These words of wisdom are just that—words of wisdom. Did you know they can also be words of catastrophe!
If we’re talking about money, diversification is very good thing. It doesn’t solve everything, but it certainly hedges a lot of risk. So…these words of wisdom more than often apply.
As your wealth and success grow...the number of baskets you have should grow as well. When this happens, you are also growing a new problem. You wake up with so many baskets that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. This is where the recipe for catastrophe begins.
In the 1980’s it was very popular to have multitudes of professionals. In fact, in a sense, the more you had would indicate your level of success. You had a banker or two, your tax guy, an insurance guy, multiple stock brokers, an attorney for your business, an attorney for your personal stuff, your real estate guy, etc.
Today looks a little different, but not much. The professional team may be a little different here and there, but if anything, it has only gotten worse. You may consider Google or an online service as one or more of these professionals. More so, you just want what you need when you need it as soon as you can get it.
Think about this...If your insurance guy doesn’t know how much you have, he doesn’t know how much to protect. If he doesn’t know how you own what you have, he doesn’t know how to protect it. And, if you think that isn’t a big deal…just wait until you get sued and find out the hard way. That is just one example. There are too many to count.
Even when all of your professionals are talking, they don’t always know what is important to share about your situation with the other professionals. Just recently we helped a family sell a business. The professional team was great. There were two attorneys, two accountants, two bankers, two insurance agents, a trustee, and us. Even with a great team, information was not always being fed to everyone that needed it. The response was always the same…Oh, I didn’t think he would need that…
Make no mistake, these professionals are amazing at what they do. They are extremely intelligent. They just don’t know what they don’t know.
These gaps or even overlaps are what we call basket fever. You feel like a basket case and you should. Your eggs are definitely not in one basket, but you can’t keep up with them.
Jim Kennedy saw this in 1989 after working in almost every one of those professional’s fields. He knew it wasn’t always about getting a specific answer. More than not, it was about asking the right questions. More than thirty years later, we are still asking questions. We aren’t an expert in every area, but we certainly concern ourselves with being dangerously versed many.
We don’t mind rolling up our sleeves to ask tough questions, impel communication and collaboration, and strongly advocate for the family. In fact, we love it. There is nothing better than helping people live Life on purpose™!
So, yes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket…but make sure you have a basket manager!