The evening took the form of a mini workshop in which George encouraged us to ask ourselves his trademark 3 questions. He then did a live roleplay with one of the audience.

The techniques demonstrated were simple yet effective and we were left with some significant questions to reflect upon:

Do we do we typically play the role of cynical advisers, or do we believe that we can actually 'make it happen' for our clients?

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Are we motivated by our own agendas, or by the desire to deliver real financial freedom for our clients?

Are we comfortable in our own skins? – do we regularly pause to reflect on what is really important to us and of value in our own lives?

Even if perhaps we're sometimes tempted to be cynical about the Lifeplanning movement, the overriding impression from our evening in George's company was of an authentic desire to see the life goals of our clients be brought back to centre stage in the financial planning process, which is surely what we are all about as Financial Planning professionals?

At our last meeting of the year in November, we held an ethics round table discussion forum. We looked specifically at the question of are we fudging the ethical/sustainable investment question and welcomed Patrick Fogarty of Dimensional Fund Advisors as our speaker. He gave us valuable insight, sharing with us how investing sustainably is now a mainstream investment choice and how it is possible to do so without sacrificing returns. It was interesting to reflect on why if this is the case do so many of us avoid offering this in more than a token way.
Looking ahead to 2015, we kick off on 10 January with our meeting entitled "Death by Powerpoint". As our speaker, we've got Lee Jackson who describes himself as a Powerpoint surgeon, and is one of the world's leading slide design experts and authors. It's a great opportunity and I'm sure it will be lots of fun. Do come and join us. You'll get a great welcome.