One of the most impactful things I have ever done is take something called the Kolbe A^TM Index. Kolbe deals with a different part of the mind than other assessment tools. There is the thinking part, the feeling part, and the doing part. Kolbe deals with the doing part: how you will go about approaching problem solving when left to approach it in your natural, instinctive way.

Kobe was so valuable for me because it helped me and my staff find an entirely new level of mutual respect for each others' working styles. Instead of getting irritated with each other, we found ourselves laughing more at our different, but equally effective ways of getting things done.

I found the Kolbe process to be so validating that last year I went through training to become a Kolbe Certified^TM Consultant for no particular reason other than I was fascinated by it.

As a consultant we are required to attend additional training every 18 months, and I spent several days last week at Kolbe's Professional Growth Seminar. It was an amazing experience.

Kolbe can shed light on your approach to things like gathering, sharing, arranging and designing information, and many financial advisors use it to understand how best to communicate information to their clients.  Up until now, I have not used it with clients in my practice, but I may rethink that.

I am now seeing the value of Kolbe in the retirement planning process, particularly as you near retirement and have big decisions to make. At this point, your creative problem solving process is likely to be fully engaged. Deciding to retire can be stressful. You and your spouse may approach this decision very differently.

One of you may need to do research and gather as much data as possible. Another may need to make checklists or lay out a step by step plan as to what you are going to do and in what order. Or one of you may just decide to go for it, trusting your gut that it will work out.

Approaching such a big decision from such different angles can be frustrating when you don't understand the other person's approach. That's where Kolbe can help.

You can take your Kolbe A^TM Index online, or look for a consultant to help you and your team or partner through the process.

Kolbe Wisdom^TM can also help you extend your working career. If you're not in a career that uses your natural talents you are working against your grain, which wears you out. When you find something that uses your talents, work doesn't feel like work. And isn't that what retirement is supposed to be? Doing something you enjoy that doesn't feel like work? Why not make money at it while you're doing it? Kolbe can help you find your groove.

If you've already taken a Kolbe A^TM Index, please, share your MO and what you've learned in the comments below. I'm a 6-5-8-2.

A man I'll call Bruce came to visit me in early 2011.  I ran an analysis for him on an hourly rate. As part of that analysis I made recommendations for his investment portfolio. A year later he came back. His portfolio was entirely in cash.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I listened to one of those radio gurus who said the market was going to crash."

It is times like these when I am glad my inside voice cannot be heard. My inside voice said:

"What? And you believed him? I gave you clear recommendations. You are a fool. You deserve to miss out on the 10-15% gains that your investments would have experienced if only you had stuck with the plan. And of course the market is going to crash. The market crashes about once every four years. But no one knows exactly when it is going to happen. It might be years before it crashes again. It might be tomorrow. That's why you build a portfolio with safety features. Imagine if car manufacturers expected you to get off the road before a crash occurred? How preposterous. They expect crashes. That's why they build in safety features."

So what are these safety features you can build into your portfolio?

• They are investment management techniques called asset allocation and diversification.
• They are investor education like understanding the frequency of bear markets, and the nature of their recoveries.
• And an important safety feature can be understanding your own human nature, and the tendency of average investors to earn below average returns.

Emotions have been on my mind lately. Why do we feel them and how do we use them to guide our decision making instead of letting them call the shots?

It's interesting the things that have the power to change the way you feel in an instant. A smile, a note from someone you love, a song.

Money too can change the way you feel, but how do you compare the joy of a pay raise to the sound of your favorite song?

And could a song ever evoke the struggle, fear and frustration of not having enough money? Perhaps a song that reminds you of a lost love could.

After wondering about these things I did what I usually do after I've wondered enough: I start typing into Google. After all, I can't be the only one wondering.

And of course I'm not, but my limited searching didn't come up with what I was hoping for.

First, this study, Emotion rules the brain's decisions, in which they say, "The brain's wiring emphatically relies on emotion over intellect in decision-making."

Are we then doomed to Neanderthal like financial decisions?

Then I came across the book Your Money & Your Brain by Jason Zweig, which I have not read. As I haven't read it yet, I'll rely on those who have. One of the reviews on Amazon states the book discusses "What is your Risk tolerance? This may entirely depend on what your mood was when the question was asked, or what was the last color you saw prior to being asked, or more importantly, how the question was asked."

This is along the lines of what I was looking for. What if research determined that if your office was green, you made better financial decisions? Or that you should only rebalance your portfolio after listening to Bach?

Perhaps research hasn't come that far quite yet. But the answers likely lie within you. What is it that restores reason to your thought process? How can you trigger this? Can you put your own fail safe into place before important decisions?

If you figure it out, let me know.

Getting a late start on your retirement planning? One option might be to find a job that offers a pension. Or you can save as much as possible and create your own pension. Learn more in How Do I Get a Pension.