Voices

What Would an Advisor Do With More Time?

The last two issues of my Inside Information newsletter outlined what might be the next (expanded) version of Modern Portfolio Theory, and then (in the following issue) what might become the  new standard for financial planning service in the future--what I called the Four Factor planning service model.

Even though I believe that we have years to make these transitions, some advisors were nervous.  Where they would find the time to manage a client's human capital or model efficient frontiers based on a spectrum of input assumptions?

So this week, I have a very simple question to ask all of you.  Suppose, by some miracle, that you were given an extra two hours a week to spend in your office.  How would you spend that time? 

What would you do with an extra 100 hours a year of potential productivity?

I've talked with coaches and consultants who say that their advisor clients are always more motivated about becoming more efficient when they can see how the changes would impact their daily routine.  For them, imagining you have two more hours a week can be a very productive exercise.  At conferences, usually over lunch, I’ve posed this question, and the conversation is always interesting—mostly, it’s interesting to see how an advisor will offer one answer, and then, as others go around the table, decide she likes somebody else’s answer much better, and will tell me at the end that she’s now far more motivated to find a way to get that extra 100 hours, now that she knows what to do with them.

Please, please take the time to respond, even if it's a short message, and help all of us tap into the wisdom of the crowd.  The last Converesation online discussion was taken over by a small number of people who mostly bickered at each other; I'd like this one to be more productive and interesting--and I think it would be helpful for many of us to compare notes about where the extra time would go.

For more on planning, client service, practice management and marketing, or to join the Inside Information community, contact Bob Veres at Bob@BobVeres.com or go to www.bobveres.com.

 

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