It is understandable that a smart investor can still struggle with retirement planning because the decisions about investing for income, spending and legacy are so different from those of the accumulation years. Here are three things that we have seen smart investors get wrong about retirement.

I’m guessing that very few Lehigh Valley residents will look at the passing of 2020 into 2021 with sentimental wistfulness or even a sense of melancholia. From the effects of the pandemic to a summer of racial unrest to a rancorous election season, 2020 may go down in history as one of the most difficult to navigate in recent memory.

“From the employer’s perspective, can I require my workforce to get a vaccine when it becomes available? And from the employee’s perspective, if my employer requires that, what sort of recourse do I have? Or do I have the ability to object?”

The madness of this year, 2020, has revealed an acute need for leadership.  Great leaders recognize that certain leadership qualities are being tested now like never before, and the strength of the following qualities will have extraordinary impact far beyond the direct setting in which one currently leads:

COVID-19 has changed life as we know it. The home office became the new workspace, video conferencing replaced in-person meetings, events shifted to virtual delivery, and parents became homeschool teachers while trying to balance career demands.

You probably know that Jet Ski, Styrofoam and Xerox are all registered trademarks. Yet, they have become synonymous with the entire category of products in which they compete. 

Most business owners are afraid to talk to anyone when they are ready to sell their business. They fear the competition will find out and use it to their advantage. However, there are more things to fear than your competition. 

Yes, the litany of woes that small businesses can attribute to this pandemic is not small: Businesses closing, scared staff, customers gone and, adding insult to injury, a do-nothing Congress.

While stay-at-home directives for non-essential activities have eased, personal automobile usage remains below pre COVID-19 usage levels as many people continue to work from home. Reduced personal travel, cancelled entertainment events, increased unemployment and countless behavioral changes also continue to decrease automobile usage below historic levels.

Now that December has dawned, corporate communicators will soon find themselves facing a yearly task: creating a holiday message from the c-suite to employees. In years past, this was generally an easy task (“At this festive time of year, we wish you and yours…”), this year calls for more.