Welcome, once again, to the New Year's resolution season.

January ushers in that magical time when we convince ourselves that this is the year we're finally going to hit the gym regularly, put down our phones, read a book a week, and maybe even learn a new skill.

In this week’s feature piece, I’m highlighting one resolution we all probably have for our businesses in 2024 — and how to maintain it.

Here’s a list of what I cover in 2024’s first edition of Connected.

1. Embracing Change and Leadership Excellence: A New Year's Guide to Transformative Wealth Management

2. How User Experience Reshapes the Future of Wealth Management - Clifton Schaller 🎧

3. Last Chance! Register for Modernizing Your Firm’s Reporting to Simplify Your Client Experience

4. Milemarker on the Road

Let’s get into it.

2024: The Year of Leadership Transformation in Wealth Management

A little over 20 years ago, Death Cab for Cutie released an album, "Transatlanticism."

One of the top tracks on the record was called “New Year” and has a line that goes, "This is the new year, and I don't feel any different."

Maybe it’s etched in my mind because of the phase of life I was in when it came out, but every time we turn the calendar to a new year, I find myself reciting this line in all sorts of situations.

For some people, this line penned and performed by Ben Gibbard will be true - simply maintaining the status quo will be enough.

But if you’re reading this newsletter, I know that’s not you. You want something better than last year, something improved, something more. You want change.

The most effective leaders know and acknowledge that the root of change in their organizations lies within themselves first.

And so, as you sit down on the first Friday of this new year, it's crucial to objectively assess how we as leaders interact with our teams and set proper expectations.

If we aren’t modeling the type of behaviors we want our teams to possess, we can’t expect them to be any different.

Team performance mirrors leadership performance.

I recognize that this isn’t a revelation. You were just as annoyed at your parent when they told you to ‘do as I say, not as I do’ when you were young. You know that you are creating culture. But you are busy and you are working slightly less in the business than on it these days. And it’s not just work that pulls your attention. You are a parent, a child, a sibling, a community leader and so much more than just an executive. All of these priorities are vying for your attention, your thoughtfulness, your dedication.

In the middle of all of these tasks that need you, you’re supposed to be developing those around you to grow into the duties that are currently assigned to you.

The adage I come back to all the time goes something like: it takes 5-7x more time to teach a task than it does yourself. If this is true, the amount of time you need to pass on a skill and multiply your impact might feel immense. Perhaps the key lies in being willing to invest the time in teaching the right skills to the right people to have maximum impact.

This is where having the correct tools in place is critical.

What tools are you using to document your processes, your workflows, your thoughts so that you can consistently deliver excellence?

I’ve shared this tool before, but Loom has completely changed the game for my companies. It’s still my go-to asynchronous communication tool.

I love Fathom and Otter for capturing transcripts and moving from spoken words to print. I use Slack to deliver these thoughts to my teams and colleagues.

As we move through this year, let’s embrace the opportunity for positive change by modeling desired behaviors, teaching both the why and the how of our work effectively, and leveraging technology to scale.

May our journeys include progress, focus, and consistent delivery.

With that, Happy 2024! Here’s to a year of transformative change.

On the Pod

How User Experience Reshapes the Future of Wealth Management with Clifton Schaller

Episode 027: In this week’s episode of Milemarker’s The Connected Advisor Podcast, Kyle talks with Clifton Schaller, Chief Growth Officer at FutureVault.

With a background in corporate development, product management, and strategic partnerships, Clifton drives the intersection of top-line growth and product strategy. Clifton and Kyle discuss the importance of user experience (UX) in the wealth management industry and how it can impact client retention and acquisition.

Key takeaways from this week’s episode:

1. User experience (UX) design is crucial to client retention and acquisition.

2. The industry must help clients navigate the sea of investment products and tailor portfolios to their specific needs.

3. Access to private markets is becoming more democratized, providing personalized opportunities for investors to participate in high-growth investments.

The episode is available now on your favorite podcast platform as well as a video version on YouTube. While there, please don’t forget to Download, Like, and Subscribe.

Last Chance to Register! Modernizing Your Firm’s Reporting to Simplify Your Client Experience Workshop

It’s your last change to register for our exclusive online event on Wednesday, January 10th at 12pm EST: Modernizing Your Firm’s Reporting to Simplify Your Client Experience.

Scott Klaassen, Managing Director at Milemarker, and I will be answering your top questions about how advisors can modernize reporting practices and leverage data analytics to enhance their client experience.

Save your seat now.

Milemarker on the Road

Catch our team on the road at the following events or cities:

1. January 22-25 — Las Vegas, NV

2. February 12-14 — Orlando, FL

3. February 26-28 — Scottsdale, AZ

4. March 12-15 — San Diego, CA

If you’re in any of those cities and want to arrange a meeting time, reply to this email, and we’ll get something on the calendar.

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Happy New Year! Excited to see what we all accomplish in 2024.

Written by Jud Mackrill

Edited by Amy Simpson