This week I had 3 connections on motivation.  First, I talked with a client leader who asked me how to motivate her team.   Second, I talked with another client leader who was really demotivated and wanted help (see Story of the Day).   Third, I watched a talk on motivation by a business consultant

I send only occasional newsletters to limit email volume.  So the ones I do send need to be good!  The most recent newsletter had a technical glitch and linked readers to the wrong article.  Ironically, the newsletter was about how to brand yourself successfully.  Clearly, technology that works is an important part!  How embarrassing! This unexpected

I’ve been talking to lots of advisors eager to communicate their value to clients.  It’s hard to create a successful brand.  Even harder, the good old days are gone and what worked in the old days is gone too.  Here’s the financial world of before: Limited – Access was limited to professionals Controlled – Activity

I had a great conversation recently with a seasoned CFP.   We talked about coaching and practice-development programs.  Both support advisor success, but deliver very differently.  It’s like the difference between buying a fitness DVD and hiring a personal trainer. A good fitness DVD is filled with expert information and is appealingly  concrete.  You see

This week I had the privilege of hearing some magic words.  A client offered tremendous praise and appreciation for our work together.  We celebrated great success:  happy and productive.  It was wonderful for both of us! That got me to thinking about how my financial advisor clients have the same goal as I do.  We

Money has less power than we think!  McKinsey released new research on employees, money and loyalty. The results provide an important lesson for us today!  They found 2/3 of all organizations have cut employee rewards. Sadly, most did not replace money and perks with other motivators. Big mistake! The research also confirmed that money is

Do you ever feel like things are just going too fast?  Why is that?  I won’t bore you with the details but there’s reams written on how technology affects people.   The bottom line is: We invent machines and then instead of letting the machines do the work, we let the machines work us. As

One big concern about writing a blog focused on women clients is the one-sided nature of the viewpoint.  Yada, Yada, Yada…. always writing about how men need to change for women – blah, blah, blah! Let me assure you, I  greatly appreciate the strengths of men.  In fact, most of my clients are men and

I get asked frequently how to deal with upset people.  The turbulence in the market over the last 2 years makes clients hyper-vigilant and edgy – challenge #1.  Challenge #2 is that men and women tend to deal with emotions differently.  Every man I know automatically does the wrong thing when trying to calm an

Fact of the Day: The Affluent Insights Quarterly just released the latest research on wealthy Americans (investible assets of $250,000 and more).  Here are the key points and five opportunities they reveal: Fact: 44% of those surveyed work with an advisor – of those 81% are satisfied Opportunity #1: Great news!  The wealthy are pleased