How legacies actually get made
To steal the infamous words from Hamilton: a legacy is planting seeds in a garden we'll never see. As a very amateur gardener, I think about this often. Even when you are going to see the seeds grow, you're often very, very wrong about the outcome you're going to get.
Communication is not the goal
Some combination of the internet's meltdown, media failures, and falling reading skills are killing communication. It's time to reset your sights: communication is not the goal, understanding is.
They decide with their eyes first
Trust-dependent ventures must think like designers. From visual layouts to client experiences, from lobby layouts to website UX, it’s imperative to your trust-based growth that you bring a design mind to the party. Featuring Guest Contributor Laura Sorensen
Breaking rules and techno-fantasies
Big trends are made by category incumbents, held up by media, and monetized by the masses who are desperate to feel connected to the newest, hottest thing. This collusion of the willing puts up barriers to entry to producing value and growing marketshare. This week we recognize the signs.
Finally! Fewer CMOs (but more bad rashes)
Fewer CMOs is good news, more Jon Stewart is not, and how to read better to think better.
The Good List 2023
2023 has been a whirlwind of a year.
From the headlines, books, media, and trends, we bring you 24 good things that came from this year... and a few hints as to what may happen next.
Is "Fund-and-Fix" the new model for RIA Growth?
Minority investors are finding what we’ve found in our years of working with RIAs: The ATT Trifecta (Acquisitions, Talent, and Tech) is not sufficient to produce scalable growth, and in the wrong hands it makes things worse. New entrants are trying to "fix" that.
AI quiet quits and trust comes back in fashion
Looking back, 2023 did a good job of making us believe that shiny objects, fancy AI gadgets, mass-produced content, and general internet tomfoolery would grow businesses in scale and trust. Turns out they were wrong, again.
Seven marketing predictions for 2024
Growth in 2024 will not be for the faint of heart. We are one year further into the unraveling of the digital marketing panacea. 2024 will accelerate the fracturing of digital marketing, and the strategic gap between marketing and strategy has to be solved.
Who will they trust? Maybe you.
The future of every industry is defined on the bookends: Boomers who aren't leaving, and Gen-Z/late Millennials who own the culture. All the money is flowing sub-40 to a group of people with such Rizz that they don't trust the internet, brands, or the media.
Who will they trust? Maybe you.
Overpoached eggs: The hidden risks in the RIA model today
For the last ten years, every RIA has been bemoaning the need for “differentiation,” revealing a stark misunderstanding of what the real issues are. Wealth firms no longer understand what they are selling to the marketplace that has dramatically changed since the Boomers called them into existence.
Formula for a failed leadership transition
Leadership transitions are one of the most dramatic that any organization undertakes, and they fail up to 70% of the time. Successors make one of three critical entry errors. A cultural crisis is on the horizon if these three are in play.
