In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Month, our office has taken the Kindness in the Workplace Challenge. We are looking forward to formally incorporating the six concepts of kindness into our daily routine — respect, caring, inclusiveness, integrity, responsibility and courage. We anticipate a seamless transition as our workplace is already full of people who exude these principles. One of our co-workers showed up on Valentine’s Day with chocolate hearts for us all and tulips for the front desk. Another so regularly exceeds his job description that his first name has become a verb around here. We have a talented colleague who crochets and donates hats and mittens, another who volunteers her very green thumb to keep the plants around here thriving. Our remote co-worker encourages us in very specific ways every week to exercise, drink water and take care of ourselves. She also heads up our monthly charitable donations. We have people who bring in delicious treats for every occasion, and so many see-a-problem-solve-a-problem staff members that most issues get resolved before anyone else is even aware of them. Our Winch Financial team has worked hard to foster a family-friendly environment and to extend that courtesy to a broad range of families, including the four-legged members. The Kindness Challenge offers specific activities throughout the year. Follow along with us via our social media channels, or swing in to see us in person. It’s going to be a great year!
Month: February 2024
Things AI can not do
The use of artificial intelligence has exploded exponentially in recent years, and AI related companies including Microsoft (part owner of Open AI, the developer of ChatGPT) and NVIDIA have driven the stock market to record highs. AI can achieve some miraculous things. It allows users to unlock their phone with their face, correct spelling mistakes they didn’t even realize they made, receive specific directions to new locations, keep homes and cottages at just the right temperature and detect fraud in financial accounts, among a million other things. And that’s just the simple stuff. AI will continue to transform our lives in ways we can’t even imagine. But, it can’t do everything. You can use an App to determine the amount of money in your account, the various rates it might accumulate based on the ways you invest it, and the optimum number of years you should spend working to build that account before you begin the withdraw from it. Those are just numbers, though, and retirement planning involves so much more. AI can’t solve the very human situations we all encounter as we cycle through life. For instance, AI would not talk you through your options when a diagnosis scuttles all those careful retirement plans you made as a young, healthy couple. You’d need a human financial advisor who will listen to your fears and guide you through the sometimes painful adjustment of your goals. An advisor can help you figure out a way to buy that RV you have your eye on so you and your spouse, who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, can make the most of the time you have left together. You need an empathetic human to walk you through ways to protect heirs who have developed addictions that would make a windfall inheritance dangerous to them. And only a human advisor can help you evaluate your long-term care options from a personal, emotional… | Read More »