Emotional Support Dog

Alexander Pope, the great English poet, said, “Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.” 

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “You think dogs will not be in heaven?  I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” 

Mark Twain  said, “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. It is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”

Rethinking Retirement Planning

Men, more so than women, base much of their identity on their professional accomplishments.  They tend to have fewer social connections outside of their work, their professional networks, and associated clubs.  As such, when they retire, many tend to lose their sense of direction and worth, which results in early death. 

People should either invest in social connections and friendships outside of work, or run a business.  The former is accessible to everyone, the latter is not.  As such, we should relook what we understand about retirement planning.  Retirement planning is no longer about putting money aside, and then whiling away the time until death. Because we live longer, that time is now measured in decades.  Retirement planning is about maintaining a desired standard of living while medical costs rise, and income slowly diminishes.  That means funds must be set aside for extent activities.

Emphasising Agency Force in Insurers

I would hate to be a Manulife financial advisor.  If Manulife plans can be bought through financial advisors at DBS through a tie-up, it means Manulife Singapore have basically undermined their own agency force.  This would likely cause some of their better financial advisors to leave, further affecting market share. 

Unlike some other countries, the insurance industry in Singapore is driven largely by tied agencies, as opposed to brokers.  The emphasis on the industry is not lowest overall cost, but greatest customer intimacy.  It is customer intimacy that grants access to more affluent markets, not cost.  The more assets a client has, the more the client has to lose.  It is about recommending specific products and structuring the portfolio to serve client needs.  In that sense, it would be better to spend money developing the agency force, and upgrading their skills and capabilities.  We are long past the era of insurance salesmen, pushing products.  A financial services consultant is providing a service, insurance policies are financial instruments, and risk mitigation and insurance coverage is a major part of every portfolio.

That Last Question ...

Online meetings can be exhausting.  It is important to have an agenda , and the discipline to keep to it.  It is important to keep to the time limits.

Agribonds Will Continue to Do Well: The 2021 Call, & What Five Years of Data Have Since Confirmed

Climate change will cause a profound impact on our food security.  Agricultural areas face direct risk from temperature shifts.  Changes in ocean currents and temperatures will disrupt fishing and fisheries.  Desertification threatens many regions outright.  Putting food on the table will cost more, even as quality grows less consistent.  Agricultural commodity markets, meanwhile, stand to benefit precisely because scarcity raises the price of what remains.

The 2020 bull run was not a fluke.  It was a preview.  In 2020, agricultural commodities staged a rally that defied every reasonable expectation set by a global pandemic.  People still need to eat during an epidemic.  People confined to their homes eat more, not less.  Coffee and cocoa did suffer, but grains and oilseeds reached multi-year highs, and even commodities tied to energy demand and GDP growth, palm oil and sugar among them, performed strongly despite the broader economic collapse around them.

The mechanism was speculative capital chasing scarcity, and the data on this is unambiguous.  Speculators bought record volumes of agricultural futures in 2020, feeding the price rise directly.  Fiscal and monetary stimulus pushed sovereign bond yields down, driving capital out of government debt and into alternative assets, agricultural commodities among the most attractive.  China’s own appetite compounded the effect.  China imported a record 11.3 million metric tonnes of corn in 2020 and a record 98.5 million metric tonnes of soybeans the same year, according to General Administration of Customs data, driven substantially by the need to rebuild its hog population after African swine fever devastated it.  Global corn prices climbed above US$6 a bushel in response, a near eight-year high at the time.

This is where the original contention gets tested against reality, and reality confirmed it emphatically.  Between March 2020 and March 2022, the International Grains Council’s Grains and Oilseeds Index surged 88%, driven by strong Chinese import demand, smaller world supplies following Northern Hemisphere droughts in the summer of 2021, tightening exporter stocks, and rising energy and fertiliser costs, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 then amplified an already tightening market, since Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of wheat, corn, barley, and sunflower oil, and the war disrupted those exports directly.  The scramble for food security the original analysis predicted did not merely continue.  It escalated into the largest agricultural price shock in a generation.

The pattern has not disappeared.  It has simply changed its immediate driver.  Grain prices did retreat from their 2022 peaks as record wheat and corn production, particularly out of Brazil and the United States, rebuilt global supply cushions through the 2023 and 2024 marketing years.  But China’s demand has not gone away.  As of late 2025, China committed to purchasing 25 million metric tonnes of soybeans through 2028, alongside a broader US$17 billion agricultural buying package, and by mid-November 2025, soybean futures were touching seventeen-month highs on exactly the combination the 2021 analysis flagged: fund buying, yield concerns, and confirmed Chinese export demand.  Wheat, corn, and soybean futures continued climbing into 2026 on weather concerns and renewed Chinese purchasing, according to multiple market analyses through that period.

Food security remains the operative variable, not speculation, and the distinction matters.  Speculation inflates prices in bursts and produces temporary bubbles that correct once positioning unwinds.  Structural scarcity, driven by climate change, worsening La Niña cycles, and nations competing to secure adequate wheat, corn, and soybean supplies for their own populations, does not correct.  It compounds.  Five years on from the original 2021 call, the data confirms exactly that distinction played out as described: the speculative spike of 2020 to 2022 has partially unwound, while the underlying scramble for food security, visible in China’s continued record purchasing through 2025 and 2026, has not gone anywhere.  The long-term trend was never about a single bull run.  It was about a structural direction, and the structural direction has not changed.

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Terence Nunis | Executive Chairman, Equinox Zenith & Red Sycamore | Author, The 1% Playbook: The Billionaire Cheat Code

Questions for That Strategic Edge

Every business, every organisation, every leader, needs a strategic road map.  Part of that strategic road map is ensuring that the team has the right capabilities, at every level, to advance the business strategy.  The team must also have the capability to execute their part of the strategic plan at every level below them.  To arrive at this, there are questions we need to consider, and ask ourselves, at every level, and at regular intervals. 

Is our business model relevant?

The business model frames the parameters of the market, and how we approach it.  A proper business model defines the demographics we serve, it define the problems and issues we address, and how we generate revenue from it.  That being said, we must recognise that the market evolves, and consumer habits change.  The business model mist adapt.  As such, every now and then, it is important to relook the business model, and ask ourselves if it is still relevant?  Does it need to change?  In what manner can we offer a better unique selling proposition? 

How do we go beyond the unique selling proposition?

There are, generally, three kinds of market leadership: greatest overall innovation, lowest overall cost, and best customer intimacy.  Depending on the area of market leadership we choose, that is the foundation of our unique selling proposition.  In the sole focus on the generation of revenue, businesses often forget about the intermediate and supporting processes, which lead to this.  That is part of our branding and goodwill.  To go beyond the unique selling proposition is to consider how these attendant processes add or detract from our market leadership.  This is especially important in an age of activist consumerism. 

How do we encapsulate the company ethos?

In this context, the ethos is the characteristic culture and values of the company, which we manifest in our vision and mission, our attitudes, our interactions with stakeholders, and our strategic direction.  As a business grows and expands, we sometimes lose sight of this, the spirit that brought founders together, that kept key personnel invested in the vision, and customers and clients identified with.  It is important to take periodic stock, and ensure we have not moved away from this.  This annual reflection is important to the continued existence of the business. 

Who do we take as role models?

We are, inevitably, influenced by others around us.  However, we must be careful about who we take as our role models.  We look at values and philosophy, and they must be congruent with what we believe in before we consider following them in anything.  There has to be a balance from learning and imitating, and adherence to our core values.  We then look at processes, actions, and outcomes we can imitate and assimilate. 

What are economic and political developments we can take advantage of?

A business should always remember that the world is dynamic.  It would be foolish to assume the market will be the same as it was.  Part of management is to keep an eye on economic and political developments, and project how these developments would affect the market, and to position ourselves to take advantage of that before the rest of the market has moved.  This also requires investing into a business intelligence network.  We should regularly ask these questions, and not be sucked into the here and now at the expense of the future. 

These are fundamental questions every business should have a habit of asking themselves, at regular intervals to sharpen competitive edge.

Checklist When Considering Financial Products

The following is an article from the Sunday Times, on the 03^rd June 2018.  It talks about the misbehaviour of financial services consultants.  The cases are over, but there will always be new cases.  Like any industry, there are exceptional professionals, and there are those who are less than ethical.  The following article has a checklist that is useful for any person considering financial products and engaged in active financial planning.  The checklist is meant to be a guide.  A financial services consultant is still required.

Considerations for a Family Office in Singapore: What Has Changed?

Government policy, economic development, and global politics have driven the growth of wealth management in Asia, particularly Singapore.  The pandemic, a chaotic period of American politics, the realities of climate change, and an increasingly assertive China all pushed capital and family offices toward Singapore over the past several years.  What follows updates that original thesis against the regulatory reality that now governs it.

Why Hong Kong’s Loss Remains Singapore’s Gain

The transfer of wealth from Hong Kong to Singapore has not reversed.  Geographical proximity to China, once Hong Kong’s advantage, remains its liability.  For HNWIs, capital sitting under Chinese jurisdictional reach carries genuine political risk, and China’s own 2026 tax crackdown on offshore trusts and insurance yields has only sharpened that discomfort, not eased it.  Shanghai’s rise as a financial centre in its own right means Hong Kong is no longer the sole gateway to China either, removing the one advantage that once offset the political exposure.

MAS issued Circular FDD Cir 10/2024, taking effect from 1^st January 2025, and it rewired the entire family office incentive structure.  Minimum assets under management now sit at S$20 million for Section 13O and S$50 million for Section 13U, with AUM measured against Designated Investments rather than net asset value, a change with real teeth: a family holding S$80 million in total wealth but only S$40 million in qualifying investments, with the rest tied up in real estate, no longer clears the 13U threshold on paper wealth alone.  A new geographic requirement forces at least 10% of AUM, or S$10 million, whichever is lower, into Singapore-based investments, at application and throughout the fund’s life.  Investment professional headcount doubled from one to two, with at least one required to be a non-family member and Singapore tax resident.  Screening reports from six approved providers, including EY, KPMG, PwC, and BDO, became mandatory for new applications from October 2024.  Business spending requirements now scale with fund size, S$200,000 annually below S$50 million in AUM, rising to S$500,000 for funds between S$50 million and S$100 million.  The schemes themselves were extended to 31^st December 2029, but every condition attached to reaching that date has become considerably harder to satisfy than it was in 2021.

Why CRS 2.0 Changes the Compliance Conversation

The Common Reporting Standard’s second iteration took effect from 1^st January 2026 across more than 46 jurisdictions, extending reportable assets to crypto, e-money, and central bank digital currencies, while demanding more granular reporting on controlling persons and joint account structures.  Self-certification, once the loose foundation jurisdiction shoppers relied on, has tightened considerably, and the OECD has flagged Citizenship-by-Investment and Residence-by-Investment schemes explicitly for heightened scrutiny.  A family office structured in 2021 around the assumption that CRS reporting was static has already fallen behind a regime that now sees considerably more of what it holds.

Why Basel III and IV Matter to a Family Office, Not Just to Banks

Basel III’s finalisation, and the Basel IV reforms layered on top, impose an output floor requiring banks to hold risk-weighted assets at no less than 72.5% of the standardised approach calculation, sharply reducing the capital relief banks previously extracted from internal risk models.  For a family office, this is not abstract prudential regulation.  It raises the cost of leveraged lending, Lombard loans, structured credit, and premium financing, precisely the instruments many single family offices use to fund concentrated positions or bridge liquidity without triggering a taxable disposal.  A family office built on cheap leverage assumptions from 2020 is now borrowing against a considerably more expensive capital base at the banks providing it.

Singapore’s tax regime remains genuinely competitive.  No capital gains tax, no estate tax, consumption-based rather than income-based taxation, and transparent compliance aligned with international standards.  Trust structures and distinct legal entities still allow tax liability to be managed lawfully, and Singapore remains close to a tax haven without ever crossing the line into one, a distinction increasingly valuable as China’s own crackdown makes that line matter more to mainland clients than it ever did in 2021.

Financial Connectivity, and What It Buys

Singapore hosts almost every major bank, financial institution, and insurer, backed by a depth of professional talent, consultants, lawyers, bankers, accountants, actuaries, and compliance officers that few regional competitors can match.  The country’s AAA sovereign rating and Global Investor Programme continue to support relocation, and by 2024, more than 2,000 single family offices held MAS tax incentive approval, over half of Asia’s total, confirming Singapore’s position has strengthened rather than merely persisted since 2021.

The objective of the family office still determines its structure.  The assets it will manage still shape its compliance obligations and headcount.  Investment strategy, horizon, risk profile, and mandate still determine its operational structure.  What has changed is the calculation behind every one of these questions: licensing requirements now carry AUM thresholds measured in Designated Investments rather than net assets, mandatory screening reports, a Singapore investment quota, and a doubled investment professional requirement, none of which existed in this form in 2021.  Operational requirements now include CRS 2.0-compliant reporting infrastructure for asset classes that barely existed in a reportable form five years ago.  Risk exposure now includes Basel-driven leverage costs a 2021 family office plan never had to model.

It is only once every one of these considerations is addressed against the current framework, not the 2021 one, that a genuine conversation about setting up a family office in Singapore can actually begin.

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Terence Nunis | Executive Chairman, Equinox Zenith | Author, The 1% Playbook: The Billionaire Cheat Code

High Net Worth Individuals Emphasise the Importance of Insurance

On the 24^th June 2020, AIA Singapore, in conjunction with Ernst & Young, released a report on the insights into High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), specific to their views and adoption of insurance solutions for wealth management.  The intent was to identify specific challenges that HNWIs faced, and proposed insurance solutions to address these challenges. 

Firstly, it must be said that wealth management is a process that encompasses many areas of asset management besides investment, from risk mitigation, to legacy planning.  This encompasses many areas of a person’s life, including his family.  Wealth management is as much sustainable living as it is growth across generations. 

Increasingly, instead of getting the advice of multiple disparate entities and persons across disciplines, HNWIs have increasingly realised that they are better served choosing one financial consultant team, which includes people versed in areas from tax mitigation, to insurance, to investment.  This is more efficient, and allows these individuals to plan discreetly for the long term.  The modern consultancy team, such as Equinox GEMTZ, handles many aspects of the client’s portfolio and assets.  They include the following: 

Wealth Protection

Wealth protection is about identifying risks, from political exposure, to legal claims, to critical illness, to loss of life and the consequences of these.  Wealth protection is about ensuring risks do not lead to the loss of wealth, or at the very least, mitigate it.  This includes both life insurance and general insurance.  This includes structuring an entire insurance portfolio, and creating legal contracts to assign beneficiaries, to assign portfolios to distinct legal entities, to creating lasting powers of attorney, to even advising on the will and trust structure. 

Part of wealth protection is to create firewalls to sandbox specific threats to the client and his assets.  This also includes legal avenues of tax mitigation, addressing specific threats in areas that may involve security consultancy, and maintaining a business intelligence network.  Much of wealth protection is understanding where the threat is coming from.  Wealthy individuals have powerful friends, but also powerful enemies. 

It is obvious that such clients require comprehensive insurance coverage for death, disability, critical illness, accidents, and many forms of exposure.  These normally require high net worth policies, sometimes tailored, and corporate solutions plans for key personnel.  There are even insurance policies used to create a golden handcuff to secure talent for the long term. 

Liquidity Management

Liquidity management is about ensuring that business entities and the entire network, both the client as an individual, and major business interests, remain solvent in the event of untoward developments.  This also means putting in place policies that cover loss of income, and able to cover debt that the estate or any entities may incur.  The insurance policies are meant to address long-term debt. 

Retirement Planning

Most individuals eventually hope to transition from work to retirement, or at the very least, hand over aspects of the business to an heir or heirs.  This requires planning for specific income goals to maintain a standard of living, and mitigating the financial risks of getting older. 

Legacy Planning

Finally, people ultimately want to be remembered for something that matters.  This may involve creating a vehicle, such as a testamentary trust to distribute the estate over a period of time, or even across generations.  This also involves considerations of tax exposure, political exposure, and beneficial relationships.  This is estate planning on a larger scale.  There are HNWIs who want to establish endowments for education, the arts, or some form of charity. 

In consideration of the report, we note several things.

1. 90% of HNWIs in Singapore leverage on insurance for wealth and legacy planning.

2. 70% of HNWIs in Singapore have insurance that comprises more than 10% of their wealth and legacy planning.

3. 86% of HNWIs in Singapore own medical or critical illness insurance plans.

4. 96% of HNWIs in Singapore believe that retirement planning is an important part of their wealth management.

5. 48% of HNW entrepreneurs in Singapore have business wealth protection via a range of insurance products. 

The wealthier the individual, the more aware they are that insurance is an important component of risk mitigation, retirement planning, and legacy planning.  These numbers are well in excess of average people.  With the increasing number of family offices and funds setting up in Singapore, this area of the finance industry is expected to grow exponentially in coming years.

Leadership is about Influence, Not Authority

Authority is the moral or legal right of control, specific to a domain.  Influence is the power to have an effect on people.  They are not the same.  It is conceivable, indeed common, that a person would have authority by virtue of an appointment to a position, bit have no influence to effect any agenda.  Authority without influence is impotent leadership. 

The modern work place is not a command-type environment where influence is directly commensurate with authority.  That is how the military is run.  The corporate environment is a collaborative one, with flat management structures, and a multitude of stakeholders, the internal and external clients.  In such an environment, the ability to influence carries further than any perceived authority. 

Whilst people do recognise that, it does not mean they understand how to acquire that influence, and may, in their efforts, diminish their personal branding, and damage their credibility.  Influence is not gained by engaging in petty politics, creating personality cults, or engaging in strictly transactional relationships.  Influence is built by building a fortress of certainty in a landscape of uncertainty.  People are better able to relate to known quantities. 

This begins with having the correct values, and exhibiting those values.  Popularity is not a value, and not necessarily commensurate with influence.  A person could be well-liked, but discounted on account of many factors.  A person of influence is able to appeal to the other, and bring them to their side of the table, he is people-centric in his discussions with an emphasis on the other.  People open up when they feel others are genuinely interested in them.  This means influence starts at the door of service. 

Influence is built on direct personal relationships that are not transactional in nature.  This allows us to create rapport, and connect with people at a deeper level.  It is based on credibility, integrity, and mutual respect.  This carries over regardless of the power dynamic of the relationship, since people want to be validated.  When people are validated, they have a stake in the maintenance of the relationship, and this is what interpersonal influence is built on. 

These relationships can be leveraged upon, and that is how influence is exercised.  We give favours so they can be called in.  This trading of favours has no exact value to be pinned down, since the value of a favour varies according to need and consequence upon the individual.  To maintain, and grow, that relationship, it is important hat effort and help is recognised, people are appropriately thanked, and the integrity of the arrangement made sacred.  This is a demonstration of personal integrity and values, which enhance credibility.  This functions as an influence multiplier overtime through the creation of goodwill. 

These favours and acts of collaboration are built on specific commitments, with clear objectives, so that success or failure is clear, preferably measureable and quantifiable.  This is especially pertinent when working in a hybrid environment.  This requires communications which are of high structure, and high substance.  High structure communications are communications which are scheduled, have a specific agenda, and have measureable and quantifiable outcomes.  We know when to meet, virtually or physically; we know what needs to be addressed; we know by when it needs to addressed; we know the preferred outcomes; and we know who is going to do what.  A high substance communication is one that is relevant, has content, and focused, with all the necessary information required to get the job done. 

The nature of such communications is not to speak or correspond a lot, but to do so effectively, which means being direct, but respectful.  This requires establishing a clear timeline and roadmap, with explicit ownership of each part of the project, and a concrete deliverable.  There are definite lines of communication, and clear checkpoints where the team checks back on each other, both top down, and across teams, so that the process can be evaluated, and issues addressed, and a change of direction effected as necessary. 

Effective management requires an ability to explain and persuade, not command.  Hierarchical relationships work when there is a clear hierarchy of responsibility, but does not translate well when working with talent.  Talent requires nurturing and convincing.  This necessitates a balance between an appeal to emotion, and an appeal to logic.  One cannot predominate the other.  People need to feel invested in the team and the project, which is the appeal to emotion.  People need to see clear outcomes, and project the rewards of success, which is the appeal to self-interest through logic.  This requires a lot of due diligence and fact find on the part of the team leader. 

Finally, our success in growing and exercising influence works when we support people, and facilitate their success.  People must feel that they have achieved something, and that they earned their success.  If we were to make it overt that we facilitated it, we breed resentment and dissension.  At the very worst, it would be seen as stealing another person’s glory.  This has to be sincere.  When we add value to people, they instinctively know, and most people are inclined to give something back.  And those who are ungrateful should be proscribed, and set aside.  This is how we grow influence, and exercise authority, regardless of titles and position.

The Post-Pandemic World Requires a New Type of Leadership

The lockdown and other social distancing measures have demonstrated a need for a need type of leadership, one that is increasingly multimodal, especially when we are now utilising hybrid work models.  A post-pandemic world is not going back to the way things were, because people have changed their habits.  People and companies have learned that it is possible to complete routine transactions from home, and coordinate across even countries.  This hybrid work style is here to stay, because there is little incentive to go back to what is was before. 

This means that effecting effective leadership in this new hybrid work model requires skills that are beyond traditional team leadership.  In addition to the skills that require direct management, leaders in this new paradigm must be able to coordinate, to management, to lead remotely.  There is a heavier emphasis on communication through the written word, and other forms of media. 

Tasks are of two main types.  One type of tasks involves independent work, often of a routine, clerical nature, such as administrative tasks, reports, correspondence, and analysis.  These are tasks that can be done virtually.  Even some aspects of coaching, and mentoring can be done online, and done effectively.  The  other type of tasks are the ones that involve a combination of experiences, an integration of different facts, a dialogue on goals and outcomes that involve the entire team.  Complex problem solving, inculcating a specific culture of values, and managing conflicts are best done physically, not virtually. 

Part of leadership now, is recognising which tasks belong to which area.  The following are specific types of tasks that would be better done physically, because they involve presence and nuance that cannot be replicated over a video call.  Perhaps, as society evolves, we will be able to perform more of these tasks virtually, but we should never discount the power of a physical meeting.  That human touch still has a place. 

The first is forming and maintaining collaborative relations, through networking, bonding, and connecting at a deeper level.  Trust and a shared understanding is better cultivated though shared experiences, such as a meal, or a bonding exercise.  The second is any form of shared learning to stimulate innovation, and knowledge integration.  People need a time and place to open up to each other in a non-threatening physical environment, and certain social activities facilitate this. The third is building a strong group identity and shared culture.  This is done through shared experiences and social activities with that goal in mind.  And the forth is built on the other three, which is to provide a vision, a shared purpose, and a sense of loyalty to the collective.  The foundation of this is in direct interaction.  The implications of these activities on new leadership models are profound and evolutionary.  What we have previously no longer suffices, and new methods of management and leadership must be developed. 

The first role is that of a multimodal coordinator.  This is the ability to manage the flow of work, the tracking of activities and tasks, and the integration of outcomes to a dynamic timeline.  Much of this is virtual, and there is an element of mentoring virtually.  The ability to think quickly, and act dynamically is important because a virtual work environment often involves coordinating across time zones.  This sort of leadership skill requires trust both ways since members are seldom physically in proximity.  The downside to this is that there is a danger that leader who are less than equipped fall into either micromanagement, or the extreme of losing control due to a perceived lack of interest in subordinates.  We are all familiar with the type of leaders who keep their team on an endless series of online meetings, going through report after report. 

The second role is that of an initiator, a sort of font of inspiration, stimulation, and innovation.  This is a cheerleading role, which involves building trusts across many vectors, and fostering an environment where members feel safe enough to share their thoughts and ideas, no matter how seemingly outlandish.  Somewhere in the realm of the ridiculous, may be the next great idea.  The challenge here is for the leader to not dominate the conversation, and allow others to grow into their role, including making mistakes. 

The third role is the traditional role of coaching and mentoring, with the added mandate of being able to do much of this virtually.  Whilst there is a focus on helping people achieve peak performance, it is important that they feel valued and trusted, which requires building their self-esteem and keeping them connected to the team.  The emphasis of this role is less on the logical aspect, and more in emotional intelligence, and understanding some of level of psychology.  People still need to feel connected and motivated, even across oceans. 

The final role is that of actually being a leader, a focus of the team to represent them when we negotiate, exercise influence, and build strategic relationships.  This is the ability to bring all the previous points to bear for a strategic goal, while making ground tactically, a roadmap to that goal.  It involves the ability to get all stakeholders involved, and committed; it involves convincing them that we represent their needs and interests; it involves the ability to advocate and cohere eloquently, both physically and virtually. 

Ultimately, the foundation of all this is built on legitimacy.  That legitimacy is only achieved when there is trust and  a sustained connection.  While we need to delegate tasks and manage expectations, the team still needs to feel empowered to exercise initiative, and trusted to keep to their end of the bargain.  Without that trust, all this falls apart into micromanagement hell or chaos.  Central to all this is the ability to communicate. 

These are skills that are replicable and scalable, meaning that when it is mastered at a lower level of management, it can be applied at a high level, and refined over time.  Leaders must recognise that the strength of their team depends on them empowering them, and supporting their growth.  We are looking at facilitation, the application of emotional intelligence, and motivational skills.  When they can do they, they will thrive and be effective managers in a post-pandemic world.

Toastmasters Virtual Meetings are a Competitive Advantage

In the last year, we hear, among Toastmasters, and people considering joining a Toastmasters club, that they hesitate to renew, or join the club, because meetings are online.  Some clubs are apologetic about this, and appeal to loyalty, altruism, or an appeal to emotion to get members involved.  This is ineffective.  That is now how people function.  We appeal to self-interest. 

We have to be cognisant, first and foremost, that the post-pandemic world has fundamentally changed the way we conduct business, the way we interact with each other, the way we connect.  Meetings are conducted across borders virtually, and that requires specific skills we may not feel necessary in a physical meeting.  There is a greater sense of intimacy in that distance when we are speaking on video.  The audience has an opportunity to see much of our facial expressions up close, and that affects how they react to the message. 

Toastmasters, as a programme, is effective in granting members constant opportunities to refine their presentation, their speeches, their interactions across the medium of virtual meetings.  It affords access to a diverse audience to familiarise ourselves with the intricacies of communication across cultural boundaries.  Those are benefits and advantages that cannot be understated in a post-pandemic economy.  It is a competitive advantage we cannot afford to disregard.

Being a Part of the Community

The following was my opening address at the AIA Toastmasters Club’s chapter meeting, on the 04^th February 2021. 

District and club officers, members, guests.  My fellow Toastmasters.  Welcome to AIA Toastmasters. 

Tonight, I am proud to state that AIA Toastmasters has 10 DCP.  The Distinguished Club Programme was established by Toastmasters International as a general measure of club success.  Each year the Distinguished Club Program recognises club achievements in education, membership growth, club leadership and club communication.  This measure is not the whole of what makes a club successful, but it does reflect the activities that required for success.  Since its inception, this club has always achieved 10 points. 

This achievement is a testament to the dedication of the Executive Committee, the work of the members, and the support of the wider Toastmasters community.  We are great because others have helped us to be great.  As such, it is incumbent upon us to give back, to elevate, to celebrate the successes of Toastmasters everywhere.  Greatness is not a fortress in the mountain.  Greatness is to walk among the community, to be part of it, and to celebrate it. 

I have always emphasises that for us, in District 80, we are only as strong as our weakest clubs.  That is why we emphasise, here at AIA Toastmasters, club visits by our members.  We send out our members to hold appointments in other clubs, to conduct workshops and programmes, to take up roles in the District at every level.  This is part of our education as Toastmasters. 

In that same vein, we have a tradition of inviting the best Toastmasters to take up appointments in our club so that we can also learn from them, and build on their example, an exchange of ideas and best practices so that we continue to inculcate that culture of excellence.  We must be generous with our knowledge, and humble in our learning.  That is what this club is about. 

Over to you, Toastmaster of the Day.