3rd Annual ‘Questions from Hellyer’

Welcome to our 3rd Annual “Questions from Hellyer”! Thank you to BJ for another great conversation leading into Annual Meeting around big thoughts and decisions on his mind, that may be on your mind as well:

I’m thinking about partnering/aligning even more strategically with our firms, at emerging levels through PCG & Elite. What does that mean for each firm? All so different & with different needs & visions. Where can our strengths complement each other to drive even more enterprise value & joy for them?

As for FPP, how are we getting advisors to 500 lives and 3* PF so they stay in control of their futures? I’m all for partnering, as I believe 1+1+1 = 11. And, my experience says ALL feel better when making decisions from a position of strength. How can we do this thoughtfully and with the best firms vs adversarially?

My experience is saying that the cement now dries in the first 24-36 months vs 60. What experiences, training, support, JW partners will best help them make an educated decision on which route to take?

As every network office and the vision of each MP is unique, there is no ‘right' answer to these questions that can apply universally. I would, however, like to offer questions that will help you think through how you might approach these issues in your offices.

In Driving FPP #29, we discussed how utilizing constraints drives creativity and better decision making. With the idea of constraints in mind, if questions seem extreme, don’t let yourself answer any as “somewhere in between”. While that answer may actually be correct for your firm, constrain yourself to commit and look at each side fully, think through how you would align resources to support that answer, and the ramifications of that decision:

• When you envision your network office structure and productivity/profitability on the day you turn your keys over to your successor, would you be most proud of leaving an office of 100 advisors, all part of 10-20 productive multi-generational ensembles, or as 100 individual productive advisors? Why?
• Would you be most productive and impactful as a leader to 100 individual advisors, or as the leader of a holding company that was comprised of 10-20 planning firms? Why?
  • Which structure would help you develop more 3* Pathfinders, more consistently? Why?
  • How many of your GDDs are part of a successful ensemble? Why or why not?
• If you could only recruit from one college major for the next 5 years, would you recruit new CFPs from the Personal Finance department, or graduates from the School of Entrepreneurship? Why?
  • Would this decision change your thoughts on the previous two questions? Why?
  • How would you structure your learning and development based upon that decision? Why?
• If your revenue = production * margin %, and you can only focus on one side of the equation to increase revenue, over the long term is it more important to you to maximize production, or your margin %? Why?
  • What decisions would you make differently, depending on which you choose? Why?
• With your best ensembles, do you feel like you are the Leader they can come to, to help them solve their problems/give them direction, or do you feel like you have a CEO to CEO peer relationship and are a sounding board to help each other to make good decisions? Why?
  • Have you ever taken an issue you are struggling with to a leader of your best ensemble and asked for their advice to help you think it through? Why or why not?
  • Interesting read: https://sahilbloom.substack.com/p/the-ben-franklin-effect-a-networking
• If you could have made an equity investment in the last two ensembles created in your office, would you have made the investment? For each, why or why not?
  • If you would not have, what advice/help would you have given them to make you excited to make the investment? Did you give them that advice? Why or Why not?
• Do you have a strong Financial Planning Department to support your new advisors that gives them great confidence in the recommendations they are making early in their careers?
  • Are they a key part of your advisor learning team? Why or why not?
  • Would you have high confidence in them building your/your kids’ financial plan? Why or why not?
  • Does your Planning Department play a role in an advisor looking or not looking to join an ensemble in your office?

We could go on, but I’ll stop here and keep it manageable. I encourage you to take an hour and write out your answers to these questions, and see what additional questions it brings to mind. I promise it will not only challenge your thinking, but also assist in providing clarity to your decision-making around your direction, and how to best allocate capital and resources in the direction of your growth.

In addition to always appreciating my conversations with BJ, I also appreciate Guinan in working through thought-provoking questions with me. I worked with Steve and his office for about a year, and he’s done a great job of developing and sticking to the strategic direction in which he’s building, asking himself the tough questions of tradeoffs, and building the structure and relationships to make it work…#2 in U5 FYC, he must be doing something right!

Give me a call if I can ever challenge your thinking, provide constraints, and help you make great decisions about the growth of YOUR firm!

Think Differently,

Steve