There is a cadre of idiots, who happily take to LinkedIn to offer profound comments, often under posts from people with a bigger personal brand than their own. “Rent-a-joke” as I term them.

One idiot this morning wrote alongside a post from Mark Fitzpatrick, CEO of UK wealth manager, St James’s Place, “if asking for Advise, remember one thing, you are supposed to be getting the experience and thoughts of others to help you reach a decision to allow you to take an action. It is NOT supposed to be used for you to confirm the decision you have already made, that’s called affirmation or validation.”

I’d estimate 75% of a wealth manager’s clients at in-person or virtual meetings are not seeking investment advice, but reassurance. 60% of my strategic advisory clients similarly know the answer and are delighted to pay for the reassurance (the avoidance of stepping on “landmines” while growing their own or their investee’s business). It is similar to the answer “Why do people go to the doctor?”

Behavioural scientist, Rory Sutherland, points out adroitly that there are many spheres of human action in which reason plays a very small part. Understanding the unconscious obstacle to a new behaviour and then removing or creating a new context for a decision, will generally work much more effectively.