The Guiding Principles are really a framework for advisors to think about their businesses, their firms, and the challenges that they may face as they grow their firms and they have increased complexity, complexity like more clients, more employees, maybe multiple locations.
There’s really five principles, and those are, very simply, that you need a strategic plan, an effective strategic plan. That your value is really defined from your clients’ perspective, not what you think your value is, but what your clients think your value is. That you need operational efficiency and operational excellence in order for that scalability, and to be able to get the efficiency to reapply that capacity to your clients, to spend that time with your clients. And then the fourth principle is your reputation is your brand. That one is about amplifying your reputation in your community, so that it becomes what your firm is known for. And the key piece of that is telling a great and consistent story. And the fifth principle is that your people are your most important asset. What are you doing to attract and retain your employees?
The principles help firms grow their business by focusing their attention on the things that matter most, the things that help them succeed, and really supercharge their business by addressing the complexities that come with growth. So as they’re building their businesses and more complexity is added in, they’re able to focus on these five key areas to address those, and readdress those as they continue to grow.