Posts by Paulette Filion and Judy Paradi
“Ignoring women comes at a big cost!”
Full disclosure – I copied the entire headline from an article run in the business section of the Toronto Star on November 13, 2019 – Why? Because we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. In fact, it is exactly what we say to financial advisors and the financial community at large. The first paragraph of…
Read More250 Years My A**!
It doesn’t have to take 250 years – we think that’s a cop out, an excuse for dragging our collective feet. Take Goldman Sachs’ bold example. David Solomon, Goldman Sachs CEO, recently announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that it will no longer take public companies that don’t have at least one diverse…
Read MoreAre you a jerk?
A jerk is defined as someone whose behavior is offensive to others and, while we are probably all guilty of behaving badly at one time or another, the problem is we usually don’t know how we come across until someone points it out to us. But that does not mean we are beyond reproach. Quite…
Read MoreHow not to get fired…
When you work for someone – large corporation or small business, there is always the chance that someday you might be fired. It could be due to any number of reasons – economic downturn, poor sales, obsolete product or even more robust competition. Sadly, you may never know the real reason. When you work for…
Read MoreYou hate it – so why do it to your clients?
There was a time when asset firms trying to sell their products to financial advisors was the norm. They’d show up with a PowerPoint presentation on their newest fund and talk factor investing, management style, star-studded returns and they’d tout the portfolio manager du jour. If your supplier is still flogging their products that way,…
Read MoreAre you making the wrong impression with your holiday greetings?
Holiday season is a minefield of potential errors. Should we send a greeting card or not – if we do what to say, what not to say? By all means take the opportunity to reach out. The holiday season is a particularly good opportunity to cement your relationship with your clients by showing your appreciation,…
Read MoreTo attract female investors, You’ll have to do more than just pink you practice.
In the process of analyzing our own business – which included interviewing advisors to find out what can we offer the financial community that would be of the most value, and who are the early adaptors – we found some very interesting dichotomies. We encounter advisors who have seen the writing on the wall and…
Read MoreAdapt or Perish!
Recently I visited the Fram Museum in Norway. It is a fascinating museum dedicated to telling the story of Norwegian polar exploration through artifacts, maps, diaries and journals. One display in particular caught my eye – it featured a quote from a letter written by an explorer – it stated, “you have to adapt or…
Read MoreWomen Look for “Good” Rather than “Smart”
We’d all like to think we are smart and indeed many, or we could even say most, financial advisors are smart. After all it takes a fair level of ‘smarts’ to be able to understand the complexities of the financial world, go about the business of acquiring clients and then invest their money profitably for…
Read MoreAre You Losing Business Because You Lack Listening Skills?
What is it about listening that makes it so hard? Is it because we think that what we have to say is so much more interesting than what the other person has to say? Perhaps. Except for making you look a little self centered, it’s not likely to be much of an issue when you’re…
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