Numbers don’t tell the story – we do.
‘There, can’t you see it’ he said, exasperated.
I was coaching a couple and we were looking at the spreadsheet he used to manage the family finances.
It was incredibly detailed, with a breakdown of every expense, scenario analyses and a 5 year net worth projection.
His partner looked at it.
‘What I’m seeing is that we’re fine’ they said hesitantly, knowing that was probably not the answer he was looking for.
I looked at it.
‘What I’m seeing is that your expenses could be trimmed a bit but they’re perfectly reasonable I said. ‘What do you see?’
‘I see that all the pressure is on me and if I can’t generate xx income, everything falls apart’.
Same numbers. Three different stories.
We create meaning from what we see and feel because that’s how we are wired to understand the world.
So, if you use numbers in your work, if you help clients with their finances, remember that we understand the world through stories and meaning.
You need more than just numbers. Because clients will create their own meaning from the numbers. That meaning will be a reflection of their money beliefs – what they believe they can do, be or have with money.
And that meaning could be very different from what you see and what you think they are, or should be, seeing.
Numbers don’t convey meaning or build connection. Only humans can do that.
If you’d like to have more open money conversations with your clients, we can teach you how.
Discussing finances can be hard. If you’d like to learn how to have more open money conversations with your partner, start here.
