Life Is But A Dream (but a dream written down is a plan)
At Fortitude we’re very proud of the team we’ve put together over the years. We’ve probably told you that before, but we see no reason to refrain from mentioning it now and then. We have a team of experienced professionals who bring a wealth of expertise to the table. But more importantly we’re blessed with a team that shares the core values that we hold so dear – putting our clients front and centre in everything we do and constantly working on ways to be even better at it.
We’re all professionals, but we’re people too. We know what it is to imagine the future as we’d like it to be, because we imagine it too. We have our own goals, our own ambitions, victories and setbacks to contend with – in a sense, we’re all in the same boat and that, two paragraphs in, is where this analogy finally pays off, because back in September we were literally in the same boat.
Here’s what happened.
Someone floated an idea…
For the past few years, our own Richard Peters has been part of the grants panel for the Northamptonshire Community Foundation (NCF), which is how he came to hear about a wonderful charity organisation called Crusader Community Boating.
Crusader is an outfit with more than 20 years of history, specialising in boat trips for disabled and elderly people in the local area. Their work is free of charge to people who come from Northamptonshire, helping to provide leisure opportunities, improve social welfare and tackle isolation and loneliness. Their boat trips are open to people of any age and they’re run by a fully trained crew of volunteers, so to carry on doing what they do they need support and funding, along with paying customers. That’s why we decided that a chartered boat trip was the perfect way to help support the organisation and the ideal setting for our latest team away day.
We got on board
Working with Crusader was something we were very keen to do straight away, because we immediately saw a clear correlation between their values and our own. Crusader Community Boating, like Fortitude Financial Planning, is about enriching lives. We may do it in different ways, but the idea is the same. Both organisations want to give people the opportunity to live a fuller, more enjoyable life – whether that’s through obtaining peace of mind about the future, or enjoying more freedom and independence. It’s about taking things as they stand now and seeing how we can improve them.
Continuous improvement is a big deal at Fortitude. We adhere to a Japanese concept called ‘Kaizen’, which embraces continual improvement as a holistic exercise, seeking to improve every part of everything we do. That came in really handy when we decided to get on board ourselves.
Full steam ahead
A great time to practise Kaizen is when you’re embarking on something you know absolutely nothing about. None of us knew the first thing about boats, so starting from a zero baseline meant the flow of improvement could only go in the right direction. And so, on 30 September, we engaged our answerphones, set up our out of office replies, checked the shipping forecast and transferred our collective sea legs to the ‘Mountbatten Crusader’.
Then, under the capable command of the Crusader crew, the whole Fortitude team set out along the canal, stopping for lunch at The Wharf at Bugbrooke before getting back on the boat and starting the return trip. Any initial sinking feelings were deftly settled with a glass or two of prosecco (don’t worry, none of us were at the helm) and we enjoyed playing games as the vessel pootled its way along the canal, taking in the Northamptonshire scenery at a relaxed pace.
Just messing about on the river?
Lovely, but what does any of this have to do with providing an excellent service? The truth is we feel team events are really important. We are a small, tightly knit team and everything we do depends on everyone else being at their best. Team events like this one allow us to make sure we’re always working well together, anticipating needs, offering support, navigating problems as a united front and celebrating successes together. The better we function as a team, the better we function for you.
We love what we do, but like anyone, it’s important to remember that the work-life balance is key. It’s the same principle that we tell you so often – there’s nothing wrong with enjoying your professional life, but you work to live, not the other way around. Preparing for the future is sensible and commendable, but you need to be able to envisage what that future looks like, so you can work towards a clear vision.
And that’s what we’re here to help with. On the boating trip our clear, united vision was essentially to make it back to the bank without swimming, but once back in plain clothes and professional mode, our goal is to help you meet yours. That goal might be paying university fees, helping the kids onto the property ladder or just enjoying the retirement you deserve.
Whatever your dream, we’ll work with you to turn it into an actionable plan with dates, checkpoints and a clear path forward, for the best possible chance of achieving it – whatever floats your boat, as it were.