5 Must-Reads for Business: Jan 2018

Must-reads you might have missed

It’s the start of a brand new year, and many of you will be thinking about ways to give your business a boost in 2018. Here are some great must-read business articles we shared on FP Advance social media this January that might help you do that.

Great writing from some great experts and thinkers. Well worth a read.

Dealing with the Difficult: 5 Growth Strategies Advisors Ignore

Angie Herbers

Angie Herbers says: “Sometimes growth just isn’t that important to an owner-advisor. But if it is, then they are going to have to do the things that make growth happen.”

There’s a whole category of what might be called ‘strategic’ decisions that many firm owners have a hard time getting their brains around. She’s found that most very successful advisory firms do all or most of these things — while not so successful firms do only couple or none of them. Here are 5 key strategies on Think Advisor that she gets the most pushback on from firm owners.

Think Fast: 10 Ways to be Prepared for Any Question

Bruna Martinuzzi

Here’s a really practical piece from American Express OPEN on how to respond to questions on the fly. Excellent for advisers who sit in front of clients, or those who present in public in any shape or form. I might try some of these next time you hear me present, so be warned.

Most Disruptive Force in Planning Today

Bob Veres

Face-to-screen (video conferencing) technology just keeps getting better, which means advisors don’t have to meet face-to-face with clients anymore. That, in turn, means they can work with anyone, anywhere; instead of being bound to marketing in their narrow geographic territory. And THAT means that they will soon be competing with every advisor in the country for clients. And THAT means they should find a niche and go national with their services, and work with clients who have similar interests.

Meanwhile, they should prepare for shorter meetings with clients at the clients’ convenience. This is a lot of great change for one small technology innovation.

6 strengths of great advisers that clients may perceive as weaknesses

Andy Hart

Here’s a great piece from Andy Hart (The Voyantist). Really gets you thinking about the various things that you do for clients, and the ones that actually deliver most of the value (and it’s not what you think). Highly recommended.

An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence

Maria Popova

Here’s one for the philosophers among you. It’s deep, but also a great reminder of what it takes to be truly happy. Definitely something to think about at the start of a new year.

5 must-reads from this January to help boost your business in 2018