Our Dinner With INN8 series took a philosophical turn in Johannesburg as our wealth managers were treated to an evening of Japanese-inspired taste bud disruption and a discussion on how self-actualisation is really the only way to create your best life.

At the well-known tasting restaurant, Est Est Alea, discussions were led by financial adviser turned agent of change, Stef du Plessis. With years of industry experience, Stef is now on a crusade to help wealth managers achieve excellence in business and in life.

We really went back to basics and got to grips with what’s truly important to us as human beings, and how those things affect how we build our businesses.

Stef shared the five key tenets of self-actualisation which wealth managers need to consider on their journey towards transforming their business.

Below is an excerpt from a letter from Stef – straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were!

Efficient reality perception
See things the way they are, not how you wish they could be. Identify something that is causing you unhappiness. See if you can reframe your thinking about your perceptions about ‘the thing’. Be ridiculously absurd. Look at it from a completely different angle. Taxis annoy you? In your mind, become the taxi driver. Justify to yourself why it’s OK to drive like he does. Then see it from his point of view. And if that doesn’t work, stay angry with the taxis. Let me know how that works for you!

External problem centeredness
Focus on the needs of others. Do something, for someone, without expecting anything in return.

Sense of oneness
Or, in its original Freudian vernacular, ‘gemeinschaftsgefuhl’. Also translates to: ‘connectedness with humankind’. Here’s what you can do: Connect with people. Remember, we are not separated by our differences – we’re separated by our ignorance. And we’re all ignorant (about other people). ‘Till we’re not. Get connected. With one person at a time. It’s simple. Speak to someone, and don’t stop till you achieve a ‘me too’ moment (something that ‘connects’ you).

Freshness of appreciation
Start a gratitude journal. Every day write down one thing that you appreciate. Never repeat the same entry. Do it every day. Forever.

Clear ethical standards
Every day, look for one opportunity to do what’s right, rather than just avoiding doing what’s wrong.

How do we make this real?

A lesson in self-actualisation may seem like a very high-level topic for wealth managers keen for practical ideas on how to build their business, but Stef brought it together. He was able to bring these concepts alive for our guests in a very real way, always tying the ideas back to practical examples of business challenges. The conversation expanded and grew from questions like, “Okay, so I have this issue with my staff…”. Stef was able to offer real-world suggestions to the guests on their specific situations, and the golden thread of why self-actualisation is so important, became clear.

Our lesson?

It was fascinating to see how perfectly Stef’s advice dovetails into INN8’s way of doing business. The first step is always a clear and active understanding of why we do what we do – our vision – and the values that we hold dear. In business and in life, this is always going to be the only place to start.

By actively deciding to put the wealth manager at the centre of everything we do, we continually strive to find ways to add value and challenge their thinking. We’re clear about what we do and why we do it, and Stef’s insights only strengthened our belief that we’re on the right track.

Lively debate interspersed with oh-so-amazing food made for another great success. We’ve been honoured to host a variety of speakers offering diverse and stimulating insight – it’s just another way in which INN8 is becoming the partner our wealth managers need in their business.

We look forward to what the next Dinner with INN8 holds. Keep an eye on your inbox for the next event in your city!

About Dinner with INN8

INN8 is adviser inspired – we ensure that the adviser is always the centre of our universe and everything we do is created with them in mind. Our Dinner with INN8 series is one offering of our Practice Development Hub, created to assist wealth managers in building their practice, going further than usual to bring real value to the wealth manager. The dinner series aims to create a peer learning environment in a relaxed atmosphere, enabling wealth managers to connect with each other, learn from insightful speakers and share knowledge and insights with each other.