The jerseys of football players for the University of Notre Dame, like many other athletic teams, famously don’t have names on the back in a show of the importance of the team over the individual players. Then again, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo sold 520,000 jerseys in 24 hours after transferring to the Italian club Juventus, generating an estimated $62 million in sales overnight before ever touching the ball.1

Whether we are picking a sports team to root for or a professional services provider, we all choose based on a mix of team and individual. Different combinations can be compelling to clients. Each combination has its strengths and weaknesses in terms of their impact on the strategy of the firm, its performance and its culture. What really matters for each advisory firm is to be very self-aware of how it approaches clients and manages that mix mindfully and strategically. There must be consistency between the way the firm markets to new clients, the way clients are serviced and ultimately the way the firm identifies those who are held in high regard and compensated as the top contributors.

Unfortunately, many star players and even some advisors derive satisfaction from how many games their team loses without them. Also unfortunate is how sometimes struggling teams can suppress their only talented professionals. I once watched a firm struggling to grow admonish their only promising business development professional for “being out of the office too much!”

Consistency and balance are critical—put too much emphasis on your stars and you may be vulnerable to their performance and eventual departure. Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA what it’s like to lose LeBron James twice in eight years. Suppress your star talent and demand too much conformity and you may lose your best people and struggle to grow. Yet advisory firms rarely consider “the mix” between the individual and the firm. To take control of it, they need to look at three dimensions:

• Existing Relationships—Where should client relationships reside? Are we present as a firm in front of the client or are we entirely dependent on the relationships our people have with clients?

• Business Development—Why do prospects choose to work with us? Do they come to our “star(s)” or do they come to our firm? Over time, are we trying to elevate the firm to a more prominent position in the mix or are we trying to develop more stars?

• Culture—What is the culture we have? Do we praise and look for stars or do we focus on the common good when we make decisions? Do we encourage “stardom” when we compensate or praise contributions or do we revert to the mean? Do we do everything we can to retain and please our top people or do we ask them to suppress their egos?

Let’s take a look at the implications of the mix, starting with the relationships because that’s what ultimately defines a wealth management firm.

The Impact of the Mix on Client Relationships

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