Putting More Sand in Your Hourglass

Adding Efficiency

A quick word about seeking out options for outsourcing some of the commoditized aspects of your Technical Ability and Core Competency (TACC) over to bona fide models and platforms that are proven to add efficiency to your overall deliverables. As an example, a financial professional in his 50s was hitting his stride and finding renewed enthusiasm for his business by gradually adopting our process. He did have some trouble letting go of some of things he had been doing for years, but which needed to be reimagined. He also had some issues with delegation, because of a fear of quality control dilution if he handed it off fully. All very self-sabotaging and undermining.

Then, he discovered he was going to become a grandfather. He was over the moon, and then he revealed some vulnerability. He said he wanted to be all-in as a grandad, but he was afraid that when he was at work he'd be thinking about his grandkid, and when he was with his grandkid he'd be thinking about work. Something had to give. We told him, "Get out of the asset management business!" Wait, what? Get out? We reminded him that he currently worked 45 hours a week, plus or minus. Fifteen on his technical ability, managing hundreds of holdings, 15 on the enterprise, managing his business and (often micromanaging) his team, and then 15 managing his clients. We told him to hand the holdings to trusted, proven managers who "think like you" with scaled models and platforms, hand the enterprise and some of the households to your team, and let them deploy a process to create consistency, and you then invest more time with your favorite clients - many of whom have grandkids, too. No one will get a word in edgewise, but it will be a lot of fun bragging. 

Focus on what is Proprietary

In the worst case scenario, he could work 30 hours a week and focus on what is proprietary and also meaningful in his life. Best case, he can still work 45, but on his terms, liberated, elevated and invigorated. Getting out of some things that are commoditized can allow you to go deeper into the things that will stand out and make you more attractive to elite clients. It's worth looking into that to find balance, so that you aren't majoring in minor tasks while overlooking the tasks that have a major impact.