Archive for May, 2009If you would indulge me, I’d like to break from my normal RIA update and editorialize a bit.
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” The opening words from A Tale of Two Cities may in fact aptly describe the recent past in the financial services industry. Have you ever needed to find a particular document or spreadsheet on your computer but couldn’t? Sure, you can search for it, but sometimes that doesn’t work. How about putting your hands on a specific piece of paper in the filing cabinet? You’re sure you have it, but knowing where you put it is quite another matter. We spend a lot of time collecting our best ideas and the best practices of others, but because the information is not stored properly, we waste too much time in retrieval mode. The same holds true with our processes. The truth is, if we don’t do something with regularity, we never become very proficient at it. This is exactly why we need well defined processes. It’s been eight months since I began the task of selecting a new custodian. I now have three months under my belt with the new firm and there are many lessons I’ve learned. Because this business moves very quickly the phrase, “The devil is in the details” has never been more apropos. In other words, if I had known then what I know now, I could have saved myself a lot of time and frustration. Let me explain.
I have been spending a lot of time lately defining my various processes. What I am trying to do is create a scalable business model which can easily be replicated. After all, a scalable model is the backbone of every successful business and helps facilitate its continuous operation in the event the owner is absent. There are many facets of a business. Let’s examine two. |
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