By Scott Ronalds

David Toyne (our Toronto guy) pointed me to an interesting story the other day about doing a job right. David’s a fan of Terry O’Reilly and his radio series Under the Influence. He was listening to a recent episode in which O’Reilly was reciting stories from some of the recent books he’s read.

The story in question comes from Dave Trott’s book Predatory Thinking. It involves El Al Airlines (Israel’s flagship airline) and their employees’ commitment to doing a job right. El Al is considered one of the safest carriers in the world, in spite of the fact that it operates in one of the most hostile regions. A key reason for its strong reputation and track record is its stringent security measures. Indeed, every baggage inspector is required to fly on the same plane as the luggage they just inspected. As O’Reilly notes, no inspector does a mediocre job because they have to bet their life on it. It’s the ultimate commitment to doing a job right.

A commitment in our business to doing the job right (albeit non-life threatening) is the practice of owning the same investments as our clients, or eating our own cooking. We pay the same fees and experience the same returns. If your portfolio is hurting, our portfolios are hurting. If we’re doing well, you’re doing well. Of course, the consequences aren’t as dire if we’re not doing a good job. But at least you can rest assured we’ll both have a foul taste in our mouth.