On Wednesday, one headline reads, “…shares sink following weak revenue forecasts due to….”

On Thursday, the same news source writes about the same company, saying, “…company shares jump 8% on report of company X collaborating...”

The same news source.
The same week.
A discussion about the same company.

But two totally different messages.

Narrative.

Most people take in their information with layers of interpretation. You can make numbers say just about anything you want, and the markets and our news cycle move so fast, 24 hours with little respite.

According to most headlines, we’re either in a new gold rush or the sky is falling – sometimes in the same day and about the same story.

How to make sense of it all?

I can imagine how difficult this is for our clients, for consumers.

How perplexing this is for the everyday man or woman who reads this and is trying to make sure that their investments are safe, their retirement still on track.

In business and in life, our job is to remain calm.

One of my favorite quotes and concepts is, “Master your emotions, and you will master your life.” (I may be paraphrasing.)

Especially as a financial planner to whom people have entrusted their whole future, I remind myself to be the calm within the storm.

So, I always try to act as a sounding board for my clients – just to be there with a measured voice and a steady hand. I ride out the rough storms for them and deliver them to safer shores.

Of course, when I see these news stories sensationalizing for attention (if it bleeds, it leads!), I most certainly have my own perspective. But I try to share my thoughts if and ONLY if it is productive.

If you don’t have something nice (or constructive) to say, don’t say it. Have we heard that before?

Man oh man, that has never been better advice than these days.

Leadership is about guidance, calm.

And that requires an informed perspective that allows us to read between the headlines and decipher the truth.

Only then can we move forward with a clear path.

And clarity is an invaluable commodity in our modern world.

-J.D.