Why Financial Planning Starts With Knowing What You’re Building
At a recent quarterly team meeting, I ran a simple exercise.
I gave everyone the exact same Lego set, 55 pieces total. Small enough to be manageable.
Then I added one condition:
They were given no instructions, no box, and no picture of what the finished product was supposed to look like. Just loose pieces in a bin and a time limit.
What followed was fun, creative, and surprisingly revealing.
Everyone jumped in. People experimented. Pieces were connected, disconnected, rebuilt. At the end of the time, we had four very different results, all built from the same pieces. Most of the pieces weren’t even used. Everyone had something, but no two outcomes looked remotely alike.
Then we reset.
I gave the team another five minutes, but this time, I placed the finished model in the middle of the table. They had to take apart what they had already built and try again. Halfway through, I also added the actual instructions.
Only two people opened the instructions.
Only one person came close to finishing the final product.
And that’s when the lesson really landed.
Same Pieces, Different Financial Outcomes
That exercise is a pretty accurate reflection of how many people approach their finances and financial planning.
We all start with pieces, income, savings, benefits, investments, goals, obligations. Some people have a simple set. Others have a very complex one. But without a clear picture of our financial goals or where we’re trying to go, we tend to do exactly what my team did at first:
We build something
We stay busy
We make progress, or at least it feels like progress
But the outcome depends heavily on guesswork, assumptions, and trial and error.
And often, we don’t even use all the pieces available to us in our personal financial plan.
Why Clear Financial Goals Matter in Financial Planning
When the finished model was placed on the table, everything changed.
Suddenly there was context. A destination. A reference point.
Even though the task itself didn’t become easier, the decision-making became clearer. Pieces that didn’t matter before suddenly had a purpose. Steps that felt random became intentional.
That’s what financial planning is really about.
It’s not about complexity for the sake of complexity. It’s not about having every answer upfront. It’s about having a clear picture of your financial future, and a roadmap that helps you make better decisions along the way.
Financial Planning Tools Only Work If You Use Them
One of the most interesting observations was that even when the instructions were available, most people didn’t open them.
That mirrors real life too.
Financial advice, planning tools, and financial planning strategies exist, but they only help if they’re actually used, understood, and applied in a way that fits the person building.
Financial planning doesn’t have to be intimidating. It can be as simple as a small Lego set or as complex as a detailed build. But without clarity on your financial goals, even the best pieces won’t come together the way you expect.
Financial Planning Is About Direction, Not Perfection
No one at the table “failed” the exercise. Everyone learned something. And everyone had fun doing it.
That’s another important parallel.
Financial planning isn’t about getting everything perfect. It’s about gaining direction, confidence, and understanding over time. It’s about using the pieces you already have more intentionally, and not leaving important ones sitting unused.
Because whether we realise it or not, we’re all building something with our finances.
The question is: do you know what you’re trying to build?
