Our Vivid Vision

Over the last few years, we have written various articles regarding planning opportunities that we see for our clients, as that is our primary focus each day. That said, from time to time, we believe planning for our clients and their families also requires that we plan for our firm so that we can continue to provide the same level of service and attention (or better!) for many years to come! We think it is important to step back and share a business update that our leadership team put together at the end of 2019, something that we refer to as a “Vivid Vision." Prior to the pandemic occurring, our plans were to share this with our clients and fellow advisors in the summer of 2020. While this could be a bit of a challenge under normal circumstances, trying to communicate this in today's world is more daunting, but we believe it is still very important to share with you as we enter 2021.

At the highest level of our Vivid Vision, our objective is to build the premier multi-family office in the Northeast by the end of 2022.

Every word in the Vision that we put together has a purpose. A google search for the word “premier” yields the following definition: first in position, rank, or importance. We are focused on the third descriptor.

Why not the first two? We believe being important is a fundamental aspect of what drives our business and makes us invaluable. We have a set of critical questions that we use to manage our firm; we have leveraged the work of Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group that outlines six critical questions for every business, three of which we’ve outlined below:

Why Do We Exist?

The answer to that question is, “We exist to be indispensable to wealthy families.” Our objective is not to be the largest firm, but to have a greater impact on a smaller group of clients that depend on us. If we can execute on this, we feel like we are fulfilling our purpose and will achieve our Vision.

How do you become indispensable?

Two critical questions (also leveraged from the work of Patrick Lencioni) help answer this important question for our firm.

How Do We Behave?

Our answer to this question is-

“We behave by…”

• Being problem solvers – We see new opportunities every day for our clients and being proactive and persistent in working through these is key to being indispensable.
• Being self-motivated – We are always looking for ways to improve and grow, which we think sets us up well to be able to continue to provide our services to the families with whom we work.
• Taking ownership of results – Being dependable, independent, and resourceful is key to allowing our clients to build trust and also spend their time in areas that are most fulfilling to them, whether that be with family, business, or philanthropic activities.

Our belief is that by identifying these core values and living them each day, we will provide a strong and healthy culture for our employees. This is part of what will allow us to be a destination for top talent in our space, which is included as part of our Vision.

How Will We Succeed?

Our answer to that question is by:

• Having a proactive, high touch client service model – We believe this differentiates us from others in our space!
• Maintaining a client legacy focus – This is very intentional. Our clients are families and helping them determine and set strategy based on the objectives and purpose of their wealth is key.
• Having a growth mindset – We believe this sets our firm up to be able to help more families and also continue to provide opportunities for attracting top talent in our industry.

We know our Vision for the future and we have a strategy that we are confident will get us there. That just leaves execution, which is kind of like saying we have the recipe for the most delicious cake, now all we have to do is mix the ingredients and bake!

If the last year has taught us anything, it is that trying to predict the short term is close to impossible, but by focusing on our long-term Vision, we are able to filter out the noise of day-to-day distractions.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss this Vivid Vision more with all of our clients, fellow advisors, and friends. Looking forward to continued success together. Here’s to a great 2021!

Sincerely,

Buddy Webb
Managing Partner