Titles


The public impeachment hearings have made me think. How will me make a final decision?  My blog this week will examine how we make big decisions. It isn’t easy but the old school titles confuse more than they help. This blog focuses on Wealth Advisory decisions we all need to make. Thankfully we are not making the impeachment decision but we can learn something from the process.   We will start our journey on the numerous business models and end with an opinion I learned from my children.


Business Models

Each business model requires different titles to work at their firm. A CPA or a CFP can be table stakes for wealth advisory firms. A degree from an elite university gets you in the door on Wall Street and firms like Facebook or Google. The degrees can open the door and agitate friends who don’t want to hear again that you went to HBS. Few successful firms make decisions exclusively on your title. They will require a face to face interview. Bad news for Singer and prep schools who base their reputations on helping their graduates with acceptance to competitive schools.

Recruiting

We recruit professionals and target clients that look like us. This approach has worked against minorities, women and millennials. Hiring diverse candidates will help our firms but it is easier said than done. Hiring and working with people that share our titles is easier and a self fulfilling approach. We might be surprised by graduates from colleges we didn’t attended.


  Yesterday’s News 

I hope that we can evolve from focusing exclusively on titles. Full disclosure - I graduated from Baylor after attending numerous other schools. As we move from newspapers to blogs I hope we can move from surrounding ourselves with people who have different opinions and titles. Great firms and universities will make these changes and we should too. Harvard online won’t cannibalize the accomplishments of graduates. Sharing your opinions online won’t cannibalize your wealth advisory firm either. I wish we could put our top blog on our office wall and replace our diplomas.

Unfortunately change is difficult and we should consider replacing titles with a face to face exchange. Public hearings might help too.

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