A wise old pastor I know once said, "Show me a man's calendar and checkbook register, and I'll tell you what his priorities are."
Question: What do you spend time and money on? New possessions? Your staff? Your clients? Do you reinvest commission dollars back into your practice, or do you devour the seeds of next year's crop on toys? Do you have a purpose other than making money? Are you charitably and community-involved? Have you written a mission statement to which your clients and the public can hold you to account, one that motivates what you and your staff do each day?
Many years ago, I drafted my mission statement. It's framed and hangs in the lobbies of both our offices for all to read, and it's on both of our websites. I've "put it out there," alongside an ethics pledge, so that people can measure their experiences with us against our stated mission and tell me if we're making the grade. It reads in part:
"…In implementing each of these strategies, we place the highest importance on personal and business ethics, scrupulous professionalism, vigilant confidentiality, and the extension of public knowledge on current issues affecting retirees and their heirs."
My friend Brandon Stuerke has what I consider to be the best "How You Will Experience Us" mission statement in the business. Imagine if all of us worked to have clients experience us this way:
