Like most Indians quite a few financial advisors too are mad about cricket. Some of them may play teen patti, Indian poker, during Diwali while a handful may be even know how the different pieces move across the black and white squares in chess. Advisors can however learn a lot by drawing parallels between these games and investment plans. They can even apply these lessons to grow their business.
Here are a few games that help you sharpen your business skills:
Cricket
One can derive various investment mantras from cricket. For instance, like a good batsman, advisors too should have patience and perseverance to succeed in the financial advisory business. You cannot reap benefits immediately from investments. IFAs therefor need to practise patience and encourage clients to stay on for the long term to achieve their goals. Only the technically correct and the temperamentally sound sustain over the long term.
Teen patti
In teen patti, Indian poker, people spend a lot of time learning the best strategy to play the game once they are at the card table. Just like the financial planning business!
Advisors too spend a lot of time making strategies to get better in their business. A lesson that can be learnt from teen patti is money management. In teen patti, running out of money means losing the ability to play the game. One therefore always needs to spend money wisely and save some of it. While investing too, an advisor needs to inculcate the habit of saving among clients as an emergency fund for future uncertainties.
Chess
Beyond enhancing strategic skills, chess can also teach advisors to sharpen the type of skills they need in the advisory business. In chess, players don’t think about just the next move but also of future consequences. Similarly, advisors should not just plan on a short-term basis for the client, but also focus on long term needs as well. In chess, players anticipate the challenges that could come ahead in the course of the game. In the same manner, advisors should foresee the financial problems clients may face ahead in their lives and prepare the financial cushioning to tackle those difficulties.
Monopoly
Although monopoly might be an old fashioned board game, advisors can learn many investing lessons from it. For instance, in the game, you need to choose the properties you invest in very carefully to receive optimised returns. You cannot just go and purchase all that you come across as that would leave you bankrupt too early. Some properties would not be worth the money. Similarly, in financial planning, advisors need to carefully select the investment instruments that deliver the best returns for their clients.
