OUR PROCESS - OUR THOUGHTS ON COMMUNICATION
We were recently considering what a commercial airline pilot knows about communication. Specifically, the difference between a pilot who goes silent from takeoff to landing… and one who talks to you.
The communicative pilot welcomes you aboard.
Tells you the route.
Gives you a heads-up when turbulence is ahead.
Explains why the seat belt sign just came on.
You might not love flying, but you feel taken care of. You feel informed. You feel calm.
Then there is the silent pilot who leaves you to imagine everything. UGH! Those are the worst!
With close to 60 years of combined experience giving advice about life and money, Dave and I think about this kind of thing all the time.
You want to “see” inside our head? Read on…
We think the pilot analogy is a clear explanation of what good communication is — and what it isn’t. The goal is to make sure you’re never left guessing.
As a VFA client, you get “dripped” on regularly throughout the year. We do this because we think staying in contact with the people we serve matters. The thing is… we have been doing this long enough to know that consistent contact is one of the most underrated parts of this work.
But here’s where it gets a little complicated.
When markets get choppy — when there’s a scary headline or a geopolitical event that everyone seems to be talking about — we often don’t send a special “here’s what’s happening” email.
That might seem strange.
Shouldn’t a communicative advisor be on the phone when things get volatile? Not always. Most news cycles last 24-48 hours. What feels alarming on Monday is often forgotten by Thursday.
Our intention is that through consistent, ongoing communication we can help you build enough confidence in your long-term plan that a short-term scare doesn’t send you into a tailspin. If we’re doing our job right, you already know how we think about these things. You don’t need a special bulletin every time the market sneezes.
That said, we don’t want to be the ostrich with our heads in the sand either. If something is truly significant — if there’s a real change in your situation, or something in the broader environment that genuinely warrants a conversation — we’ll reach out.
Back to the pilot. A good pilot doesn’t come on the intercom every five minutes to say, “Still flying. Still fine.” That would drive you crazy.
But they do tell you the plan upfront. They give you context.
And when something matters, they let you know.
That’s what we do.
Thank you for your continued trust and confidence in our process and our people.
Regards,
Rick & Dave