We live in a time in which entrepreneurs and celebrities are in the media spotlight 24/7. Culturally, we are focused on self-help, prodigy, and personal opinion. It may not be the intent, but often our admiration for what we achieve individually diminishes the truth that our greatest accomplishments, from DNA mapping to reaching outer space, were all achieved through collaboration.
The BBC recently featured a documentary about Sir Roger Bannister. His triumph is still considered by many to be the greatest sporting achievement of the 20th Century. On 6th May 1954, Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. It was previously deemed physically impossible. Images from the finish line show one of our greatest moments of personal endurance and achievement, yet they don’t tell the whole story. There were other champions on Oxford University’s Iffley Road Track that day – Bannister’s fellow-runners Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher. They were the pacemakers who had worked with Bannister for nearly a year, orchestrating this great victory.
Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 1993. When asked whether the 4-minute mile was his proudest achievement, he said he felt prouder of his contribution to academic medicine through research into the responses of the nervous system. His humility is refreshing and testimony that collaboration is the key to success. We need each other to amplify our talents.
At Quadrant Group, we work very differently to most wealth management firms – we work as a team.
The majority of financial advisers join other firms with existing clients, are responsible for nurturing their own clients and work quite independently of other advisers and staff. We believe it takes more than sharing an office and pleasant cooperation to achieve transformational goals. It requires a commitment to sharing information, meshing skills and resources and being willing to collaborate to achieve the greatest success possible for ourselves and our clients.
To achieve transformational goals it requires a commitment to sharing information, meshing skills and resources and being willing to collaborate to achieve the greatest success possible for ourselves and our clients.
Our Wealth Partnership was established to promote a collaborative relationship amongst our support team, advisers, our clients, and their accountants and legal teams. The Wealth Partnership is the foundation of our business and sets the pace for teamwork in order to achieve our collective aim, to enable clients to have peace of mind, achieve their financial goals and enjoy a “life well lived”.
We recently held our ‘summer do’, an event when all our staff get together, away from the office, to review our business, share our ideas, discuss our plans, set goals and celebrate our achievements. We used this time to also reach out to one of the Fund Managers we use, Dimensional. It’s important for us to make time in our busy calendars to foster teamwork, internally and with our external partners. Below are a few pictures from the day. You may see some familiar faces and we hope that those you do not recognise will be introduced to you soon.
If you would like to learn more about our approach and company background, please read my What Really Matters is the Why blog post from last year.
The BBC’s documentary on Roger Bannister, Everest on the Track, is currently available on iPlayer.
—
This article does not constitute financial advice. Individuals must not rely on this information to make a financial or investment decision. Before making any decision, we recommend you consult your financial planner to take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and the income from it may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. This document may include forward-looking statements that are based upon our current opinions, expectations and projections.
