I’m just back from a great family holiday in Orlando where we took in Disney & Universal Studios. I’ll write another Blog over the next few weeks about the trip but I thought I would share something a little different that I found worked really well while I was away.

 

The day I left the office, I put in the usual “out of office” automatic reply saying I was out of the office and that I had little or no access to emails. On the flight over, I listened to a great podcast where Brad Johnson (The Elite Advisor Blueprint Podcast) interviewed Barry Glassman, President of Glassman Wealth Service. You can listen to this podcast by clicking here:

 

http://bradleyjohnson.com/barry-glassman-podcast/

 

This is my idea of fun and relaxation so don’t worry, in my view I wasn’t working on the plane over!

 

You should follow both guys on Twiiter @brad_johnson and @barryglassman

 

During the show Barry mentioned that putting a little thought into your “out of office” can help create some great conversations with clients, colleagues and business partners. So, I changed my out of office reply (while using WIFI on the plane which was a first for me!) to the following:

 

Hi!
I’m out of the office until 20th August. I could lie and say I have little or no access to
emails. Thing is, I’m at Disneyland with my family and I’ve promised my kids I won’t spend any (much!) time on my phone or laptop. So, I’ll reply when I get back and if you need anyone in Metis while I’m gone, give Sinead a buzz and she will help you.
Thank You!
Carl Widger

 

And it worked! I got ZERO second emails. I got several emails (three!) along the lines of:

 

“Oh fantastic, we did that a few years ago with the kids and had a ball. Enjoy every minute and we can chat when you get back”. In fact, two clients went ahead and contacted Sinead and the very capable team at Metis Ireland were able to get some new business across the line while I was away.

 

I’m sure it annoyed a few people but hey, who cares! And I have a confession …. I did check the emails but I never felt the same pressure or stress that I normally feel when I see emails coming in while I am away on holidays.

 

I think this small personal touch could help us all in business and perhaps make things more “real”. I honestly believe that giving your professional contacts an insight into your life outside of the working environment can only help build better and more sustainable relationships.

 

Wait until you hear about the STEP count in Disneyland in the next Blog!

 

Back soon ………..

 

Carl Widger
Co-Founder & Director

 

PS I also turned off all notifications on WhatsAPP so we didn’t know what was happening with my kids’ 84 (this may be a slight exaggeration) sports teams. And that was perfectly fine too!

 

 

 

Disclaimer

Metis Ireland Financial Planning Ltd t/a Metis Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

All content provided in these blog posts is intended for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial advice. You should always engage the services of a fully qualified independent financial adviser before entering any financial contract. Metis Ireland Financial Planning Ltd t/a Metis Ireland will not be held responsible for any actions taken as a result of reading these blog posts.

Disclaimer


Metis Ireland Financial Planning Ltd t/a Metis Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.


All content provided in these blog posts is intended for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial advice. You should always engage the services of a fully qualified financial adviser before entering any financial contract. Metis Ireland Financial Planning Ltd t/a Metis Ireland will not be held responsible for any actions taken as a result of reading these blog posts.