If It’s Not Repeatable, It’s Not a System

Hands organizing post-it notes into a grid system

Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to hear that I read “Atomic Habits”…again. In 2018, James Clear wrote this remarkable book that has reportedly been purchased every 15 minutes since publication*. Additionally, his 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter is followed by more than 2 million people. Before I finish this blog, he will have sold…

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Are You Working IN Your Business Or ON Your Business?

Stressed Lego man at desk

When I talk to executives and business owners as part of my work with family offices, private equity firms, and boards, I often hear comments like this: “I want to grow my business, but I do not have the time to address [you name the issue].” The REAL issue is often that they are so…

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Systematizing the Referral Process For Financial Advisors

“Can I Borrow Your Car?” book cover

Remember that episode of “Seinfeld” where Uncle Leo gets Jerry’s father a last-minute appointment with a top notch back doctor? And when Jerry’s father accuses the office of stealing his wallet, Uncle Leo is mortified since he gave a personal recommendation and asked the back specialist for such a big favor. Although this scenario was…

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Leading With Gratitude

Napkin with writing saying “practice gratitude daily”

Recently I was skimming through minutes from a weekly Blueprint Investment Partners Leadership Team meeting and something made me stop and chuckle. Each person had shared some good news from their week, and one had offered that she and her husband managed to shop for AND assemble several pieces of IKEA furniture without any squabbling.…

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You Know Who’s Terrible in a Crisis? A Robot.

Robot with conversation bubble

Call me a luddite if you like, but few things annoy me as much as when I navigate to a new webpage and that, “How can I help you?” box pops up on the lower right. That chatbot entering uninvited always sends me on a frantic search for how to make it disappear as quickly…

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Is Planning Alpha Greater than Investment Alpha?

Overwhelmed financial advisor

How does that saying go? Something about how the more things change, the more they stay the same? Within financial advisory practices, this sentiment rings abundantly true in the area of portfolio construction/management. So much has changed in the past few years. For one, the pandemic altered how investors interact with their advisors. Potentially more…

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Who Needs a Financial Advisor When Markets Only Go Up?

Hand pulling electrical plug from wall socket

Like many others, I’m drawn to “comeback” stories. It’s no surprise, then, that the history of the world’s rarest and most ancient dog has stuck with me. For more than 50 years, the New Guinea highland wild dog was thought to be extinct. But in the 2010s, a few reported sightings led researchers to take…

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Marketing for Financial Advisors – Your Questions Answered

Word cloud of sales and marketing words

We received a surprising amount of feedback following our September blog about advisor marketing, so we’re back with a sequel. In these video responses (most are under 2 minutes), you’ll find answers to common questions we hear from financial advisors about how to refine their marketing activities to build and retain client relationships. Our source…

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Q&A: How Financial Advisors Can Build Better Marketing Programs

Financial advisor on video call with a client

There’s a perception that all financial advisors offer the exact same service (or, for that matter, all asset managers, plumbers, architects, etc.). Changing perception for your practice requires building a reputation, a brand, a marketing program. Toward that end, our firm hosted a webinar earlier this year with our friends Corey Keating and Ryan Stark,…

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Protecting the Financial Advisor’s Blind Side

Quarterback at line of scrimmage

The 2021 NFL Draft, which begins tomorrow, is expected to highlight more than ever that quarterback is arguably the most important position in all sports. If we stick to football and assume QB is indeed the most important role, what is second? Many cases can be made, but if money talks, then shouldn’t the answer…

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