I think it was Woody Allen who said that 80% of life is just showing up. Some of us are blessed in that we’re the type of people that things just happen to. Sometimes, these are bad things but mostly – especially since 10 June 1970 (the day I arrived in Australia) – they’ve been good.
For instance, many years ago I was on a bus and on my way to my final HSC exam. Seated next to me was a school friend and I happened to mention to her that I wanted to start working straight after my final exam – reason: I was going to travel but was broke.
A tap on the shoulder from someone behind me had me standing up instantly. In those days adults tapped kids and teens on the shoulder to remind them to stand up for an elderly or pregnant woman. When I stood up I noticed half the seats on the bus were unoccupied. I turned around in confusion only to be greeted by the smiling eyes of an elderly gentleman.
He asked, “were you serious about starting work after your exam?” Given, there was 5 months between finishing school and starting tertiary studies it was a no brainer.
To cut a very long story short, I started work as a trainee manager in his industrial laundry the next day. This was not a glamorous job. It entailed sorting dirty linen from hotels and restaurants. Very long gloves are used for this charming procedure – oh and a gag reflex is not helpful.
But it meant I could have a life. I then found another job as a waiter courtesy of one of the restaurant owners who dropped off dirty tablecloths and napkins for his restaurant in North Sydney. Both jobs introduced me to some very interesting people. Some of whom I stay in touch with to this day. I’ve attended weddings, funerals and baptisms for these people and their families. I’ve also been on a tremendous journey that is still unfolding before me like a computer rendering with buffering issues.
This sort of thing still happens to me. Sometimes when we’re waiting for the banks or clients and we’re stuck, Nick and I will go for a walk in the Sydney CBD. The initial purpose of the walk is to alleviate tension that builds when you’re waiting for others to respond with either an approval or more information. More importantly though, you just never know whom you run into.
These walks frequently lead to meeting someone we know and a cup of coffee. The conversation leads to what we’re doing and before too long we’re discussing a potential client, transaction or referral source with the person we met.
It wasn’t until one of my loved ones was diagnosed with anxiety and depression that I realized these things happen to me because I leave the house or office. My loved one chooses to stay in their house.
It’s not because I’ve been blessed with extraordinary luck, I interact socially with people and as a result the chance of something happening to me is greater than if I was locked in my room surfing the internet all day for months on end.
Yes, sometimes bad things will happen but it’s better than letting life pass you by.
Earlier this year, you would’ve read (on this website) about our exploits on our conference in Tuscany, Switzerland, Paris and Northern Spain. It was tough as Nick and I had a few transactions in progress. So, we would go to bed relatively early (around midnight) and wake up around 2-3am and work until everyone else was up. This is one of those rare occasions when jet lag is your friend.
This meant that our clients’ perception of our service did not slip because we weren’t in the country.
It also meant that I could catch up with potential funders (mainly in Paris but also in other places). The entire trip was orchestrated by us for that purpose.
The next one will be in Asia as private funders there are looking to place their funds somewhere safe.
Which brings me to why I’m prattling on so much about getting out and about.
I had a polite exchange of opinion with a Linkedin connection this week about the wonders of technology and the wondrous ease with which people would be able to apply for a home loan themselves online without the onerous task of interacting with another human being.
His view was that technology is at a stage where fuzzy logic (Fuzzy logic is an approach to computing based on “degrees of truth” rather than the usual “true or false” (1 or 0) Boolean logic on which the modern computer is based.) is intelligent enough to replace much of what we do. And he’s absolutely right.
However, in my narrow view it’s a little like Apple’s face recognition technology. Which appears to be a solution to a problem that nobody had. I mean, was placing a thumb on the home button too difficult to manage for some people?
Don’t misunderstand, I’m an advocate of technology. I can’t get enough of it. My business partner, Nick, has even bestowed the sarcastic title of Head of IT upon me. In our business I look after the IT side of things – until I can’t. But the primary purpose of technology must be to make people’s lives easier or to solve a problem (you know, like global warming).
As I’ve often said in these articles, we get more of a meaningful conversation with potential clients when we put down the lids of our laptops and make eye contact (not in a creepy way of course).
We get nuance. We get emphasis. We get sorrow. We get happiness. We get how important certain things are when they’re saying what they’re saying. We get instant feedback. We get that it’s more than just a commodity they’re after.
Our clients also get to see our instant reactions. The looks in our eyes when they’ve said something silly. By the end of most meetings we’re in serious laughter mode because they’ve shared intimate financial information and exposed vulnerabilities with another human being. The type of human being who will make it right.
There will come a time when we automate much in our business (particularly on the home loan side) and we already have a certain degree of automation. We do rely tremendously on technology now. But the one thing I never want automated is meeting with a client. It gives me a reason to get out of bed each day.
It’s when things happen.