We all look up to someone for inspiration, an icon who we want to emulate. We take our cues from these role models on how to be a better version of ourselves. Here, a few IFAs talk about their role models and how they influenced them.
Nisreen Mamaji, MoneyWorks Financial Planners
Three women have been my role models through life. The first one is my mother, Fatima Bandukwala, the second Meenakshi Menon, one of my former bosses and the third is Nazeen Abbas, also one of my bosses.
My mother gave me moral integrity. She is the one who taught me to never compromise on principles. Moral integrity helped me to gain the trust of my clients.
Meenakshi instilled work ethics in me. She taught me that if you have a process in place and everyone sticks to it, there is no need for handholding. When I joined Meenakshi’s team, I was a young graduate fresh out of MBA, she was pregnant, but she ensured that all the work went on smoothly even in her absence. Today in my office, too I have certain processes in place, which keep my firm running with very little support from me.
One of Meenakshi’s teachings that has stayed with me even today is related to handling clients. Once, during my tenure with her, one of my clients was insistent about something that I was convinced was wrong for him. I sent him a mail saying that I was certain that his decision was wrong, and if he planned to continue with this course of action, he would be on his own. When Meenakshi heard of this, she was upset. She made me realise that it was not enough to be right; it was more important to support your client at all times. Today, I ensure all our client relations are based on the principles I learnt from Meenakshi 25 years ago.
Nazeem, my other role model, taught me everything I know about the business. She has taught me the basics of how to talk to a client over the phone, how to modulate the voice, and other such skills in interpersonal communication.
These three women are my rock stars. The lessons they taught me stay with me even today.
Kartik Jhaveri, Transcend Consulting
My role model is not a person; it is an organisation – Coutts International. I heard of them 20 years ago. I remember seeing the organisational model of this company; I immediately wanted my company to be like that.
Coutts is an international company, which is like a private family office, in the sense it is like a one-stop financial solution for its clients. When I set up Transcend I decided that once a client comes to me he would not have to look anywhere else for any type of financial service.
I think Coutts has inspired my entire journey as advisor. I have achieved all I had set out to 20 years ago.
Gajendra Kothari, Etica wealth management
The man I look up to is Steve Jobs. I love the way he followed his instincts instead of doing what was expected of him. He always challenged the status quo and paved a path for himself.
Though I had heard of him a long time ago, I was truly inspired when I read his book. I learnt from him that if you want to achieve something your mind is the limit. As long as you think you can do something, no force in this world can stop you. Inspired by him, I do not let myself become complacent. I am constantly pushing myself to aim higher, do better, and become the best me I can be.
