I hope that all of my presentations are useful for the audiences in attendance.  But on Thursday, I participated in a panel that was not only useful, but had a special element of “fun.”  It was for the Dallas Estate Planning Council.  I was the non-expert on the panel – I was the “book guy.”  But I helped set the theme, “Lessons in Collaboration from the Navy SEALs, (or, how the Dallas Mavericks Team beat the Miami Heat Individuals)” with a quick list of key lessons on collaboration from the book Leadership Lessons of the U.S. Navy SEALS by Jeff Cannon, and Lieutenant Commander Jon Cannon.  The panel itself was a collaboration, with Jerri Hammer (JD, CPA) and Shelly Mathis (AEP) doing significant work “behind the scenes” to pull it all together, and then the panel itself included Marvin Blum (JD, CPA) and Perry Kaufman (CPA).

On the panel, Marvin and Perry both had tangible and useful examples of collaborative team efforts that were absolutely necessary to serve their clients’ needs.  These “teams” are essential because of the complex nature of estates – especially “substantial” estates.  I learned a lot.

About the fun part…  We were provided with plenty of “military garb,” for our presentation, and the table was draped with camouflage netting.  Here’s our group picture. It really was a fun, and memorable, morning.  (Special thanks to Jason Loveless for wardrobe and props).