Some people enjoy kicking back and relaxing in front of Netflix to binge watch their favorite series nightly. But financial advisors might consider unplugging to improve on their business development and behavior. There are hundreds of great books out there but here is a list of 5 that I highly recommend.
Investment Behavioral Counseling
“Hands down the best book on being a financial advisor I’ve ever read. When the student is ready, the teacher appears I suppose. Not a book for everyone, but if you manage money for other people – this is a must read.” –Brian
The review above is one of countless comments online that explain this books power. Nick Murray captures the idea that investor behavior determines individual’s wealth rather than markets. Many advisors have already sought Murray’s wisdom and he continues to bring tremendous value to the industry. This book is a must read for financial advisors.
Influence
First off I want to say that this book is powerful and should only be used for the greater good. Influence is great for anyone that wants to learn more about handling a business. The books author, Dr. Robert Cialdini is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. Cialdini goes into elaborate detail about the six principles of influence that can be used in marketing, psychology and other areas of your life. Influence will help you become more influential in your business and provide a better understanding of some of the cognitive biases we have.
Poor Charlie’s Almanac
Charlie Munger is best known as Warren Buffet’s business partner in Berkshire Hathaway and those who know the billionaire’s past know him as the person who mentored Buffett in their younger days. Munger’s basic philosophy is preparation, discipline, patience, and decisiveness. This is a great book for financial advisors and obviously there’s so much that can be learned from the 92-year-old billionaire.
Emotional Intelligence
When you work with people in the way financial advisors do, we tend to deal with psychology and emotional intelligence more than we realize. The more we can understand this the better we can serve our clients. Daniel Goleman does a great job providing us with a guide through scientific insights into emotions. Emotional intelligence is said to matter more than IQ and Goleman explains why through his work.
The Productivity Project
I found this book incredibly satisfying to read. If you’re just starting out as a financial advisor (or anyone for that matter) and feel like you’re spinning your wheels, busy but not productive, or chasing your tail, then this book is for you! I would recommend it to anyone. Chris Bailey has personally tackled productivity putting himself through daunting experiments and sharing with us what he discovered. The Productivity Project helped me gain a better understanding of my work and how much I was accomplishing rather than how much time I was spending on “busy” work. Bailey’s work is truly eye opening.
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