By Dr. Rick Jensen

HABITS OF THE TOP 1%:

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH WINNERS

If you are a fan of tennis, you likely followed Coco Gauff’s triumphant journey through the draw at Flushing Meadows to become the 2023 U.S. Open champion. Many in the media are declaring the past few months as “The Summer of Coco” as she chalked up WTA Tour wins in DC and Cincinnati and then capped off the summer with her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.

For the past three decades, I’ve had the privilege to serve as a Medical Advisor to the WTA Tour’s Sports Science and Medicine team. In this capacity, I have an insider’s view of the habits that champions like Coco engage in on and off the court. One habit that I’d like to highlight is a champion’s effort to surround herself with winners.

 Within Coco’s camp are Candi and Corey Gauff (parents), Brad Gilbert and Pere Riba (coaches), Jarmere Jenkins (hitting partner), Stefan Dal Soglio (fitness coach), Maria Vago (physiotherapist), and Tony Godsick (agent). Each plays a valuable role in developing and supporting the habits (technical, physical, emotional, financial) that Coco implements day-to-day both on and off the court.

Having also coached financial professionals for the past 3 decades, I’ve observed how the game of financial advice has transitioned from an individual to a team sport. Whereas years ago, an individual “broker” was needed for access to investments and to make trades, today such activities are highly commoditized. Advisors have transitioned to providing comprehensive financial advice and planning, and the best-of-the-best rely on teams to do so. Meeting complex client needs while also managing one’s practice requires that financial advisors, like Coco Gauff, surround themselves with winners.

So, who are the Player Support Team members who you rely on to support your Grand Slam level achievement?

From my experience coaching elite teams and Barron’s top advisors, I’ve observed these champions surrounding themselves with 3 groups of winners outlined below:

TEAM MEMBERS

Top advisors surround themselves with team members who contribute complementary, specialized value that serve both their clients and their practices.  Look at the client-facing and practice-facing roles below and consider who you have added (or will add) to your team to support your achievement efforts.

PRACTICE FACING ROLES

• Team Leadership (CEO)
• Team Administration (COO, CAO)
• Investment Management (CIO)
• Business Development
• Marketing
• Portfolio Construction & Mngt.
• Relationship Management
• Compliance

FIRM & PARTNER RESOURCES

Beyond their immediate team, champions also leverage the resources of their firms and external product partners.

The best-of-the-best are masters of positioning the value delivered by firm specialists (retirement, legacy planning, tax, lending, legal, advisory, private wealth, etc.) and product partners (investments, insurance, FinTech, advanced market insights, social security, estate planning, etc.).

What firm and partner resources do you draw upon to meet your clients’ most pressing needs?