Peter Vidmar was the captain of the gold medal winning US Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Team in 1984 in Los Angeles.  Peter earned one silver medal and two gold medals in gymnastics and scored a “Perfect 10” on the pommel horse as he led the team to their dramatic and stunning win against the favored People’s Republic of China. 

A few months ago, I got to spend a few hours talking with Peter Vidmar just after his return from Beijing where he had done television commentary on the Olympics.  I wanted to share some of his thoughts and insights on the mindset that yielded a “perfect 10” performance and how those may apply to your quality of life.  So here are some of his thoughts on how little things can mean a lot.

How often do you hear a parent, coach, or teacher, say, “You better study twice as hard if you’re going to get success?”  The sentiment makes sense, but the math doesn’t. Most of the time, no matter how much we might want to, we simply can’t double any significant effort. It’s not possible in the case of a world-class athlete. In my sport, any gymnast hoping to make the Olympics must work out at least five hours a day.  So if I’m going to double my training, I have to train 10 hours a day. Technically, that may be possible, but from a physical standpoint, it makes no sense. It would be exhausting to the point of being counterproductive.  So, the key to improving isn’t to work twice as hard, but just a fraction harder, or smarter, or longer. In the end, it’s the fraction that matters.  Increase the quality of your effort bit by bit.  Being the best is never really a matter of being twice as good as someone else.  It’s usually measured by fractions.  In the Olympic arena, you will find example after example. Connie Carpenter-Phinney won the women’s road racing gold medal in cycling in the 1984 Olympics after 50 miles of racing—by one inch. Gary Hall Jr. won the 50-meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Games by 1/100th of a second.  In Track & Field, Justin Gatlin won the 100 meters in Athens to become the Fastest Man in the World. The fourth place finisher was just 4/100ths of a second behind!  No one wins by running twice as fast or jumping twice as far. They win by fractions—by portions of seconds undetected to the naked eye.

So where could just a fraction make a difference in your life? 

How to Keep from Getting Ripped Off

It seems that all you have to do is open the paper, log onto the internet or turn on the TV to see news of another financial thief (I started to say “rip-off artist,” but there is nothing artistic or even vaguely redeeming about that form of species).  The level of anger and frustration it evokes makes it difficult to even think about.

There are some very simple steps to safeguard your money.  This simple checklist is a great starting point:

Checkpoint #1)  Is the custodian a separate company from the advisor’s company?  The safe answer is “yes.”

Checkpoint #2)  Are all checks written to or funds transferred to the custodian instead of the advisor’s company?  The safe answer is “yes.”

Checkpoint #3)  Is the advisor registered?  The safe answer is “yes.”

Checkpoint #4)  With whom is the advisor registered?  The safe answer is with FINRA or the SEC.

Checkpoint #5)  Are the statements generated from the custodian and not from the advisor?  The safe answer is “yes.”

Checkpoint #6)  Is there a competent due diligence staff or team that is separate from the advisor?  The safe answer is “yes.”

Checkpoint #7)  Do investment returns or results sound too good to be true?  The safe answer is “no.”

If your answers are different from these, it doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong.  But it does mean that there are not the checks and balances in place to give you the highest level of protection for your money.

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Pictured is Wade Huffman, M.D. in Sudan in 2008.  This was Dr. Huffman’s 6th trip to Africa.  He went with Safe Harbor International Reliefto encourage the local church, help the clinic, see patients and help build a new clinic.  Here is what he had to say about it:

“There are no roads or vehicles in the area. We obtained sand for the making of cement by bringing sand from the river bank by wheel barrow 1.5 miles away. The ‘well-to-do’ if they are fortunate, ride bicycles. Everybody else walks.” 

“The weather is hot. We were there from Oct. 6 – Nov. 11, at the end of the rainy season. The rain brings a little refreshing coolness, but rapidly becomes suffocating humidity when it stops. As dry season sets in, the days are cloudless with temperatures in the 110s. All heavy work must be done early in the morning, as by noon it is quite hot. After about 5pm it starts to cool off, and another hour or two of work can be done. The midday ‘siesta’ isn’t really a tradition, it is mandatory! This is a true frontier missions and development effort. The team in Nyimbuli has had wells drilled that represent the first clean water that the community has ever had. It is truly humbling and inspiring to work with the dedicated staff there.”

The show “The Weakest Link” tapped into a basic human fear of lacking importance and not being good enough to be included in the community.  Being the weakest link provides a certain freedom.  I know because I am the weakest link.

When I played music for a living, being surrounded by musicians who were better players than me helped the band sound its best.  For me there is a freedom in acknowledging the talents and strengths of those around me.  It’s good for them to hear the truth, it inspires me to be my best and it’s good for me so that I can focus on my strengths.

The truth is that after working for two decades in financial services, there are still experts in money management, financial planning, estate planning, insurance and tax rules that know more than me.  So why not put together a great team and leverage their expertise?  Granted, by virtue of being around experts everyday I was able to learn.  But I came to the realization that by giving advice in these areas based only on my knowledge, I was denying my clients access to world-class advice and was therefore providing a disservice to them.

That’s why I started our firm in 1999.  I felt more needed to be done to help people than what was in the traditional investment firm or financial services company model.  Now I am happy to be called the “weakest link” and to run a firm that coordinates a team of world-class experts.  There is comfort in being surrounded by people so much better than me at so many things.

Jim Rohn, the inspirational speaker and writer who passed on in late 2009, challenged his listeners, “don’t run with the easy crowd.  Run with the people who challenge and inspire you.”  Sounds like Jim was a fan of being the “Weakest Link.”

Words Matter

Of course they do. Words are used to create agreements that make fortunes and destroy them.  Words are used to create marriages.  Words on a page officially end them.  The reason the pen is mightier than a sword is because words matter.  How we talk to others and to ourselves dramatically impact relationships.

I haven’t personally read the research but it sounds plausible to me: a friend who is a psychologist tells me that the words we say can actually cause changes in our brains, biochemical changes.  He says that the language we use can and does change our beliefs.

Words determine the effectiveness of our plans.  Weak language yields powerless actions.  For robust results we must communicate intentions with purpose.

There are six levels of language used in communicating plans or intentions.

Obligation.  “I should exercise more.”  This indicates an internal battle is going on and there is tension.  It’s as though something outside ourselves is communicating against our will.  You know it would be good, but you just don’t want to.

Possibility.  “I might do a kickboxing class.”  Possibility shifts the focus from external obligation to choice and self-responsibility.  Possibilities are a great place to start because they can be energizing and inspiring.  The risk with this level of language is that it can seduce you into a false sense of well-being.

Preference.  “I would like to spend more time with my family during the week.”  Moving higher up the scale adds emotional energy and creates incentives beyond merely considering possibilities.  This increases the odds that your words will lead to action.

Passion.  “I’d love to learn to speak Spanish.”  Chances are that something is going to change in your world when your language gets to this level.

Plans.  Creating a plan helps line up possibilities, preferences and passions.  Considering resources, factors, timelines and action steps and clearly communicating them with specificity.  “I will know that I have achieved my goal of adopting a healthier lifestyle in order lose weight and lower my cholesterol when I have read two books on nutrition, attended exercise classes regularly for three months, lowered my cholesterol below 200 and lost 10 pounds by June 1^st.”

Promise.  The most powerful language is promise.  “I will win the Tour De France.”  “I will be on time.”  Promise indicates absolute commitment and can help stretch and motivate us beyond our comfort zone.

There is a risk with this level of communication.  Unrealistic, excessive or casual promises can degenerate into obligations, frustration or broken relationships if promises remain unfulfilled.

Try noticing as you speak with others what level of language they use when discussing different topics and what levels you use.  I’d love to hear your insights.

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Trent O’Connell finished the Canyonlands ½-Marathon in Moab, Utah. 

Trent said:  “The course was beautiful! I was pleased overall with my time [since] this was my first ½ and at a higher altitude.  My two fraternity brothers and I are looking to make this an annual event. You know you are getting old when your “guy’s trip” is a marathon instead of a weekend of no sleep and money not so well spent!” 

Way to go, Trent.

Imagine what would be different in your life if you woke up this morning and your portfolio and your net worth had one more zero – at the end?  Or two more zeros.  If your net worth changed overnight from say, two million to twenty million dollars?

Jim Rohn, the business philosopher said, “The major question to ask on the job is not what are you getting. The major question to ask on the job is what are you becoming?” 

At some level, making smart decisions about your money is very similar because it’s not just about what we’re getting; it’s about who we are becoming. 

Consider:

How would one more zero make you think about your time?  Would it bring more focus?  Would you focus less on details or more?  Is there something you’d do differently with your time?  Would you be engaged in the same activities then that you are now?

How would one more zero make you think about your purpose?  Is there something that you’d get into your life or are there things you’d get out of your life?  Would anything shift for you?

How would one more zero make you think about the process for making money decisions?  Would you keep doing what you’re doing or would you hire a team of world-class experts to help you?  Would you implement a process with accountability, clear benchmarks, a 107-point checklist that is cycled through every year to make sure your financial house gets in order and stays in order?  Would you use a precise system of checks and balances?

How would one more zero prompt you to communicate differently with your family about how to steward your money?  Research has consistently shown that about 90% of the time family wealth is gone by the third generation.  The interesting thing is that the 10% that continue to preserve wealth generation after generation have some things in common.  Would it become important to learn what those common characteristics are and how to put them into practice in your family?

How would one more zero make you think about your health?  No one I know would say that money is more important than health.  And yet, you probably know people who live like it is.  They know where the Dow closed but don’t know their blood pressure.  They know the P/E ratio of the S&P but don’t know their cholesterol numbers.  They know when their next report is due for work but don’t know when they’ll exercise again.  Would a zero change anything for you?

How would one more zero make you think about your personal relationships?  Would it remove tension, add tension or change the focus of some relationships?  How would the dynamics change?

Rarely does an extra zero or two show up overnight.  But if it did, what would you do? The more important question may be: what if you actually lived as though that extra zero was there, what would be the likely impact?

 Tax Freedom Day

Tax Freedom Day answers the question: How many days per year do you work to pay for your government?  In 2010 it was April 9^th.  That means the “average” American worked until mid-April to pay their taxes.  In 1910 Tax Freedom Day was January 20.  Last year, American’s paid more in taxes than they paid for food, clothing and housing combined.  (Source: Office of Management and Budget; Internal Revenue Service; Congressional Research Service; National Bureau of Economic Research; Tax Foundation.)

Tax Freedom Day deals with the current year – the front nine.  Have you ever been ahead in the front 9 only to blow it in the back 9?  Has your team ever had a tremendous lead at the end of the third quarter only to lose the game by the end of the fourth?  The score matters most at the end of the game.

Today Americans have trillions of dollars invested in accounts with a huge “mortgage” – a potential tax liability – on those assets.  And many have done nothing to position themselves to protect the assets they’ve spent a lifetime building. They have no “exit strategy” for one of their largest assets – their retirement accounts.       

Steven Covey succinctly stated, “Begin with the end in mind.”  And yet, when it comes to optimizing the value of our investments we often look at the tax deductions for the current year.  This may be at the expense of a future tax burden that will create a liability when we least want or need it – when we begin withdrawing money.

In his book, The Retirement Savings Time Bomb and How to Defuse It, Ed Slott,  one of the most well-known and highly respected CPAs in the country, says, “…you’ve had it drummed into your head that tax-deferral is the name of the retirement game, haven’t you?  Well, I have to face the fact that my profession is largely to blame for such arbitrary thinking… Doing nothing… is the surest way to build up your retirement savings account for Uncle Sam.”

When we start an investment account, doesn’t it make sense to have a brilliant exit strategy in place? A smart strategy can make your Tax Freedom Day come early when it counts most.

Tom Peters said, “What gets measured gets done.”

There is an amazing thing that happens when you start measuring something.  Weight Watchers uses this principal and helps people produce tremendous results.  Successful coaches, teachers and trainers use this principal to help people bring out the best in themselves.

Around the world KFC is one of the most recognizable consumer brands.  But KFC can stand for more than Kentucky Fried Chicken. The KFC Principal goes like this:

Know what you want.

Find out what you’re getting.

Change what you’re doing until you get what you want.

Ferrari has a fascinating racing program.  The company formed an alliance with chip-maker AMD.  They know what they want (to win races).  So in order to find out what they are getting, they arm each car with upwards of 150 different sensors and have up to 2500 telemetry channels open.

As the driver pilots the car around the track, the performance crew can measure lift, lateral G forces, air pressure at the front and back of the car, oil temperature in different parts of the engine, and hundreds of other pieces of data.  It takes a massive amount of computing power to make sense of it all.

Serious golfers engage in similar efforts:  Videotaping of their swing and follow through, and now even computerized sensors on the golf club measure acceleration, pitch, yaw, velocity and the like.

It’s been said that if you want to find out what’s really important to a person, find out what they spend their time doing.  What’s most dear?  What do they spend their money on?  And yet, I have found times in my own life when what I was actually doing and what was important to me were not in alignment.  Ouch.  Many people would say their health is more important than money and yet you can’t tell that from their calendar, their checkbook or their actions.  They know where the Dow closed but don’t know their blood pressure; they know what the unemployment numbers are and the direction of gold this week but don’t know their cholesterol or C-reactive protein.

Measuring what needs to be measured is often the hardest, or at least a very challenging part of the process of getting what we want.  I was measuring my pace by mile but I wasn’t running faster.  Christopher, my trainer, had me start measuring my pace in 1/8^th mile increments.  Based on what was happening at each point in the run, he changed my training plan to help me get better results.

I’ve had to ask myself: What are the things that are essential to success in each area of life?  Do you have a crystal clear conception of what you want?  Do you know exactly the results you’re getting and the behavior that is driving those results?  Are you willing to change what you’re doing to get what you want?

Have you used the KFC principal personally or professionally?  How has it worked for you?  I’d love to hear your story. 

Scales don’t lie.  Checkbooks don’t lie.  Calendars don’t lie.  What does yours say?

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Pictured here are Art and Linda Ager with their backs to the Pacific Ocean.  For years the Agers lived in Brentwood and Art worked at Bridgestone.  Recently they moved back to northern California.  The Agers enjoy taking in the world around them: Art runs the “goat trails” in their area (if you know Northern California, you know what that means!), they make regular pilgrimages to the Monterey Jazz Festival, attend auto races, and visit the ocean to enjoy the waves.  They are active in the lives of their children and grandchildren, and for many years have helped young people learn about business through Junior Achievement. We’ve been blessed to know them!

Pictured here is Jim Traub on a recent trip to the Caribbean.  Jim is no stranger to travel, having served in the Peace Corps in Uganda.  In addition to his profession, he is active in his faith and with his four grown children, one of which is currently working in Korea.

Of his trip, Jim said: “I went with a friend last year to the Caribbean and enjoyed seeing the Dominican Republic and both the US and British Virgin Islands.  Besides the beauty of the sea and the islands, the most unusual thing I learned was that the US Virgin Islands drive US made cars, but they drive on the other side of the road, like the British!!!  There is a long complicated history of Island “ownership” involving Denmark, France, Britain and the United States and I guess they just got tired of switching to the other side of the road every time something happened!!!”

You can almost hear the accordion!

As far as I can tell, the only reason to achieve financial goals is to more fully experience and enjoy our most deeply held values.  Having enough money to have the flexibility to do things for and with the people we want allows us to share experiences and fuel our zest for living.  It’s not about the money really.  It’s about the life.

When it comes to achieving financial goals, they all have a common denominator: having enough money.  While it may be true of most non-financial goals as well, research has consistently shown that there are three main reasons people fail financially.

The lack of a clear, compelling vision of the future is the first component.  Ancient Script says, “without a vision, the people perish.”  Having a vision is not about a secret, not about affirmations, it’s about clarity and focus for your life and having reasons that are compelling.  

In this picture, the fireman had a clear, compelling vision of getting water onto the fire and therefore refused to see the vehicle as an obstacle.

I’ve discovered a simple, powerful 19-minute exercise for getting clarity and a compelling vision of the future. This is different than the 14-minute exercise referred to in the Law of 168.  Call or email our office and we’ll be glad to share it. 

Or you can do another powerful exercise: write yourself a letter from a specific date in the future with as much detail as you can muster. If you’d like a sample, email us and we’ll send you one.

The lack of a comprehensive plan is the second component.  There are about 107 checklist items that we have identified that can dramatically affect financial outcomes. Even though problems most often arise with five or six of them, why take a chance?  It’s not enough to know that your car has enough gas to get to your destination.  It’s helpful to make sure there’s enough oil, water, washer fluid and a spare tire with air.  I can tell you about that one sometime as well.  When I get on an airplane, I want to know the flight crew has gone all the way through the pre-flight checklist, not just checked the big items.  Good auto mechanics go through a checklist.  Don’t you deserve as much professionalism from a financial advisor as you do from your auto mechanic?

The lack of discipline to follow through is the third big one.  Discipline has been defined as doing the right thing at the right time whether you feel like it or not.

Peter Vidmar, the Olympic gold-medal winning captain of the 1984 men’s gymnastic team told me there are only two times you have to train if you want to be an Olympian: When you feel like it.  And when you don’t.

I learned about discipline from my son when he was five-years old.  On the fourth consecutive day of skiing we stopped at the top of a ridge to catch our breath.  He had been sick all four days but had insisted on skiing.  I asked him if he was tired and wanted to stop and take a rest.  He said, “Dad, if my legs burn does that mean I’m getting stronger?”  I responded, “Well, yeah.”  Without hesitating he said, “Then let’s keep skiing.”

Tom Peters, the management guru, said, “Calendars never lie.  They are 100% accurate and visible indicators of your priorities.”

There’s the Prado Principal or “the 80/20 Rule” (where 80% of the results come from the top 20%) and the Rule of 72 (72 divided by any percentage gives you the approximate number of years it takes for your money to double).  But one of the most powerful principals is the Immutable Law of 168.

The Immutable Law of 168 states: No matter how you “manage” your time, there are still only 168 hours in a week.  And the quality of your life will be directly related to how you spend your 168 hours.

I Googled “time management” and found 237,000,000 results.  When you compare that to Barak Obama (77,600,000 results), Global Warming (11,000,000 results), and Tiger Woods (47,500,000 results), we see that “time management” is a popular topic.

As much as I’d like it to be true, I cannot manage time.  “Time management” is not a time issue at all.  It’s a priority issue.  I can manage my priorities and activities, and choose between the better of two goods (because most decisions are not between the lesser of two evils).  And I can say “no” to many good endeavors in order to spend my time where I can have the most impact and meaning.

Time, unlike money, cannot be invested.  Time is a commodity that can only be spent.  And everyone has the same 168 hours in his or her week.

It would be great if we could “bank” the time spent waiting on something – like unused cellular minutes, to use more time doing things we actually want to do.  But there is no bank where you can store time to use in the future.  We can only spend it.

When it comes to the Immutable Law of 168, consider:  Are there activities I need to rethink?  Are there boundaries I need to establish?  Are there things I need to get onto my calendar, or things I need to eliminate from my 168-hour week, to improve the quality of my life and the lives of the people

I love?  Do I spend my time focusing on things beyond my control or on the things I can control?  How will you spend your 168?

(I’ve discovered a simple, 14-minute exercise that has helped make best use of the 168 hours and I’m happy to share it with you or your friends.  Call or email our office if you’d like a copy.)

Many thanks to Dr. Terry O’Hara for sharing the Immutable Law of 168 with me. 

The Last Mile

Enough time has passed that I can now confess.

Two Octobers ago I went on a five-day bicycle trip by myself.  I worked till noon, went home and rode from my house, through Murfreesboro to Lebanon.  Over the next four days I pedaled through Kentucky, across the Ohio River into southern Indiana and back.  I got to enjoy the scenery in Goodnight, Hog Wallow and beautiful Breckinridge County.  Other than the beautiful countryside and solitude, it was a rather uneventful trip for most of the 442 miles.  While I wrote about the trip back then, only a few of my friends knew what happened in the last ¼-mile. Until now. 

I was hurrying to get home on Sunday afternoon to make it to my son’s swim lessons and had gotten a late start in Gallatin that morning.  I stopped at a friend’s house in Mt. Juliet to drop off some gear and lighten my load.  I pulled into our neighborhood at 2:10 p.m. – just in time to get ready for a 2:30 departure. 

Five houses from home, I turned into the sun, pedaled easier, put my head down to avoid the brightness and looked down at my Cat’s Eye computer to review my distance, average speed and other metrics.  I was processing how far I had ridden when I felt the bone-jarring impact and heard the sickening sound of metal on metal.  I realized I was on top of a Honda station wagon, still clipped onto my bike.  After I hit the pavement and quickly got unclipped from my pedals, I stood up and realized… the station wagon was parked.  I had just completed 442 miles across three states without incident and then hit my neighbor’s son’s parked car – three houses away from mine.

I knocked on the door and worked things out with the owner, certainly one of my most embarrassing moments, and limped home pushing my crooked handle-barred bike.  My son met me in the yard and said, “Dad, your blood is leaking out,” from the cut on my thigh.

I now have a different appreciation of that statistic of accidents happening close to home and, most importantly, I now know not to take my eye off the road until I’m off of the bike.

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Jon Young shows off his logo wear as he mixes down some tracks in his studio, Sonic Sculpture.  You can find out more or listen at: www.myspace.com/sonicsculptureinc.  

Gold was the supreme measure of value and the one common currency of commerce in the world’s financial system in the early development of our nation.  The Bank of England went on the gold standard in 1821, agreeing to buy or sell unlimited amounts of gold at a set rate in pounds sterling.  Since the Bank of England was the dominant bank for world trade, other nations (theU.S. included) had little choice but to adopt the same standards.

The gold standard made inflation virtually impossible.  A government could not add to its money supply unless it had gold to back its currency.  WhileU.S.banks did print bank notes denominated in gold, the notes tended to carry less value the further they were removed from the issuing bank.  The gold standard worked to minimize inflation; it did not allow the government the options of monetary policy in times of national crisis.

In the beginning, the U.S.was not a major gold-producing nation—in 1847, the U.S.produced only 43,000 ounces.  That changed dramatically with the discovery of gold in Californiathe following year.  By 1853, gold production reached 3,144,000 ounces, worth almost $65 million. (Source: Limbaugh and Fuller, Calaveras Gold)

The discovery of gold in Californiaforever changed the face of the nation.  It began the tipping of the population and center of commerce from the east to the west.  In fact, at the turn of the 20^th century,Tennessee andAlabama had larger populations thanCalifornia.  It brought railroads to the west and gave rise to towns and cities.  It basically laid the foundation for today’s economy.

When the stock market crashed in 1929 and the world economies fell into a deep recession, panicking investors eventually sought to redeem their bank notes for the gold of gold standard countries.  Faced with decreasing gold reserves, the Bank of England suspended all gold payments.  Their stock market rallied (as did theU.S.markets) when, in 1933, theU.S.announced it was suspending the gold standard.  This resulted in the greatest two day-rally in stock market history as stocks soared approximately 9% the first day and approximately 6% the next.  The end of the gold standard came to theU.S.in 1971 when President Nixon stopped all foreign redemption of Federal Reserve Notes for gold.  Again, the stock market responded with enthusiasm.

As a long-term investment, gold has produced a negative return for the past two hundred years, when adjusted for inflation. (Source: Jeremy Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run)

Gold has also provided us with the endearing description of bulls and bears.  For entertainment, theCaliforniaminers would chain one leg of a bull to one leg of a bear; keep them in a corral, then bet on which animal would survive the encounter.  The optimists bet on the bull and the pessimists bet on the bear.  Not much has changed in that regard in the past 150 years.

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Dr. Minich at Ayres Rock in Autralia

Peter Minich, MD is pictured here standing in front of Ayres Rock, Uluru in theKataTjutaNational ParkinAustralia.  Dr. Minich, a urologist and transplant surgeon with a medical degree from Queen’s University inOntario, wasn’t satisfied to merely be an outstanding physician.  He went on to get his PhD in organizational leadership from Vanderbilt.  He has since authored two books that focus on helping healthcare professionals work better together for better patient outcomes.

Truly a citizen of the world, originally fromOntario,Canada, Peter has practiced inNashville,OntarioandChicago.

He spent the better part of a year inAustraliadeveloping a leadership curriculum for physicians.  While there, he went toNew Zealandand he successfully piloted the new curriculum.  While inChristchurch, he found himself in the middle of the February 22, 2011 earthquake, an event that seriously challenged the leadership skills he was working on.

When asked about the experience of seeing the ground fold and buildings he had been in and around only moments before lying in ruins with many having lost their lives, he reflected, “One of the greatest lessons taught from this experience was that of compassion.  As a physician, compassion is critical, but it is almost always needed by someone whose circumstances you don’t share.  In the case of the earthquake, the same life threatening challenges were shared by all, making compassion all the more challenging but even more critical. It was a humbling experience but a great life lesson. Understanding the need and having the skill to appreciate another’s perspective- even if they live on the other side of the world is a fundamental leadership challenge.”