I have a client who is 79 years old. He is on his third marriage to a woman who is 40 years old.

One of the most frustrating things I encounter in working with prospects for our advisory firm is the lack of response.

We have been given the mandate to show our capabilities by growing our books of business to “earn the right” to work with clients.

I’m finding it hard to reconcile this.

Let me share some reminders about what needs to be in place for team members to thrive and stay inspired.

I lost my dad, Alfred Munro Flaxington, this past weekend.

Why is it so hard to gain the confidence with my existing clients that I have with prospects and raise their fees?

A marketing firm is helping us rewrite our copy on the website and producing some marketing materials. But the question coming up from my team is, “How do we turn this into an elevator pitch?

I’ll share some of the insights my team has gathered in 2023.

I’m having a hard time helping the senior advisor see that I have insights and ideas.

It would seem I would wake up every day excited and ready to greet the day. But instead, I find I am dragging myself out of bed dreading what’s to come.

This column is devoted to what to do when striving to be a better communicator with a focus on how people inadvertently send the wrong message.

When they tell me that “balance” is working 14-16 hours every day and being available for the clients and the firms all weekend, every weekend, I have an issue.

I’m always stunned by how very smart people can struggle with ways to communicate clearly and effectively so the audience knows what’s being shared.

No one listens to me outside of those in the operations department.

We need help in collaboration and being honest with one another.

In the last couple of weeks, I have had numerous requests to facilitate discussions for large and small teams. Here are my best practices.

Advisors are picking sides and staying in their silos. It’s creating havoc.

Let’s change the language for how we help employees make behavioral shifts.

Without understanding people – how they think and act, and what they believe – you can’t effectively help them, no matter how good you are at planning or asset allocation.

I am struggling with best ways to organize my thoughts and prepare something our advisors will validate and be willing to send.

I’m tired of working for someone who is always angry. Nothing we do is good enough.

It is frustrating for us to try and add to our great team when there are so few “good” people in the market from which to choose.

While we cannot manufacture more time, there are some things to consider that will ease the frenetic rush to get things done. In this week’s article, I’ll share some best practices.

I am not a fan of hiring a pure business-development person for an RIA for many reasons.

I’ll share a few insights I have learned that will help with COI relationships.

We recently had an offsite for our team – we are 250 people. The offsite included just the 40 senior-level leaders, but we were charged with getting input from the remaining 210 people. What a fiasco.

Here are the core tenets I share with advisors who are trying to carve their niche and stand out – the best practices to beef up your marketing efforts in 2023.

I am drained having my colleagues and team members come to me with problems because of their frustration with my company.

Should we tell our clients we need their help to grow our business?

I’m writing to ask why the advisory profession isn’t set up to provide more human-oriented support to advisors who are trying to transition.

I want to offer some tips if you are considering coaching or training for your important team members.

My company has meetings about absolutely everything.

What is the best way to help laid-off employees find a new position?

I want to know how well I am doing and what I need to modify.

Older advisors need to step aside and make room for the up and comers.

I have been in this profession for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like the young people we are hiring today – lazy, unmotivated, but still thinking they deserve the trophy.

My firm’s leader had a major unexpected undiagnosed medical issue. He walked out of the office one day and I haven’t seen him for four weeks.

In preparation for the new year, let’s look at the importance of celebrating what’s been done and learning from mistakes made.

During our holiday party, one of my longest tenured advisors came up to me to say how appalling he thought it was that we held such “an expensive party.”

The client had been with us for more than 15 years. When she left, I called her to ask if there was anything we could have done differently or better.

We have someone we have been carrying for quite some time and we need to ask him to leave.

As we enter the end of the year to celebrate other holidays, consider improving your emotional intelligence (EQ) and connecting with your clients in deeper and more fulfilling ways.

With all the market ups and downs, we are not as profitable as we have been historically.

Why do team members often resist change?

How come the focus is always on the leader and never on the team members getting on board and playing their part?

I will share some insights for leaders in large and small firms to make change happen, manage results and continue to grow your businesses.

We are debating whether to expand our niche or whether to expand at all.

I find it hard to like someone when I don’t know the context of what I would do to interact with them.

I was recently approached by a recruiter about a president position at another advisory firm.