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Work from Where?

woman at desk with feet up working with paper, pen, and a computer in a home office

Location, location, location—this real estate cliché is now dominating conversations about the changing world of work. Many businesses are learning a thing or two about the value of where work happens, and many leaders have said they intend to keep at least part of their workforce remote even after we’re through the limitations of COVID-19.

We’ve been thinking a lot about locale in recent years. I picked up a snowbird routine in 2010, and we launched our digital presence in earnest in 2015. Some of our “office” staff are rarely in the office—the one at 228 Main Street, at least.

From these experiences, we’ve learned a lesson that many business leaders are grappling with now: the fundamental question may not be where work needs to happen, but how it needs to happen. We’ve even shared with you about what we call the “URL–IRL connection,” the way our work online and our work in-person go together.

Yes, right now, the pandemic is putting some clear constraints on the question of location, but it would be a pity to come away from this challenging time with the wrong lesson. It’s not that WFH (“working from home”) is universally superior to working in a company office setting. It’s not that an office is superior to a WFH arrangement.

As Forbes contributor Laurel Farrer explained, what would happen if we focused on work as a thing we do and not a place we go? The short answer is that we make decisions based on the fundamentals. What do I need to get my work done?

Clients, we will continue to adapt—to changes in our lives, to changes in your needs, and to the world around us. Wherever life takes us, our work keeps us connected to you. And we are so grateful for that. Write or call anytime.

Social and Anti-Social

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The 21st century forms of communication include social media. These venues, like Facebook and Twitter, feature the opportunity for interaction. Comments or replies, likes or favorites, those are the things that put “social” into social media.

Together with our blog site at 228Main.com and the weekly email newsletter, digital communications helped us stay connected with you when life was challenging. I’ll ever be grateful for being in the right place at the right time to use these methods to stay connected.

Social media can be a source of news and information and perspective. Experts in many fields are on Twitter and LinkedIn and Facebook. These are sources we did not have in the olden days.

But there is a dark side to social media. Some use their participation to send negative messages or say hurtful things, or promote stuff that just isn’t worthy of your attention. We’ve heard some say “Twitter is a cesspool” or “There is so much garbage on Facebook.”

The slang term for a person who posts objectionable viewpoints as comments on another’s post is “troll.” It may just be part of human nature, not a unique feature of social media. At the café, barbershop or salon there is also a mix of people with a mix of opinions and varying ways of expressing them.

But objectionable people and posts can be blocked or hidden on social media. Life is too short to pay attention to trolls. Blocking and muting are valuable skills you can use to keep your social media from being a ‘cesspool’ or full of garbage.

Nobody needs to be on social media to get our viewpoints, not with 228Main.com out there and the weekly email newsletter. But if you are on it, you are welcome to connect or follow. There are social media links on the home page of 228Main.com.

Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.

Making Sense of the Data Flood

© Can Stock Photo / SergeyNivens

In the 21st century, information seems to be a thousand times more abundant than we could have dreamed of just a few decades ago. An insight into the olden days may be the best way to illustrate this.

When I first became qualified to work with investment securities, I would maintain a list of topics to research. It might be a specific company or an investment product, or some aspect of the economy. Day by day, new items would go on the list.

Every other week, I spent a morning in the library. Stock reports from S&P Marketscope and ValueLine were available there, in large binders. The financial newspapers and other reference works were available, too. I would chew through the items on my list all morning, then make telephone calls that afternoon and evening to report my findings.

No internet, no email, no cell phones.

Now, of course, we interact with economists and research analysts and portfolio managers in real time via webinars, Twitter, and conference calls. Research on thousands of companies is at our fingertips. Data and analysis subscriptions supplement the expert resources made available by LPL Financial and our other institutional partners.

Instead of writing research topics down in a notebook to be studied in the library days later, we often can respond to client inquiries almost instantly, and always quickly.

The key element in our approach is not the flood of information available. By itself, that flood would drown anybody. Instead, it is in the experience and knowledge we bring, in order to understand the narratives and themes lurking in the data. Context and perspective is vital.

When you have read thousands of pages of research, annual reports, and SEC filings, you develop an understanding of what is pertinent, and what may be disregarded. Greg Leibman, in his ninth year here, does a lot of the heavy lifting.

We are fortunate to be alive in this day and age, able to take advantage of the opportunities to operate more effectively on your behalf. Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.

The URL – IRL Connection

© Can Stock Photo / Bialasiewicz

… or, where the virtual world and the real world meet. We often talk about these two places as if we must choose one or the other. The reality is that the two work together in many ways.

Fans in stadiums root for their favorite team IRL (“in real life”), but they may also have a source for instant replays or play-by-play through a browser on their smartphones.

IRL, a grandparent plays with a grandbaby. But that grandparent may also enjoy seeing that baby between visits on social media or a photo-sharing site or some other URL—the address that connects them to a website.

And we see you at 228 Main in beautiful downtown Louisville, B’s Diner, or Round The Bend live and in person. But we’re also reaching you here at 228Main.com, plus social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

In other words, we lead integrated lives that combine the real world and a variety of virtual venues. It is not an either/or deal: we benefit when our lives have a home in both places!

It is worthwhile thinking about the advantages we derive from life in the 21st century. When we started communicating in new media, one client told us they would talk to us every day if they could, being interested in planning and investing. They knew that couldn’t happen. But they were delighted to find what we most wanted to say each day was online, plus in these three-minute essays twice each week.

A key advantage of these virtual venues: they do not require each of us to be available at exactly the same time. Nobody plays “phone tag” on Twitter. We frequently post updates early in the morning, but you can read them at your leisure or even on another day. And each of you may choose how much or how little you want.

That client and I still meet; we still have lunch together. And our real-world conversations start warmer and go deeper and farther than before—because of all we share in the virtual world.

Clients, if you would like to talk about this in any world, email us or call.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

Eternal Truths and Changing Times

© Can Stock Photo / devon

228 Main Street, the real-world inspiration for 228Main.com, sits in the middle of beautiful downtown Louisville, Nebraska. The village was platted out just after the Civil War; some descendants of its founders are reading these words.

The building, a typical commercial Victorian structure of the kind that dots small town Main Streets through much of the country, was built at the end of the 19th century. It housed The Louisville Courier newspaper and print shop. More than a century later, it is the center of the business universe for our 21st century digital communications, descended one might say from those earlier forms of media.

When The Louisville Courier began publishing, there was no traffic on the roads to neighboring towns during much of the winter and spring. Horses and wagons could not navigate the muddy roads, especially along the Platte River bottom. The newspaper could only serve the village, and little else.

228Main.com was similarly conceived as a way to communicate with a small community: you who are our friends or clients or both. We provide answers to the questions you ask us, tell the stories that we used to tell only one or two people at a time, and a lot more. 228Main.com is a way to keep our community informed, people who share an understanding about life and investing that we believe is special.

Unlike The Louisville Courier, 228Main is not limited geographically. Since it began in 2015, 26,000 views of its pages came from the United States, and another 3,000 from all over the world—103 other countries. We really do not have time to concern ourselves with anyone but you; the interest of others is perhaps a sign that our work is on the right track.

We recite this history to illustrate that some things are fundamental and unchanging—principles, values, community, human nature. But methods and tactics and the routines of daily life and other things evolve and change. Our object is two-fold: to understand and apply the universal truths, and also keep abreast of the changing times. This seems to be working for you and for us.

Clients, two way communication is vital to get you to your goals. If you would like to discuss any pertinent topic, or update us on your life and objectives, please call us or email.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.

All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.

New Media is Bigger Than You Know

© Can Stock Photo Inc. / buchachon

The first birthday of our online communication efforts is upon us. 228main.com was intended to provide us with a means to talk to a lot of clients at once, especially useful in times of stress. There were other objectives as well.

We know that communications influence behavior; behavior influences investment outcomes; and client outcomes are what we are about. The new media lets us highlight each day the thing we find most pertinent or interesting. We can drive home the lessons that help people invest and plan effectively.

If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, you know we have created some regular features to help us tell our story. The Junior Staff and Market Haiku show up weekly, along with links to pertinent articles and news.

The most surprising thing we’ve learned about the new media is how useful it has been to people we know, for much broader purposes than business communications. One retiree became acquainted with Twitter to keep up with a grandchild’s college sports team. A sports fan has grown a custom news feed of local print and broadcast sportswriters as well as recruiting clearinghouses, player and team accounts and other knowledgeable fans. A political junkie collects thoughts from candidates, opinion leaders, polling experts and major newspapers. We follow the best minds in the business world. Others pursue news about hobbies or interests.

In other words, Twitter can be a customized information source, tailored by you to your preferences. You choose the sources to follow. Whether or not you register, you can see our daily quick notes and commentary. You do not have to ever post anything in order to use the tool. However, if you do have a message, you can get it out.

LinkedIn, we’ve noticed, is more of a business forum and networking affair. Facebook is popular with many of our clients for many reasons. People see what their children or grandchildren are up to, and keep up with more distant relatives like never before. Facebook also allows businesses to have pages, which is how we can communicate with those who choose to ‘like’ our Facebook page.

Perhaps the biggest misperception among non-users is the idea that the whole world will know what you are up to if you participate. The fact is, you choose what to publish and who to interact with, if anybody. Many people just take in information, and post or publish very little. You might explore these venues to see if they can improve your life. The menu buttons at 228main.com can connect you.