Financial Advisor Success Ep 458: Overcoming Perfectionism Burnout While Still Serving Clients Well With A Standard Of “Calm Excellence” with Lisa Brown
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Oct 7, 2025 Lisa Brown, President of Greenwood Gearhart, shares her insights on combating burnout in the financial advisory landscape. She reveals how her firm transitioned from a culture of "urgent perfectionism" to one of "calm excellence," prioritizing sustainable client relationships. Lisa discusses eliminating unnecessary meetings and instituting daily huddles to keep the team focused. Her innovative approach, including the Kudos program for team recognition and a scoring tool for client needs, led to reduced stress and enhanced service. She also encourages women in finance to embrace authenticity amidst challenges.
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Value Through Service Evolution
- Firms can sustain a 1% AUM fee by evolving services rather than raising prices.
- Technology and planning upgrades let advisors add value without fee compression.
Firm Size And Rapid Growth
- Greenwood Gearhart grew to $1.8B AUM serving ~1,070 families with 25 client-facing team members.
- The firm averaged ~22% AUM growth over seven years while expanding services and staff.
Planning Fueled Organic Growth
- Adding planning for every client deepened relationships and drove organic growth.
- Delivering comprehensive planning became the firm's 'secret sauce' for referrals and retention.
