Great Advice Depends On Great Questions

Asking great questions ranks as a superpower in my view. Doing so can elevate normal, everyday folks to exalted status. From “Can I help you with that box?” to “How’s your mother today?” to “Would you like fries with that?”, just having another human being display a modicum of concern frequently places a little more pep in a step or turns a frown upside down.

Great questioning defines great financial advice as well. Irrespective of whether the situation involves an advisor endeavoring to aid a recent widow in making sense of her financial situation or a banker seeking to offer the most useful advice possible to a CEO and his strategic initiatives team, effective engagement centers on asking about the right things in the correct way.

With respect to conversations revolving around money, many frequently lose sight of what I view of the most important question: “What do you want to do with your money?” Many, many more people, of course, may argue that “How do I get more money?” may be a more important question. I beg to differ as the “what” conveys a goal while the “how” – at best – might offer a pathway toward achieving that goal. In my experience figuring our the “what” yields significant insights into the anxieties, challenges, hurdles, and, in the end, the opportunities, to aid in determining the best “how”.

Little of this great questioning matters though if I fail to listen to the answers. A one-sided conversation, which my daughter in high school would sneeringly term a “lecture,” does little more than convey facts or opinions or viewpoints from one person. As an advisor I’m seriously disinterested in spouting facts and views on stocks, interest rates, or tax regulations. Rather, I’d prefer to ask clients to describe their financial goals and what they see as the opportunities and challenges impacting the achievement of these goals. Maybe then I can put those views on stocks, rates, and regulations into action to motivate them closer to those goals.