Opinion and Viewpoints
Point-of-view essays, columns, and contributor perspective for advisor conversations.
Authentic Leadership Starts With Knowing Who You Are
It’s our chance to emerge as someone who looks more deeply at their life. We have the opportunity to acknowledge that something big inside us has shifted.
Blame the Boomers: Why We Learned to Work Hard but Forgot How to Have Fun
It also makes me realize how lucky I was to have the parents I have – and how rare it was to have a lot of fun on the regular.
Does Owning Your RIA Still Make Economic Sense?
Do I need to own the RIA to preserve the independence that actually matters—and is ownership improving or reducing my EBITDA?
The Holy Grail of Investing Isn’t an Investment. It’s How You Behave
It is learning how to think and behave in a way that prevents the market from turning our own emotions against us.
The Power 11: This Week’s Top Reads
Financial advice is being repriced right now, and most of the industry is charging for the part that's headed to zero.
Distracted or Skeptical? How to Communicate So People Listen, Believe, and Act
You have to give people a reason to stay with you. I think about that through three questions: Is this relevant? Is it credible? Is it actionable? Relevant. Credible. Actionable. That is where I would start.
CEOs Know What to Do. So Why Aren’t They Doing It? The Real Execution Problem
That gap is not noise. It is the most important finding in the report, and it has a name most executives will not use in a boardroom.
How to Get Out of a Funk: 15 Warning Signs and What to Do About Them
It is a mental collapse where a change in an individual's method of doing things occurs. This occurrence puts them on a negative trajectory.
Stop Playing Games With Introductions: You’re Burning Social Capital
Come On, People… let’s get real for a second. When someone makes an introduction, they’re putting their credibility on the line.
Before You Decide What Went Wrong, Get the Other Side of the Story
Not blind trust. Not ignoring red flags. Not pretending accountability doesn’t matter. Just starting from the possibility that there might be more to understand.
New KPIs. New Tech. New Frameworks. Same Problem: The Work Still Has to Get Done
They’ve heard investment X is the next big thing, or a mate’s doing strategy Y, and want to know why you aren’t doing the same.
Revenue Is Growing. So Why Isn’t Your Business Worth More?
After forty years in finance and thirty-odd M&A transactions, I've seen this pattern more times than I can count. And the founders who feel it most acutely are almost always doing one thing.
Your Managers Don’t Need More Training. They Need the CRAP Removed
The conventional response? Give them more leadership training. Another course. Another framework. Another toolkit. Another damn thing to do. I think we’ve got it backwards.
How Many Employees Does It Take to Create $1 Billion of Value? Banks vs. Fintechs
In other words, for every employee with a fintech there are 32 people working for a traditional bank.
The Silver Tsunami That Never Hit: Why Business Buyers Still Can’t Find Enough Deals
A decade-plus of data shows that delayed exits, informal succession, and a rapidly expanding buyer pool have kept quality lower-middle-market businesses scarce.
Housing Doesn’t Follow Interest Rates. It Follows Friction.
Four decades of mortgage-market shifts show how affordability, access, inventory, and decision complexity can matter more than any single rate move.
Your Doctor Should Know More Medicine Than You. That Doesn’t Mean They Know More About You
Good healthcare depends on more than medical expertise. Patients also need doctors who will listen, discuss what they are taking, and treat them as active participants in their own care.
30+ Client Gifts Financial Advisors Will Actually Want to Give This Holiday Season
A curated holiday gift guide for advisors looking to surprise clients with something thoughtful, personal, and a little more memorable.
Your Practice Isn’t the Business. The System Behind It Could Be Worth Millions
The answer to the question lies in understanding how a lever is used to deliver greater power or force than is otherwise possible to shift a weight, and then applying that strategy to the growth of a business.
The Loudest Voice in Your Head Isn’t Always Telling You the Truth
When circumstances look favorable, you may get zingers warning you to brace for the next shoe to drop. But the voice speaks loudest when the going gets tough.
