This week, I’m back in the Great Plains with my two sons.

We are headed to Lincoln, Nebraska, to see the Cornhuskers take on Colorado tomorrow. 🚫 🦬

Colorado’s mascot, Ralphie IV, is an American Bison, who, like 25% of Colorado, is actually from Nebraska.

Here’s this week’s Connected Advisor.

1. 3,333 Reasons to Make Your Own Metrics & Master Your Impact

2. Breaking Boundaries —How CG Financial is Redefining Growth with EOS, Tech, and Strategic Diversification 🎧

3. Bookmarks

   • Naval on Fleeing Institutions

   • Soundtrack

4. Milemarker On the Road ✈️

Let’s kick this off. 🦵🏈

3,333 Reasons to Make Your Own Metrics & Master Your Impact

Chance the Rapper has become one of my favorite recording artists over the past 7+ years.

As owning your music catalog has become increasingly important, Chance began his career independently - absent of outside labels or management.

Chance’s career started with an album called 10 Day which he created during a 10 day suspension from high school in 2012. With a introspective and unique delivery, listeners hear someone who openly shares insecurities, challenges and doubts with a mix tape style delivery that continues to keep you on your toes for each new song.

Chance has never signed on to a record label and has been able to drop his music for free to listeners - relying on touring, streaming royalties and uniquely branded partnerships (Kit Kat, the White Sox, and 3M) for income.

Recently, though, Chance was announced as the headliner for the Minnesota State Fair. As the days approached his performance, his brother, who manages his work, received confirmation that the fair had only sold 3,333 tickets for a 14,000-person venue.

In a world where crowd size has become more important than ever, the natural reaction to only selling 24% of your tickets is to call in sick. No one wants to be the guy with empty seats.

Chance looked at it differently and wrote a new song about it.

What Matters & Why

Its easy for so many of us to look at the same metrics everyone else is to decide if our work or our life is worthy. It’s easy to look around and size up our own ‘crowd size’ metric to decide if we should play or not.

Or we could look for the metrics that matter most to us.

We can chose to define our own metrics.

Make Your Own Metrics & Mastering Your Impact

Each day, year, month, and moment brings us an opportunity. An opportunity to be honest, refocus and keep our eyes on our own paper.

The statement of comparison being the thief of joy has so much truth to it.

Can we learn from observing others? Absolutely.

But we shouldn’t let it define us.

How do we go about leading businesses more focused on our unique purpose?

Identifying Impact Metrics

If we go to the root of what we do, it's important to highlight key points that indicate our impact.

1. Start with How Our Clients Define Success
   The chances are that your clients could care less about your AUM. They do care about how you help them and how well you understand them.
   

2. Identify Unique Market Metrics
   If you serve a niche, lean into it with the metrics that you focus on. If you serve doctors, consider the factors around their lives that can ultimately speak to your impact (e.g, helping them with paying off college debt or getting it written off).
   
   Work with small business owners and see how you can help them extend the value you provide to the people who work for them and get focused on how many jobs you are influencing through financially solid leaders who now have confidence to lead well and invest with clarity.
   

3. Identify Your Adoption Metrics
   Real change comes through adoption of new practices and behaviors. If you look at all the things you can do for your clients, start to identify how many of your clients have adopted all of them. If this makes your clients lives better, consider this as a north start for how your team works to serve the rest of your clients.

   
   What are the metrics that matter to you?
   
   What are the metrics that matter to those who love you?

________________________

On the Pod: Breaking Boundaries —How CG Financial is Redefining Growth with EOS, Tech, and Strategic Diversification

In this week’s episode, Jeff Casey, President and Partner at CG Financial Services, shares how his firm is breaking new ground by expanding into property and casualty insurance—an uncommon move in the financial advisory space.

Jeff explains how CG Financial has embraced the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to streamline operations and boost efficiency. The firm’s strategic diversification and investment in cutting-edge technology have driven sustainable growth. Jeff highlights how CG’s four divisions—Individual Wealth Management, Business Services, CG Advisor Network, and CG Insurance Agency—work together to create a comprehensive client offering.

Key Highlights:

1. EOS & Technology: Transforming operations with better visibility and efficiency.

2. Diversification: Moving into property and casualty insurance to add value to client services.

3. Leadership: Emphasizing young talent development to drive future growth.

4. Continuous Improvement: Focusing on geographic expansion and constant evolution to stay competitive.

A must-listen for advisors looking to scale through diversification and operational excellence.

Bookmarks

Naval on Fleeing Institutions

Naval Ravikant had an interesting quote about how individuals leave institutions. He doesn’t emphasize that institutions still have primary relevance in most of these categories.

1. Fiat Currency and Third Party Custody are king.

2. Defi isn’t relevant in light of crypto being packaged as ETFs.

3. People still trust Mass Media more than Social Media.

4. Homeschooling is great until you need specialized training or services.

5. Work remotely for a while and realize you still predominantly work 9-5.

6. If you make money creating something, you have a job.

Focused Listening

When I write, I need complete silence or something random enough to help my mind focus on my topic.

Lately, I’ve been appreciating a Seoul-based DJ named Mattelo, who publishes his sessions on YouTube. 

Milemarker on the Road

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

1. September 5-6 - Omaha, NE

2. September 11 - Charlotte, NC

3. September 15-18 - Huntington Beach, 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.

Jud Mackrill