114 THE INVESTMENT TEAM
investment practitioners who get their wrists slapped for exploit-
ing the trust of their clients.
The final set of preferences, disciplined (judging, J) versus flex-
ible (perceiving, P), will determine the flow of the client conversa-
tion. Judgers like closure. They like to see bullet points, plans, and
action steps. They don’t want limitless alternatives. They don’t like
living with uncertainty. They will appreciate a clear recommenda-
tion or a few clearly defined options.
Perceivers, in contrast, are much more comfortable with the
give-and-take of new information, different options, and unresolved
items. They don’t need schedules and agendas for goals. If things
are heading in the right direction, that’s good enough. Their
attitude is: Let’s not tie ourselves down. Freedom is keeping the
door open.The preceding tips should help in dealing with financial mat-
ters, both professionally and personally, but even more important
are the following comments about temperaments. As discussed
earlier, a person’s temperament reflects his or her core needs, val-
ues, and—all-importantly—fears. Given our fragile human condi-
tion, nothing motivates us like fear. Advertisers play on it all the
time, sometimes very subtly, sometimes not. The more you know
someone’s hot buttons, the better the odds are that you can influ-
ence that person. Cynics would say, “The better you know some-
one, the more you can manipulate them.” But this truth can, just
as validly, be reframed as: “The more I know about a person, the
more I can help him or her.” How? By designing their investments
according to that individual’s preferences and needs and by com-
municating in a way that suits the person’s temperament. Here are
some guidelines by temperament:- If your client (or family member) is a lion (SJ), then his or
her core needs revolve around tradition and membership.
Lions value rules, regulations, security, and stability. They
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