CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER
March 11-17, 1991

Investments
by Charles Vaughan

If the buck stops here, make sure it’s your buck.

THE BUCK STOPS HERE.

So read the sign on the desk of President Harry S. Truman. Regardless of any other judgment passed on Truman, nobody can accuse him of indecision or lack of acceptance of responsibility. If there is one overriding weakness in the financial plans most people have, it is the lack of such authoritative control. Round and round it goes; where the buck stops, nobody knows.

Most people take their work pretty seriously. They spend a great deal of time and money getting the proper education. Then they spend years accumulating experience to become true professionals. Many are willing to forgo the pleasure of time with family and skip vacations altogether. The reason: to be successful.

While most people can tell you what it takes to be “successful,” they may have more difficulty telling you what it means. Philosopher Will James defined success as, “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” Try wrapping your mind around that!

For most, success means being near the top of their field either in the company or in the local environment. The feeling of accomplishment that comes from living with a feeling of success is reward enough for the many sacrifices along the way. Getting there takes many things, but there are a few that are readily identifiable.

The first is focus. If you can accept Will James’ definition, you must first have a “worthy ideal.” Most people would call this a goal. The clearer the image of the goal, the stronger the notion of success. The second feature is responsibility. Few people would accept the idea of having their personal success totally dependent of someone else. The third ingredient is commitment. To achieve success it is necessary to be dedicated to it. This, in turn, creates an intensity that drives one’s efforts.

Few people pursue their personal goals as aggressively as they do their career goals. Success becomes integrally related to on the job achievement. More and more businesses of all types are releasing “successful” people to improve profits or just to survive. The corporate vice president or CPA firm partner who gets cut suffers twice. Both ego and finances are trashed. Too bad for increasing numbers of such people; they chose the wrong “worthy ideal.” Those finding their lives turned upside down by shattered visions of success are forced to redefine self worth. Perhaps we could all learn from them.

Few work situations permit the accomplishment of work related goals apart from extraneous factors. Ultimately a great deal depends on the company or at least the economic environment. A less risky and more satisfying approach to success is to define it in terms that are under your own control. in fact, control is the key word,

Independence is the issue. I have seen several people whom others would consider “successful” who were in reality very dependent on others. All the trappings of their success are in the hands of other people, either a company or a financial institution. Consider the fate of a senior executive at the Bank of New England or Pan American. Much of their net worth may have been wrapped up in company stock and deferred compensation plans which are now worthless.

By targeting personal financial control instead of career accomplishment, you can change your meaning of success. Instead of striving to please and hoping for the benefices of others, you can took to yourself. The focus shifts to building and maintaining the quality of life for your family. Personal financial planning becomes an important part of your success plan. This serves to overcome the problem of most career centered people who never quite get around to it.

Placing the highest priority on your quality of life allows you to manage your finances with laser precision. The laser operates on the principle of a sharply focused beam of light capable of an extreme degree of intensity. Its constructive power is impressive.

Many people who are “successful” in their careers are too busy to bother with their persona) finances. They have learned to direct their laser like efforts toward their work. The results often are unrelated to the effort expended. If their careers collapse, they would be lost.

A great number of people would benefit from taking more responsibility for their personal financial well being. If they would learn to redirect their laser beams toward personal matters, the results could be more predictable and satisfying.

Maybe it’s time to put a new sign on the desk that says, “it is my buck and it stops here.”