Episode 724 - Business & The Course

In this week's Monday Morning Mojo, Phil takes us back to his early days as a rookie at the Trust Company of Georgia, where he learned an invaluable lesson about the power of environment in building relationships. From golf outings to hunting trips, Phil shares how casual, non-formal settings can create authentic connections and reveal business insights you wouldn't get in a boardroom. Tune in for a refreshing perspective on how meaningful conversations, rather than credentials, are the key to success. Ready to elevate your relationship-building game? Don’t miss this one!

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Transcript

 Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I am Phil Buchanan, executive chairman of Canon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push and motivational insight to live your best life. Thanks for joining.

Good Monday morning, Cannon Nation. It is Phil here with episode 724 of Monday Morning Mojo. When I was a year one rookie at the Trust Company of Georgia, I constantly observed my bosses heading out to play golf at prestigious courses throughout Atlanta and the wider region. Candidly, I was jealous they were getting to go and play while I was stuck in the office working.

I viewed what they were doing as a perk. Work hard enough and long enough and you got to go play golf during business hours. As the weather cooled, I watched these same individuals head off on quail hunting trips, coastal fishing trips, et cetera. All of these fun events plus the cocktail receptions and wine tastings they attended led me to believe that senior client advisors and executive management spent more time at play.

Then they did at work. At some point in the not too distant future, I did get invited by my senior boss, Bobby, to join a golf outing Finally, I thought, but he followed that invitation up a few hours later with a memo. And yes, a paper memo. This was before the days of email, and that memo had on it a list of the clients and legal and accounting influencers who would be attending the event.

And it also contained directions for me to do research on each of the attendees so that I would be up to speed on the connection they had to our firm. Now those of us from the trust company who would be attending the event gather together a couple of days later to prep for the outing. At that prep meeting lasted more than an hour, and we went through each of the nine clients and attorneys and accountants who would be joining.

We went over who they were, their relationships, the scope of their businesses, the sources of their wealth, family situations, their goals and objectives as we understood them, et cetera. The day of the event consisted of lunch, golf, and drinks. We arrived early for the lunch, ensured that all was arranged appropriately, and as the guests arrived, introductions were made and then we were seated for lunch.

The more casual atmosphere made for a very engaged level of conversation, not only between our team and our guests, but amongst the guests themselves. The golf, candidly, was just golf, but it was the conversations among the foursomes that stand out vividly in my memory. They were very open and transparent discussions about business strategies, objectives, beliefs, biases, and of course there was humor.

There were few, if any, walls put up that afternoon. Information flowed in collegial relationships developed. Over cocktails after the round stories of the golf shots that were made and missed. Of course, those were told further chemistry was created among the participants and business opportunity follow-up plans were arranged.

The next morning our team met for a debrief. When it came to me for my summary, I remember saying something to the effect that. I had learned more about our clients and our business relationships in the prior day than I felt I had really learned in the entire year. Now, as you can imagine, my colleagues laughed and he hauled a bit about that, but for me it was the absolute truth because that prior day wasn't just about an introduction to client golf.

It was a real awakening for me about the importance that environment plays when it comes to creating and building real relationships with others. Now, of course, looking back on it today, I smile at the level of my naivete. Human beings are incredibly social creatures. Now, some of us are more introverted, while others of us are more extroverted, but we all are tremendously influenced by our surroundings.

Think about it. Put any of us in formal environments and we will comport ourselves accordingly. Take those same individuals and put us in an amplified environment, like a concert or a sporting event, and we're going to act and interact differently. In order to really get to know most people, the environment must be conducive.

Most people are more open in less formal settings. Now, don't take this as encouragement to dismiss entirely the value of professional in-office meetings. They definitely have and should play a role, but I do encourage you to take this to consider proactively and intentionally creating opportunities to engage with clients, prospects, and influences in other venues, be it your, your clubs, the golf course, the hunting lodges, the winery, the art galleries.

While for the clients and prospects and professional advocates, it'll often be viewed as an entertainment venue for you and your team. It is all about building relationships. Always keep this in mind. Folks do business with those they know they like and they trust. Credentials and expertise are table stakes.

But it's the conversations and the connections that eventually seal the deal. Find ways to create more of those casual conversations and connections. It'll impact you in ways you can't imagine.

Monday Morning Mojo is a production of Cannon Financial Institute; executive producer of Monday Morning Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner. Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force for good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.