Why working less increases creativity and your business

It seems logical that the harder you work, the more money you’ll make, but is that the best long-term strategy for your business? Certainly early in your career, as you’re building your practice, putting in extra hours are crucial. As your business starts to mature, however, you’ll want to do that less and less. If not, you could face burning out and losing touch with your creativity — and not doing your best work. If you’re already working 10-plus hours per day and want to earn more, are more hours really the answer?

Enhancing work quality

Alain Quennec, CFP, CIM

There’s a wonderful story about one of the world’s leading architects who spends nine months of the year on a sailboat and three months of the year working. When people say, “How do you create such beautiful things working only three months a year?” his answer is, “Because I only work three months a year, and the rest of the time I’m regenerating and developing new creative ideas. If I was working 10 months a year, my work wouldn’t be as good.”

Delegating gives you time

Bring your team together, allocate your resources and trust your team to do their jobs by delegating and empowering them when you’re not there. It’s important to have time out of the office for your personal life as well as conferences, such as MDRT meetings, that are formatted to enhance your creativity. Conferences provide a venue for regeneration as you socialize and learn, which allows you to return to the office inspired. Your value comes from your creativity, not from the brute force of your ability to churn out another sales presentation or financial plan.

Making the most of conferences

Set a goal to come back from a conference (including virtual conferences) with two ideas that you’re absolutely going to implement. Determine how to implement those ideas, such as which team members are going to do what, how to measure accountability, what is the desired end result and how will it impact your clients for the better.  

Everyone benefits when you take a look at your practice and identify where more strategy and creativity can set you apart from other advisors.

Alain Quennec, CFP, CIM, a Top of the Table qualifier and MDRT member from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

• See more from Quennec in the video “Double your income … and work less! Inside high-performing offices.”
• Watch more of MDRT’s exclusive video series, “Inside high-performing offices.”
• Learn more about MDRT meetings.