Friday, November 17, 2017

Are You a Finder, Minder or Grinder? C’mon, Be Honest

Finders, Minders and Grinders. Those three terms were coined over a decade ago by management guru, David Maister. But, they’ve been resurfacing recently as professional service firms adjust to a fast-changing landscape of tax tumult, technology turmoil and demographic shifts. Sure, we know you have to have a balance of all three worker classifications to be a successful firm. Sure, we know you should do whatever it takes to hold on to those rare multi-talented individuals who can Find, Mind AND Grind simultaneously.

But, if you’re a leader of a professional service firm today, it’s not enough to recruit and nurture those Finder/Minder/Grinder corporate triathletes. You need to be one yourself. 
How do you personally divide your time among these roles, asked Richard Lavin, founder of the Leveraged Wisdom CEO Forum. “Are you consistent? Would your employees and partners agree with your self-assessment?” he added.
Most of you reading this blog have known from an early age whether you’re an introvert or extrovert. You’re highly accomplished leaders, but at the end of the day, most of you prefer to be either (a) out with potential clients hunting down the business or (b) quietly in your office grinding out the work.

Our client Blake Christian, CPA takes a modern-day look at what Finder, Minders and Grinders are in his new book “Becoming a CPA Preneur”:

·       Finders are the hunters who seek out new business and relationships for the firm. They’re typically partners and senior manager levels, but Finders can be found (and developed) at lower levels of your organization, too.
·         Minders are the project managers who keep the trains running on time. They’re attuned to processes, staffing and workflow, and focus their energy on nurturing the organization internally.
·         Grinders are the technically skilled staff. They work well on their own, are good at taking instruction, and like to keep busy. These are the ones who get the work done. Without grinders, the firm would be all talk and no results!
*** Are you a Finder, Minder or Grinder? Take our Insta-Poll. See how you stack up to your peers.

Generally, employees fall into just one of these classifications above, said Christian, “but occasionally an employee will have more than one of these groups of skills. When you find them make sure you retain these gems.”


Rebecca Wilson, author of Stretch Yourself marketing blog wrote that “each role is absolutely critical to the success of a company and they all think that they are the most important. Without finders you would have no new business coming in the door, and no new projects for your team to work on. Without minders you would miss your deadlines and fail to monitor and achieve your profitability and success. And without grinders, nothing real would ever get delivered to your clients.”
She agreed with Christian that there is one rare type of professional in a services business who can carry out all three roles and “flip between them as required, with ease.” If you find one of these workplace triathletes, “be sure to value them for the quality jewel they are.”

Lavin said you can see skill sets and behaviors that drive each team member’s success. The Grinder will need to be a “detail person, analytical, have perseverance and be willing to be held accountable on a micro level. The Minder will need to have professional competency, good communication skills, an understanding of the lifetime value of a customer and an ability to assume advisory role. The Finder must be outgoing, comfortable in new settings, an excellent communicator and able to represent the firm and its services at the highest level of CXO circles.”
If you’re in charge at a professional services firm, Lavin said you need to make sure you are:

  • Assigning similar roles to the various job descriptions of your team members.
  • Hiring the skill sets and behaviors consistent with this simple model.
  • You are defining, supporting and holding your team members accountable for the skills and behaviors consistent with their roles.
  • Expecting team members to step out of their comfort zones.
  • Training the appropriate candidates to grow into new roles.
Conclusion

We agree with the experts cited above. In this volatile, unpredictable age, everyone in charge has to become a corporate triathlete who can switch rapidly between Finding, Minding and Grinding. That means switching in and out of your comfort zone and better yet, expanding your comfort zone as you must provide new and innovative ways to show continue value to your clients.

 
TAGS: Finders, Minders and Grinders, Richard Lavin, Rebecca Wilson, Blake Christian, David Maister

Friday, November 10, 2017

HB Clients in the News…Yes, Media Coverage Matters


Boast all you want on your website and social media accounts. But, it’s hard to beat the value of being quoted in the press or writing guest columns for influential media outlets.

According to the Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™ 2017 that we’re conducting with The Financial Awareness Foundation, half of advisors (48%) say that being quoted in the press is a “Very” or “Extremely” effective way to enhance thought leadership. Nearly two thirds of respondents (63%) say the same about writing articles for publication. Respondents were 5-times more likely to cite these channels than to cite mainstream social media (other than LinkedIn).

CHANNEL
% Advisors say “Very” or “Extremely” Effective
Being quoted in the press
***********************************48%
Writing articles for publication
****************************************63%
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
**** 9%

Source: HB Publishing & Marketing CO, LLC and The Financial Awareness Foundation,2017
Fortunately, many of our clients get it, and we’re happy to guide you through the process. Just don’t contact us if you’re looking for shortcuts, a magic formula or instant cover stories in Forbes or The Wall Street Journal.

Kyle Walters, a partner of Dallas-based L&H CPAs & Advisors explained in his recent Accounting Today article (The Power of the Red Chair), that financial advisory firms should pretend that A-list clients are in the room with them at all times. Imagine that your best clients are sitting in a special red chair in your conference room, he wrote, when you make strategic decisions about service offerings, billing models or CRM.

“It doesn’t matter what we think,” added Walters. “The only thing that matters is what our clients think. What can we implement that will make their lives easier and make them happier with the experience we provide?”

Blake Christian, CPA was quoted in Financial Advisor Magazine this week about the impact of a potential elimination of the AMT (Tax Reform Slams HNW Clients On Real Estate).  “Repeal of the alternative minimum tax could have a significant impact on investment plans,” said Christian. “Under current law, alt min’s top rate is 28 percent. Its elimination would drive many AMT clients into the 35 percent bracket and push them to invest in tax-free municipal bonds,” added Christian, a partner at HCVT LLP in Park City, Utah. Christian recently unpacked the Trump Tax proposal on the Mountain Money podcast and keys to opening a new office on the Journal of Accountancy podcast.  
Anthony Glomski, founder of LA-based AG Asset Advisory is a frequent source for US News who will be a featured guest on Venture App later this month. Glomski said he’s frequently asked to comment about cutting-edge issues at the intersection of finance and technology. Take Bitcoin, for instance.

“Some smart people are saying that Bitcoin is a fraud and others say it’s the new definition of money,” said Glomski.  “Time will tell, and holders of Bitcoin will either make a lot…or lose a lot.  What I know for certain is that no one knows for certain. Block chain has been called internet 3.0,” added Glomski.  “Just like 1.0 and 2.0—even if many of the fundamental predictions prove correct—this will be a volatile place to both make and lose a lot of money.”  

Conclusion
Media coverage doesn’t just build credibility; it enhances your refer-ability. In today’s electronic age, links to those clips are a snap for satisfied clients and influencers to forward along to prospective clients. Every channel counts, but as we posted last month, Don’t Be Cheap or Lazy with Client Communications.

So which would you rather have: Likes and Retweets or actual new clients?


Thursday, November 02, 2017

Most Advisors Not Spooked Yet. Are They Delusional?

Suppose you stood outside your local DMV and took a random poll of motorists. The vast majority would tell you they are very good drivers. And guess what? Those same folks would tell you most other motorists on the road are terrible drivers. It seems like the same thing is happening to independent financial advisory firms.
According to our Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™ 2017, five times as many advisors expect their own firms to grow by double-digits next year than they expect peer firms to grow by double digits (49% vs. 9%).

Advisors expecting to grow by double-digits
Our firm
***********************************49%
Peer firms
**********9%
Source: HB Publishing & Marketing CO, LLC and The Financial Awareness Foundation,2017
Despite concerns about Washington, the Trump tax plan, robo-advisors, artificial intelligence, a looming market correction and generational shifts, most high-end independent advisors remain optimistic. Is that rosy outlook justified?

A number of our clients weighed in on the subject—hard.

Matt Topley, CIO of Fortis Wealth in Valley Forge, PA said that our egos too often get in the way. “For starters, Wall Street recruits from what it believes are the best of the best young minds, coming from the most prestigious schools,” explained Topley. “Many were scholar-athletes or heads of numerous student groups and organizations. Many more had military backgrounds or other notable leadership experience.  These lifetime over-achievers have stellar resumes and type-A personalities, but that’s also what causes them to develop massive human biases within their psyches. Most don’t realize it.”
How so? All these factors lead to “the illusion of skill,” added Topley. “The more knowledge we possess, the more that overconfidence bias engulfs us. And that’s very dangerous, because a series of human biases are especially damaging to employees in the finance business.”

A partner in a Top-50 CPA firm told me the other day about his big initiative to encourage firms to be more proactive. They need to get their business plans ready for “big technology shifts and other changes that can wipe out your current market advantages.” He said “CPA firms are sitting ducks along with many other sectors,” adding that “Robo/AI risks are a bit overblown and we will actually see a hybrid AI/ Human solution that gives the best of both worlds.  Wealthy people and most others crave human interaction with their professional service providers.”

Kyle Walters, founder of Dallas-based Atlas Tax Advisors, agreed. As he explained in his recent Accounting Today article (The Power of the Red Chair), financial advisory firms should pretend that A-list clients are in the room with them at all times—i.e. sitting in a special red chair--when they make strategic decisions about service offerings, billing models or CRM.
“It doesn’t matter what we think,” added Walters. “The only thing that matters is what our clients think. What can we implement that will make their lives easier and make them happier with the experience we provide?”

Anthony Glomski
, founder of AG Asset Advisory in Los Angeles, told me that financial advisors of all stripes are not setting the bar high enough. “As Peter Diamandis would say: ‘In a world where everyone is competing furiously for 10-percent improvements, you need to be thinking about how to get 10X.’” Glomski added that the pace of change “seems too great today for that to be sufficient, let alone disruptive. Historically, I suspect a lot of “aha” moments got you just 10-percent.” 
According to Topley, the reason active managers fail to beat their benchmarks over the long-run is due more to psychological reasons than it is to intellectual failures. “There is non-stop pressure on portfolio managers to DO SOMETHING  for outperformance--i.e. trade around positions, add to winners, find out of the mainstream stocks or sell winners. Ironically, doing nothing is sometimes the best answer,” added Topley. “When we overload our brains with decisions, our human biases come into play.” 

And then there are things beyond our control such as the increase of fraud and cyber-attacks. Encryption and security badges serve two very important purposes, explained Samuel Bethea, founder of The Rosewood Group in Rock Springs, WY. “Incorporating these two features into your overall system of security will provide assurances to your customers that you have (a) taken precautions to protect their information and (b) will convey a sense of digital sophistication and understanding of the threats that loom on the internet today.”

Cyber security ensures that all sources of digital penetration from an external source have been mitigated in your system, added Bethea. “In a small business, it might be wise to partner with cloud resources that have cyber security built in to their security systems.” 

We live in a highly competitive, information-rich world, said Glomski. “Any AHA moment must be backed by fast and fierce persistence. Many AHA moments are followed by others who say ‘uhhh yeah’ which means I’m doing that too.  AHA can give you a 100-yard lead in a race. Take your foot off the accelerator for just a few seconds, and you can easily be passed.”

Conclusion
Let’s stay in our lanes during the final stretch of 2017 no matter how fast you like to go. You may be a good driver, but without two hands on the wheel at all times, you’re not much better than all the other maniacs on the advisory highway.
As Walters observed: “People don’t leave their [financial advisors] because they charge too much. They leave because they don’t feel valued and appreciated—and because they don’t feel listened to.” 


TAGS: Kyle Walters, Matt Topley, Samuel Bethea, Anthony Glomski, Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey 2017