Are You Good?

There’s something extraordinary about being in a room surrounded by Good People.

Clever, yes.
Accomplished, certainly.
Recognised, definitely.

But all that aside…
You’re clear that they’re speaking not just from the wisdom of experience…
But from a deep moral compass.

They’re good.
(And not in the “I’m good, thanks,” sense when asked if they’d like more of that curried chicken.)

Yesterday, at our Inner Circle gathering of financial planning leaders…
I found myself quietly moved by that goodness.

It elevated my mood on the journey home.
It bathed my waking moments with anticipation this morning.
It energised the first few hours of creative work at my desk.

It lingered with me through 40 lengths of the pool at lunchtime…
And while relishing the creamy pasta I’d brought home from yesterday’s buffet lunch.

And then… I made a mistake.

A lazy one.

I switched on the television to accompany dessert.
A BBC documentary title caught my eye.

Within minutes, I felt my nervous system tightening.

The programme followed one of the world’s most powerful men.
Extraordinary wealth.
Extraordinary influence.
Extraordinary reach.

And yet, beneath the brilliance and achievement…
I sensed something else.

A kind of moral hollowness.

It unsettled me more than I expected.

Not because powerful people are new to humanity.
They are not.

But because we seem increasingly surrounded by environments where cleverness is admired more than goodness.

Where influence matters more than wisdom.
Where domination masquerades as leadership.

And for a few moments…
I felt afraid.

Afraid for what happens to ordinary human beings when truth becomes endlessly bendable.
When noise overwhelms insight.
When performance slowly replaces sincerity.

Thankfully…
it wasn’t long before I wandered out into our Bee and Butterfly garden.

And there, gently…
my perspective returned.

The birds carried on singing.
The breeze carried on moving through the trees.
Nature, quietly supremely powerful, seemed entirely unimpressed by human ego.

And I thought again about that room of leaders from yesterday.

Bright.
Compassionate.
Insightful.
Thoughtful.

Good people.

People entrusted with enormous responsibility.

After all…
clients place decades of sacrifice at their feet.

Dreams.
Fears.
Retirement.
Widowhood.
Children.
Security.
Freedom.

And most carry that responsibility nobly.
Quietly.
Without fanfare.

Of course, some abuse power.
Human beings always have.

But thankfully, they remain the exception.
Not the rule.

And perhaps that matters more than we realise right now.

Because our profession stands in the shadow of extraordinary technological change. Of gathering uncertainty.

Artificial Intelligence will reshape much of what financial planners do.
Some firms will adapt beautifully.
Others will drift.
Some will disappear entirely.

Technical expertise alone will not protect anybody now.

Information is becoming infinite.
Analysis increasingly automated.
Noisy opinion overwhelming.

Which means something else may become even more valuable.
Something harder to manufacture.

Goodness.

Not performative warmth.
Not polished branding.
Not carefully rehearsed empathy.

Real Goodness.

The kind clients sense instinctively.
The kind that creates calm in confused people.
The kind that helps another human being feel safe enough to think clearly again.

One day soon…

a bewildered client will walk into your office carrying the emotional exhaustion of this age.

Overwhelmed by information.
Confused by conflicting voices.
Unsure who or what to trust.

And in that moment…
their deepest question may not be:
“Are you the cleverest person available?”

It may simply be:
“Are You The One I Can Trust?”

Behind which thought is the feeling:
“Are You Good?”

And perhaps…
in the years ahead…

that quiet question will become one of the most valuable differentiators of all.