3 principles that help bring longevity to a study group

How does a study group celebrate its 50-year anniversary?

For Show ‘N Tell, a study group of high-producing advisors founded in 1968 to focus on pensions but expanded to include advanced planning, it was a meeting at the historic Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. “We made this one special,” said Larry E. Ricke, CLU, ChFC, a 42-year MDRT member from New Albany, Indiana, who primarily works with small-business owners and other professionals.

It’s been 20 years since Ricke was asked to be in the invitation-only group, which still contains two original members and various past association presidents, including 35-year MDRT member and 2013 MDRT President D. Scott Brennan.

The group’s operation and benefits may not be unusual — one in-person meeting each year, frequent communication whenever anyone has an issue in their practice, and occasional collaboration on business — but its longevity is a sign of principles that continue to reap rewards after decades in existence. These include:

1. You pay whether or not you come to the meeting, and all airfares are split equally. This gives members extra investment to attend and prevents anyone from paying more than others because of the location of the meeting, which has previously been held in Rosemont, Illinois; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Austin, Texas. The group also shares expenses for the first night’s dinner and various meeting expenses. This does not include hotel costs.
2. Work, not play. “Some study groups really socialize a lot. Our group is not a play golf/go fishing/go hunting group. We hole up in a meeting room for 2½ days with a full agenda,” Ricke said. “We socialize at night, but during the day, we work.”
3. Nothing said leaves the room. “We’re not publicly sharing ideas with anybody,” Ricke said. It’s not about secrets but maintaining privacy, openness of discussion and benefits of membership, and preventing expert techniques from making it to the competition. That’s part of the reason members have veto power over a possible new member nominated in their region.

Read more in the Round the Table story “Keeping a study group together for 50 years”

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist