2020 Lessons & Reflections
Thank you for sticking with me in this challenging and turbulent year. I love a good list, so below are my lists of year end reflections.
2020 Learnings
I've been thinking about what I learned from this year, and also what lessons other people have taken in. Here are the general life lessons I saw over and over this year.
Most people are more adaptable, strong, and resilient than they imagined. But having that strength, adaptability, and resiliency relentlessly tested can feel cruel.
Good things will emerge out of this challenging time, but not for everyone. It is important to acknowledge the hard times, and give each other (and ourselves) grace.
You don't know what you've got until it's gone. But we should try anyway, to see what we have now and be grateful.
Below is what I noticed in the industry during 2020.
After many high profile killings of Black people, and recorded incidents of blatant racism by people in financial services, the industry finally seems willing to talk about race, and acknowledge current inequities. It remains to be seen which companies will follow that talk with action.
White men continue to be the overwhelming majority of industry decision makers (corporate boards and executives) and voices we listen to (media execs and journalists, conference speakers, authors). I do not sense a willingness among men to cede much space, or even to make more space for other voices. I hope I am proven wrong.
ESG and SRI continue to gain broad adoption. Pioneering companies continue to be acquired by sustainable-investing-friendly-but-historically-traditional firms. (FAFN via Folio to Goldman Sachs, Calvert via Eaton Vance to Morgan Stanley, and Aperio to Blackrock.) It will be interesting to see how the traditional companies leverage the knowledge of the SRI and ESG companies they acquired. FAFN has already left Goldman Sachs.
My 2020 Wrap Up
In January, I did strategic planning for the year and set ambitious goals I was excited about. By late March I had changed or paused every single one of them. In July, I rewrote more reasonable goals, and though I didn't hit them all, I did get most of them. Below are some of my 2020 highlights:
Virtual school.
Surviving virtual school with my two elementary school kids, since March. Friday was their last day for the year.
Published 15 articles, including as a columnist at both Morningstar and Financial Planning.
Adapted my conference presentations into engaging, interactive digital talks for both online conferences and private company digital meetings.
Supported a client as they launched their first ETF!
Refreshed my own brand and website. It's still a work in progress so please let me know what you think.
The most meaningful things I've done are harder to measure:
Forged and maintained meaningful relationships with my clients. This is a people business. I know that of course, but this year has shown that more than any other year in my career.
Made introductions. One of my favorite things to do is to introduce good people to each other and to opportunities. Because I am vocal about race and gender representation in financial services people ask me for intros to job candidates, speakers, writers, and experts who are women and people of color. I was happy to make dozens of those intros this year.
Continued to share stories of people whose voices are frequently disregarded or discounted by our industry. I know (because you tell me!) that hearing these stories is impactful. I'll continue to tell these stories next year.
Said no to work that felt boring. As a consultant, I know my income can be volatile, so it can be hard to say no to prospects. But I also know that I do my best work when I am excited about the project, have an authentic relationship with the people I work with, or ideally, both. Saying no clears a path to purposeful and rewarding work.
As always, I love to hear from you! Send me a note and let me know what this year has taught you, industry trends I missed, or anything else you want to tell me. I wish you a healthy and happy rest of the year. See you in 2021.