These are the things your CEO would like you to know about money. Maybe he or she has never had the time to tell them to you directly. Maybe they have told your immediate supervisor but some things have gotten lost in translation. Today I’ll spill the beans, number…
1) Don’t aspire to have what they have because they do not pay for most of the material things you seem to admire them for. That’s right. The car is paid for. One of these CEO’s told me he left work one day and found out that his car had been replaced. It turns out that the company had a policy to replace the CEO’s car every two years. He didn’t know because it was never his car, to begin with. It distressed him to see many of his colleagues going into debt trying to buy the same car. The phone they use is paid for. So is the air ticket, fuel, entertainment insurance etc. Some even have allowances for the house and domestic help. So if you see them spending a bit more on other things, it is because a huge financial burden is borne by the companies they work for. Lesson: Spend time building the assets that will bear your financial burden instead of increasing that burden by mimicking your CEO. His/her source of funds is not your source of funds.
2) Your only source of income cannot be your job. This is a tricky one for most of them to publicly admit. Some companies still have archaic contracts that prohibit people from engaging in other ventures. In some of our training sessions, we have actually had to challenge human resource managers to change the policy and some have, after understanding the calculations. Let’s speak retirement. Everybody will still need a source of income to survive. You will still need food and will have bills to pay. The best time to start building is when you are working. Most CEO’s have investment groups, stakes in private companies and done other traditional investments like property, treasury bonds etc. They know that their pension funds will never be enough to retire comfortably on so they invest. Lesson: Invest aggressively. Your job is not a guarantee. Have multiple sources of income.
3) They don’t know it all. While at work the CEO may seem larger than life. At work, his or her word can be final. We make the mistake of putting them on a pedestal in every area of your lives. A young man told me that he could not believe that he lost money on an investment encouraged by his CEO. The CEO may be an expert in the industry of the company you work for but not in investments. It’s fine to listen to others but go and seek out the proper advice from the proper people. Those who have know how or experience. CEO’s please note that what you think is a harmless opinion may be taken as fact by those who admire you. Always put in the disclaimer.
4) They have financial problems of their own. It may be comforting to know that in many ways the CEO’s we admire are just like us. They struggle with spending, debt, relationships, knowing where to invest, not saving enough, fretting over retirement etc. I really admire the CEO’s who have sat together with their teams as we trained them. I have felt sorry for those who believed that by virtue of their position, that they could not face up to them. Nobody has perfect financials. The amounts we work with may be different but the principles are the same. Everybody is going through something no matter how perfect his/her situation looks. You probably can teach them something that they do not know.
5) There is a type of CEO or leader to ignore. The one who insists you spend money to look good. This is also commonly a supervisor, boss or colleague. The ones who encourage you to drive a certain car, have a certain phone or live in a certain neighborhood to match the image of the organization or the title you have. Many people have succumbed to this pressure only to be extremely resentful when they did not get the promotion or even worse still lost their jobs. Some CEO’s have been very unaware that their chosen managers are spreading these beliefs. People like this distract you from real financial prosperity. Find a way to blot their opinions out. Don’t live out somebody else’s idea of what you should have. You do you. Lesson: When it comes to your money, you are the CEO. Nobody else is so don’t give up that position.
For more information on the Centonomy Personal Financial Planning programs, get in touch with Waceke on waceken@centonomy.com|Facebook/WacekeNduati| Twitter@cekenduati