Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
I am a financial advisor with my own practice. I need to do a better job of time management and I know that probably means bringing in someone with administrative or operational skills. But I’m not excited by the prospect. I live a very nice life, take off when and where I want to, serve my clients well but let them know when I will be out of touch (and they respect this) and have developed an approach that works well – for me.
Can I continue to do this for the next 15 years until I retire? I write because my wife keeps bugging me to “hire someone to help” and I am dragging my feet to do this. She thinks it will free me up, but I believe it will tie me down in ways I don’t desire.
Al P.
Dear Al,
I’m often asked to intervene when partners or people in a firm disagree on something. But you are the first to ask in response in a marital situation. It’s dangerous territory so I’ll take your question very seriously.
It’s hard to answer this question without knowing a bit about where it comes from, from your wife or you. For example, is this a succession issue? Is it because you are working long hours when you are in the office doing things your spouse believes could be done by others? Is it because, as with one of my current coaching clients, you have had a bad situation and don’t want to take another risk to bring on someone? Is it because you like to do things a certain way and someone in your office would cramp your style?
It would be very helpful to know some of the background for your question – I call what I do “detective work” so the more I know about the why, how and what – the better able I am to answer with a confident response!
In general, I’d think about a few things on both sides of the equation for this decision.
For hiring someone:
- From a succession perspective, you are in a risky situation if you have absolutely no one who knows your clients, knows your business and could step in if need be. I have had several clients in recent years who have suffered tragic losses very unexpectedly in a number of areas – death of associates, suing by one of the partners, dementia, disability and family illness – where they wished they had a back-up plan in place. Have someone who can support you if need be.
- As long as you are crystal clear about the job expectations, what you will do versus the other person, the culture you have created, the “climate” or atmosphere of your firm, etc. you could go out and find someone who is a good fit on a number of fronts. Be clear. Be open. Be honest. Be direct.
- It likely will free up time for you. I’ve run my own business for a long, long time and I found once I started putting excellent admin and back-office support in place, I could almost triple my own effectiveness. I see this with advisors all of the time, too. Having someone to take things off your plate that you really shouldn’t be doing is amazing in terms of freeing you to focus on what matters most!
But if you don’t know what you really want, and you aren’t sure how to measure success, and you don’t want to give up what you are doing now – don’t bring in another person. That person, and you, will be set up to fail. Don’t do it just to tell your spouse, “See, I told you it would not work!”
My scales are definitely balanced in the plus column. I don’t see a lot of good reasons not to do this, but be thoughtful and careful about how and what you do!
Dear Bev,
Is it possible to change a client’s mind on important matters? I have a client with significant assets, but no estate plan, no life insurance and no updated will. I’m pulling my hair out trying to get her to see how much trouble her heirs could be in if she doesn’t do something. By the way, she is almost 75 years old so I’m not crying wolf with someone who is young.
Reggie H.
Dear Reggie,
First of all, most issues in the financial realm seem logical and practical, but really are emotional in nature. Indeed, most issues having to do with human beings are emotional in nature! You might be taking a very logic-based, balanced approach with her. Think about turning up the emotional component if you are truly worried about her. For instance, have you asked her about what matters most to her? Are you sure this is not your issue, and it’s her issue, too? And even if it is your issue, have you let her know as a fiduciary you can’t sleep at night knowing she hasn’t taken action? Have you told her stories about other people like her, in her situation whose heirs paid a huge price for not taking action? Have you simply asked her, “Why is this such an obstacle for you? What am I missing in our discussions about this?”
She has her reasons – they might be good ones or not (in your mind and in hers) but it is her money, and her decision. Just make sure you are focusing on the emotional, personal element to this and not missing something meaningful she is “telling” you without really telling you!
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. In 2008, she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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