5 Tips for Updating your Vision for your Advisory Firm
Dear Advisors,
Happy New Year! Do you remember the excitement and big dreams you had for your firm when you launched? The initial honeymoon period of launching an RIA fades over the years. One way I love to reignite my passion for the business is to revisit my vision for what the firm could look like 3 years from now. It’s a chance to dream big, and then watch those dreams become a reality! In this blog, we’ll dive into 5 tips for updating your advisory firm’s vision and give examples of Ellevate Advisors’ renewed 3-year vision!
Note: If you haven’t yet written down your firm’s vision, pause here! The first time you brainstorm and write down your vision takes extra time to get you a really rough 1st draft. But it’s totally worth it and saves a ton of time updating it every year after that! If you haven’t gone through this process yet, then check out our Vivid Vision blog here. If you have your vision documents already drafted, keep reading!
Tip #1: Start with the BIG picture.
How can you lead your company if you don’t know where you are going? When updating your vision, start with your company’s mission statement or BHAGs, also known as Big Hairy Audacious Goals! The BHAGs are typically 10-year goals. As your business becomes more established, the mission statement and BHAGs probably won’t need to be updated unless your firm is taking a new direction, but the big picture is the lens to look through before updating anything else.
To give you an example, Ellevate Advisors has two BHAGs we hope to accomplish in the next 10 years:
It is an industry standard that every financial advisor hires their own financial planner.
We are recognized by industry experts as the best solution for advisors on Real Continuity Planning.
Keep in mind that BHAGs are supposed to be just that - BIG, HAIRY, and AUDACIOUS. If your goals don’t excite you (and maybe scare you a little), consider an update!
Tip #2: Read your vision docs from start to finish and make a list of necessary changes.
If your practice is growing, it is also changing. Maybe you didn’t intend to niche when you first launched, but a niche naturally developed. Maybe you’ve added credentials or become passionate about a specific service. These types of changes should be reflected in your vision documents. Read your vision documents all the way through and make note of the things that are outdated or language that no longer resonates with where you are headed.
Pro tip - Don’t dive in and start making changes right away! We’ve found it helpful to list the things we want to add, delete, or change. According to those clear directions, the editing can be delegated or outsourced, resulting in a better end-product and save you time.
As an example, Ellevate Advisors overhauled our company culture section this time. As our firm grows, our team has also been growing, and we expect to hire a part-time paraplanner in 2023! With this in mind, it was important to us to paint a clearer picture of the type of workplace we want to design and how to be a company that puts people first! We also reworked the definitions for our 3 core values (vulnerability, growth mindset, and stewardship) to reflect what that looks like in the workplace and in our work with clients!
Tip #3: Think in a 3-year runway and update accordingly.
Establishing 10-year BHAGs is helpful as a long-term measurement, but a lot can change in a decade! Focusing your vision documents in a 3-year timeframe is much more practical and gives you a runway you can clearly envision. Update your vision docs to reflect where you want to be 3 years from now and how you plan to get there. The “how you plan to get there” parts often become Quarterly Rocks, if you adhere to Traction and the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).
When thinking of our 3-year action plan, here are some updates that Ellevate Advisors recently made, to chart a path to achieving our Continuity Planning BHAG:
Launching our Continuity Partner Matching service - We’ve launched our white glove matching service to help advisors find a Continuity Partner, which is the #1 biggest problem in getting a Continuity Plan in place!
Refining our Continuity Package - Now that several advisors have gone through this package, we’re perfecting how we help Continuity Partners talk through operational hurdles and feel confident to engage an attorney to draft a legal Continuity Plan.
Designing Substitute Advisors - By popular request, we are designing a solution for advisors who want to “practice their Continuity Plan” to take a leave of absence like parental leave, vacation, or a sabbatical!
Writing a Manual for Real Continuity Planning for Advisors - My pet project is writing a short e-book to serve as a guide for advisors to design a Continuity Plan that actually works! Over time we plan to expand this to be a full-size workbook for advisors to buy through Amazon!
Tip #4: Share your vision with key stakeholders.
Once the Vivid Vision document is updated, we review it together as a team and talk about what each section means. It’s important that others who were not part of the strategy and design process get a chance to understand what the updated vision means for their work and the company’s future.
In addition to reviewing it together, we also have time carved out in our weekly team meeting called our “Values Minute.” We use this time to discuss one part of our vision documents together to keep the big picture and our core values top of mind!
Other than my team, I love sharing our Vivid Vision with a few other important people to keep the excitement going! It’s a big project for me to update and it’s encouraging to talk with others who care about the company, like my family, mentors, and close friends!
Tip #5: Update your vision annually.
Reviewing your vision RENEWS your vision. Keeping your vision at the forefront of your mind refocuses you as a leader and gives you a deeper purpose when you get out of bed in the morning! Annually updating your vision forces you to turn off autopilot, course correct, celebrate your firm’s wins, and sharpen your growth strategy.
For example, our Ellevate Advisors Leadership Team carves out time in our end-of-year retreat to review and update our Vivid Vision. It serves as a way to wrap up the year and look forward to the next year!
You can view Ellevate Advisors’ complete and updated Vivid Vision document on our website here. As an advisor, you are an expert in helping your clients plan with their end goals in mind and adjust as they move through life’s twists and turns. The same is just as important for you and your advisory firm! I hope these tips will help you on your journey of updating your firm’s vision documents. If you’d like more focused support and would like coaching on a project like this, feel free to schedule a free consultation with me here. I’d be happy to help you sharpen your vision and grow an advisory firm that last generations!
Warm regards,
Brooklyn
At Ellevate Advisors, we believe that advisors deserve to retire too. What does that look like for you, your family, and your business? Let’s figure it out together! Get to know me on my bio here, or schedule your free consultation here.