Client Service
  • Current Newsletters
  • Faith Integration
  • Financial Planning
  • General
  • Investing
  • Market + Industry
  • Master's Minute
  • Master's News
  • Personal Development
  • Strategy
  • What's the Point?

Search Blog

Archives

Footer

Receive Master’s Minute Blog Articles Today

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

480 New Holland Ave
Suite 7201
Lancaster, PA 17602

  • 
  • 

Contact Us

Albridge log in | Client log in

© 2023 Master’s Advisors • Developed by TinyFrog • Important Disclosures | Privacy Policy

Securities offered through Securities America Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Master's Advisors is not affiliated with the Securities America companies. Advisory services offered through Securities America Advisors, Inc. This site is published for residents of the United States and is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or product that may be referenced herein. Persons mentioned on this website may only offer services and transact business and/or respond to inquiries in states or jurisdictions in which they have been properly registered or are exempt from registration. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state, jurisdiction or from every person listed. This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the states of CO, DE, FL, IL, IN, KY, MD, ME, NC, NE, NJ, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV, WY. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident outside the specific state(s) referenced. PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the websites provided here, you are leaving this website. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these websites. The company is not liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third party technologies,  websites, information, and programs made available through this website. When you access one of these websites, you are leaving our website and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the websites you are linking to. All images and Content Copyright © 2020 Masters Advisors, Inc. Securities America and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice; therefore it is important to coordinate with your tax or legal advisor regarding your specific situation.

Securities America Form CRS

Check the background of this firm on FINRA's BrokerCheck.