Finance Roll

Warren Buffett is known for not sharing his specific strategies; and yet his knowledge is so desirable that a dozen or more authors have written about what they think he does. By Buffett's own admission, the best book about him is called The Essays of Warren Buffett, by Professor Lawrence Cunningham. The book carries a series of articles explaining why Mr. Buffet invests as he does, and how he manages risk and opportunity.

People want to know what works. We like to be connected to the action.And more often than not the action is around the money. This will give you the outline for having and enjoying real wealth.

Several very wealthy people openly share their observations about investment. Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki cared enough to write a book about the importance of investing as a wealthy person, called "Why We Want You to Be Rich"; perhaps not the classiest title, but their direct approach is refreshing, and their advice extremely useful.

The saying "the rich get richer" negates the opportunities available and the type of work that makes one wealthy. Kiyosaki and Trump have evolved themselves into teachers. And they begin by encouraging a different approach to money-that is their job #1. That is their key advice. It is difficult to overlook Donald Trump's role as an educator. After all, Trump's television program, "The Apprentice," provided MBA-level lessons on business decision-making.

Another book on the subject of becoming rich is, "How to Get Rich", by Felix Dennis. Dennis is a publisher behind such diverse publications as Maxim and The Week. He is also a very talented poet. Dennis' stories are both pointed and funny, and they have much in common with Kiyosaki and Trump. For one, he's really made a lot of money. What's more important, though, is a sense of the humility necessary to really "make it."

Get rich quick? If you are very, very lucky, yes, you can. You can also lose it pretty darn quick, something I regret being experienced in. Let's dissect how to get and keep what you want.

THE LESSONS AND HOW TO FIND THEM

The lessons of the real rich are about sales, persistence, teamwork, collaboration, networking and finance; and using one's intellect. It should not surprise anyone that a very successful person's high standards are carefully crafted, not manufactured.

Significant thought goes into their creation and execution. Such is the case with one story Trump tells of finding a wet, men's room floor. He prompted a staff member to remedy the situation. When he went back to the men's room the floor was still wet. He fired the staff member. Was it a question of responsibility, promptness, loyalty? No. It was a question of making sure there was no threat of a lawsuit should someone fall because of the wet floor.

But, even before he was an hotelier and entertainment executive, thoroughness was at the core of Trump's thinking. In "The Art of the Deal" Trump speaks of a disagreement with his father about the expense of marble walls at Trump Tower. His father, Fred, argued that the expense was excessive. Donald prevailed and the reputation for elegance coupled with service continues today. Their views differed, but their mutual respect was always intact.

HERE IS THE MISSING HABIT

Knowing whom to work with, and how, is a science; the art is in recognizing the opportunities. And the opportunities come from the relationships you have; that is the habit many people never develop.

Contrary to the promises of some financial advertising, a financial life plan requires hard work and careful planning. And the nature of that planning has changed. Planning decisions are no longer an event, but an ongoing process. That correctly implies a balance where clients are responsible and team members are accountable for all results.

The complexities of money management and the laws that govern this field simply require thorough and careful study. We can receive proper professional advise on our cash, property, education, health, and other investments best when we have experts in each working as a team.

Clients work best with professionals when they are clear enough to guide the professional. The best way to guide professionals is not to become an expert, but to demand and expect adherence to three tasks. The three tasks for rounded and thorough business, individual and family economic planning are:

o Service o Fiduciary duty o Scenario planning

These tasks are easily applied to the four plans for sustaining growth; the four plans offer a philosophical orientation whose elements are readily integrated and managed throughout one's lifetime. These include:

o The Business plan o The Succession plan o The Estate plan o The Wealth plan

While these tools are excellent for securing financial objectives, is getting more money and greater wealth the sole objective? Not always.

Many of us want to engage in pursuits that enable us to better the lives of those less fortunate. Richard Branson, U2's lead singer Bono and the late John Templeton each engaged pursuits well beyond their core businesses. Branson, while at this writing managing an airline, is committed to travel in outer space and to creating a renewable jet fuel; Bono U2's lead singer is an agent for world peace; and the late John Templeton who ran an investment empire, funded discoveries and new thinking in religion and science.

The new freedom of thought attached to wealth is why many come to believe that the most exciting of the four plans is what I call the wealth plan. This plan has the capacity to expand our sense of meaning in our lives.

Meaning, however, also emerges from our core business and work. We've all had jobs and been in ridiculous situations.

I consult in real estate finance and marketing. But, my first job after college was as a licensed insurance agent for the Combined Insurance Company. I lived in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. For me, sales was an eye-opening experience. I met numerous people who excelled at sales of what we called "sickness" policies that our company's owner, Mr. Stone himself, referred to as "the little giant." It was so named because it provided solid value to many at low cost. Stone developed a system that attracted driven individuals and then trained them according to his positive thinking beliefs. This included a scripted ten-minute sales presentation.

One memorable attention "checker" in the presentation was this: "We not only pay you if you are sick, Mrs. Jones, we pay you if you are sick and tired - how is that? No we can't really do that, but..." A bit of humorous relief delivered. Ideally, the serious sales presentation continued through to the signing. Slick and scientific.

These low-cost "Little Giant" policies sold well and did provide value to the customer. In 1979, it was rumored that Clement Stone had a net worth of around $500 million dollars. For my part, I struggled with whether this was the best product I could be delivering these people. Perhaps I was too soft for this type of selling. I felt I could be successful at it, after all it provided me with a remarkable insight into people and the compensation seemed good. But, it felt awkward to be so impersonal, on what I felt was a very personal decision. So we parted ways.

Over the last few years I have spoken with professional advisers interested in real estate. They all like the potential profit margin, the income and the tax benefits, working together. In New York, where I maintain my real estate broker's license, I am not permitted to advise on legal matters pertaining to real estate contracts. And that is a wise law. Overall, I feel New York State's real estate laws are well written and well intentioned. They are balanced to serve both the agent/brokers and the investors/buyers. I believe they might be used as a model for good client advisory, as you will see.

Real estate has provided me the opportunity to experience financial opportunities that occur faster than most professionals can even dream.

In the example of the house in Long Island from the book, I recognized a negative scenario that could have cost the family several million dollars in estate taxes. Instead, with a trusted advisory team over a period of three years, building the right team, and staying on track with the client's objectives, we restructured the estate, and made investment changes that produced a 150% increase in cash value invested. This exceeded even the bull market of the period 2002 to 2005.

Here Is The Rest of the Story Behind The Little Black Book on Wealth Generation

Picture a large summer "cottage" in the estate section of an old Long Island summer community. The house is in disrepair, not noticeably to most people, except for some of the obvious wear on carpeting, floors and doors.

However, it was not the desire for cosmetic changes that hastened the decision to renovate, what led to the decision to renovate was a structural hazard. The caretaker of the property, using a clever but potentially dangerous short-cut, had extended a 30 foot horizontal chase from the oil burning furnace to the chimney. Over a 20-year period fumes had begun to escape this unusually long chase to leak into the house.

You can guess what happened next. The estimate to replace the furnace turned into a rolling estimate as other problems began to appear. It wasn't just the furnace that had been jerry-rigged, it was the entire house! As a structural support, the same caretaker had placed three concrete blocks on a piece of plywood; our new team member brought to our attention that these three concrete blocks were holding up the entire back section of a three-story house.

What happened next was a series of drastic changes that I described earlier. All the advisors were fired, with the exception of the old entitled family attorney. A cohesive partnership was created; a team consisting of a builder, subcontractors, engineer, and other craftspeople required to rebuild the house in its entirety worked together to create a finely orchestrated process. Moreover, the house was located in an historic district. It not only couldn't be destroyed and rebuilt; the house had to be "replaced in kind." If you have ever worked on a historic home you know the level of engineering and architectural skills needed. Such skills exist, but it takes a team to make them work.

Seeing is believing.