By Barbara Herman – Whether an advisor is one among thousands of employees of a wirehouse or is the owner of his own firm, creating a succession plan for the business is likely more of a priority today than a few years ago. Finding the right next generation talent has become an industry-wide challenge, crossing all models and firms.
By Cathy Nichols – Treating people the way you would like to be treated is the Golden Rule in life, as well as in business. And at the heart of this tenet lives honesty and authenticity, traits that heighten an individual’s natural affinity to connect on a level where a mutually beneficial outcome reigns.
By Mindy Diamond – Psychologist Nathaniel Branden said, “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” I think about this simple line every time I talk with an advisor who speaks of endless frustration with his firm. As I say to everyone I counsel: Our happiness grows in direct proportion to our ability to accept a situation for what it is, and our understanding that there is a way through any situation.
Mindy Diamond Quoted – By Lisa Shidler, RIABiz – Joan Khoury has landed at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. with an wide-ranging marketing challenge — developing a new image for a dusty, half-forgotten mom-and-pop wirehouse that still manages to use its small size to big advantage. In light of this, calling in a branding expert may only scratch the surface of Oppenheimer’s problems, says Mindy Diamond, principal of Diamond Consultants in Morristown, N.J.
By Mindy Diamond – I’ve written much about the decision-making process that an advisor goes through in order to determine if his firm is the one that will continue to serve him into the future. It occurred to me, though, that the most stressful time for an advisor who plans on jumping ship is the time “in between”—the time from deciding it’s time to go to the time one actually makes the leap.
By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – In today’s M&A-rich environment, many advisory firms are looking to get in on the action. But most would-be buyers and sellers come up empty because of unreasonable expectations. Of the hundreds of advisory firms we connect with, most consider themselves buyers. They believe they have built a great firm that could be just the “right fit” for a would-be seller.
By Mindy Diamond – As adults, most of us spend the majority of our time either at work or thinking about it. So I realize – now more than ever – the importance of living what I refer to as our “Best Business Life” – that is, a life of congruence between what we believe and how we act.
By Barbara Herman – Advisors – whether they sit within traditional firms as employees or are owners of independent practices – have expectations that are far different today than they were just 5 years ago.
By Barbara Herman – It has become very common for advisors – regardless of what firm they’re with – to believe they have one move in them; it’s only a matter of when. They often have a bucket list of what they need to accomplish or events that need to take place, and then it will be time to go. We all would like to believe that there will be this one perfect moment in time, when every aspect of life – both personal and professional – is perfectly aligned to support a change; we just need to wait for it to happen.
By Howard Diamond – In today’s M&A rich environment, every advisory firm and financial advisor wants to get in on the action. Unfortunately, though, most would-be buyers and sellers come up empty. Why? Because of unreasonable expectations.
