The Practice Doctor is IN

Al Depman, CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH

Practice Management Consultant

Your Biggest Competitor:  YOU

Last month we discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly of the competition we face as financial advisors. This month we’ll discuss what could be the ugliest.

I often hear advisors tell me, “I’m my own worst enemy” or “my biggest competitor is myself.”

If this is you, it means you need to have some sort of tempering agent that might save you from yourself. These agents are also known as “accountability partners” and we will discuss them in depth over the next three columns.

What exactly are these “worst enemies” and “competitors” at the individual advisor level?  There are many––the list is exhaustive, and if I was a psychologist or a grad student writing a thesis, it might be fun to catalogue them. In interviewing and working with financial advisors, I have found them to fall under several general categories:

Health.  Health issues that affect you or your personal and professional inner circles can compete for quality time. Recently, an advisor I work with had attacks of sudden vertigo. These attacks put a serious crimp in his schedule as he battled the malady. The sole assistant of another advisor suffered a sudden attack of appendicitis and the advisor had to pick up her workload for a week, resulting in more than a bit of chaos.

Relationships.  Relationships can be a competitor, especially if they’re dysfunctional. Advisors who can be very clear in their client communication may be awful at communicating with their staff. If you or someone on your team is having issues at home, and those issues end up in the office, the result can be a very unhealthy environment. 

Workaholism (Fear of Failure).  We all know a workaholic or two, those souls who are obsessed with the job of being a financial advisor and find little time for a personal life. “Find” is actually the wrong word––workaholics rarely seek out personal time. Rather, there is never enough time to devote to the business––they spend all of their lives “in” the business and never take time to work “on” it. Many times, workaholism stems from a primal fear of failure that may always be lurking around the nearest corner.

Perfectionism.  The question for perfection is a common self-enemy. Perfectionists refuse to let go and delegate. They obsessively want to ensure that, metaphorically speaking, every “i” is dotted and “t” crossed. Perfectionists are very proud of this particular affliction; with advisors, it can even be prized by some clients. Perfectionism if fine up to a point––when it gets in the way of growing the volume of your practice (“I simply can’t take on any more clients”) or your micromanaging drives your staff crazy, it becomes self-defeating.

Procrastination.  Procrastination is the bane of my practice management consulting.  The only cure for this particular infliction is a strong accountability team with clear and meaningful consequences. One advisor I worked with actually procrastinated working on his practice by spending an inordinate amount of time studying procrastination!  There is an exhaustive body of work on the subject, I came to find out. As far as I know, he’s still studying. He keeps telling me he’ll get back to me…as soon as he finds the time.

Hedonism.  Hedonism is the seeking of pleasure; in many ways, it’s the opposite of workaholism. In my work with advisors, I have found that many of them pursue pleasure instead of work. Some spend their time on the Internet.  Others have drinking or drug habits. Leisure time beckons and the pull of an afternoon of golf is stronger than an afternoon of phone calls. The comforts of a two-income household may mitigate the need for practice growth. There are many pleasurable aspects of life not worth missing at any cost: family and faith come to mind.  Don’t get me wrong:  all work is just as bad as all play. The key is to be sure you are practicing balance in whatever you do.  Remember the old adage, “all things in moderation.” 

Disorganization.  Being disorganized is the result of having a cluttered mind. This is actually not a bad thing, as it indicates a lively brain constantly in motion with new ideas.  There isn’t really a cure for this other than to hire on people who will keep things neat and orderly and be honest with you when one of your brainstorms doesn’t make any sense.

Big Picture-it is.  “Big Picture-it is” is related to disorganization in that you are always looking at new and better ways to accomplish things. Are you one of those advisors who start a lot of projects that get dropped when the next big idea comes along? There is a lack of detail and follow-up, which drives other team members batty.

All of these “self-competitors” are acceptable––even healthy––in small doses. When they get pathological, you need to reach out for help. 

Next month we’ll continue our discussion by talking about accountability.

The doctor is OUT.

Al Depman, CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH, a.k.a. “The Practice Doctor”, is MitchAnthony.com’s Business Practice Consultant. He is the creator of “The Practice Management Assessment” tool and materials and has authored numerous articles in professional publications on practice management, and author of the book, How to Build Your Financial Advisory Business and Sell It at a Profit, now available from McGraw Hill. Al combined his Liberal Arts studies with 10 years of management experience with McDonald’s Corporation to enter the financial services world 25 years ago. Since then, Al has evolved from an MDRT-level sales rep into a full-time consultant specializing in helping others engineer their business practices to the next level. Contact him at al@mitchanthony.com.

© 2009 Al Depman