Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Hosted by Financial Advisor Coach, Ray Sclafani, "Building The Billion Dollar Business" is the ultimate podcast for financial advisors seeking to elevate their practice. Each episode features deep dives into actionable advice and exclusive interviews with top professionals in the financial services industry. Tune in to unlock your potential and build a successful, enduring financial advisory practice.
Ray Sclafani (00:00.142)
you
Welcome to Building the Billion Dollar Business, the podcast where we dive deep into the strategies, insights, and stories behind the world's most successful financial advisors and introduce content and actionable ideas to fuel your growth. Together, we'll unlock the methods, tactics, and mindset shifts that set the top 1 % apart from the rest. I'm Ray Sclafani and I'll be your host.
As this year comes to a close and the holidays are upon us, I've been spending more time than usual doing some reflecting, thinking about our clients, the advisory teams we serve, our own team here at ClientWise, and the future of advice. This year, ClientWise will wrap up its 20th year of operations, and that's a meaningful stretch by any standard. More importantly for me though, it feels like the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.
What stands out most is this. I am more optimistic today about our business here at ClientWise and the business of wealth management more than I've ever been. The demand for advice, well that continues to rise. Technology is finally delivering real operational efficiency and the strongest firms are building and expanding their teams and intentionally developing their next generation of leaders. That's a signal.
that the building of an enduring firm is truly possible. Leadership depth, well, that's no longer optional. It's actually become the competitive edge. Well, at the same time, the amount of wealth transitioning over the next decade, well, that's expanding dramatically. The demographic shifts, even Tiburon strategic advisors research coming out of Chiproom's firm reinforces what many of us are experiencing firsthand. This wealth business,
Ray Sclafani (01:56.654)
this U S wealth management business remains one of the most attractive professional services markets in the world. And despite how mature it may appear because we're living it every day, we are still very early in a long run ahead. And that long view is what matters. Today's episode is going to be relatively short, but I do want to share one lesson that continues to hold up for me, especially during year end reflection. When we think in short cycles,
Well, decisions become pretty reactive. We worry about the next month, the next quarter, or the next year. But when we shift our thinking to longer arcs, priorities become clearer and the trade-offs become easier. Many of the advisory firms we work with are thinking far ahead. I was doing a strategic planning session with one firm earlier this month and they articulated a 100-year vision.
Another firm I spoke with earlier this week shared its 50 year view of the future of advice. Now I admire that kind of thinking at the same time, however, given the pace of change, technology, AI compounding, it can be hard to imagine 10 years ahead, let alone 50 or a hundred. So here's the lesson that holds up for me. Think in three year cycles. What do I mean by that? Take your current age.
Plus three. When you think about that age, where are you? What are you doing? What have you learned? Where will you be investing your time and energy at that age? Who have you become as a leader? And what is your calendar actually look like? Apply that same lens to your business. Think in a three year arc.
What seeds do you need to plant next year that will allow you to execute more effectively in year two and then see real impact in year three? It's a longer view, but not so far out that it becomes abstract or disconnected from reality because the reality is all of this thinking is just not linear. In any given year, strong leaders are doing three things at once. They're resetting what's no longer working and planning new seeds. They're executing on what's
Ray Sclafani (04:21.848)
already in flight, and they're beginning to see payoffs from investments made one or two years earlier. All of that overlap is what makes leadership and business truly complex. You cannot pull over and park the car while you sit and think. You've got to change the tires while racing down the road. Real leadership happens while the business is in motion. Any reset is about direction and focus, not inactivity.
That mindset alone changes how leaders plan, how they decide, and ultimately how they lead. So if you can carve out a few intentional moments of quiet over the next couple of weeks, I invite you to reflect on the following coaching questions. Take your current age and add three. Think about your business in that three-year arc. So here are a few coaching questions for your consideration. Number one, looking ahead over the next several years, who must you become as a leader for the results?
you want to be possible. Number two, if you view 2026 as a reset, 2027 as execution and 2028 as visible impact, what are the right next three moves you need to make right now to set that arc in motion? Number three, what are you willing to stop tolerating or stop doing because it works against the future you actually are creating? Number four, where do you need to invest
earlier than feels comfortable so compounding can actually occur. And last number five, who deserves a genuine high five before year end? And what specifically are you most grateful for about how they showed up in your life and work? Strong leaders, well, they play the long game. And when you extend the time horizon, the next step becomes easier to see. 20 years in, I am so grateful for the trust and the relationships
that have helped build ClientWise clients and team members, but I'm even more excited about the work that's yet ahead. I'm more energized about what comes next than ever before. So as we wrap, please enjoy the holidays, celebrate the wins, thank you for listening, and here's to a thoughtful intentional start to the year ahead. Well, thanks for tuning in and that's a wrap. Until next time, this is Ray Sclafani. Keep building, growing, and striving for greatness, together.
Ray Sclafani (06:48.219)
We'll redefine what's possible in the world of wealth management. Be sure to check back for our latest episode and article.