Financial Advisor Success Ep 468: Navigating Accelerated Succession When Cancer Forces An Early Retirement with KayDee Cole
Dec 16, 2025
KayDee Cole, founder of Clarity Wealth Development, shares her inspiring journey navigating an accelerated succession plan due to a cancer recurrence. She discusses the emotional and logistical challenges of transferring ownership to her COO through creative financing. KayDee emphasizes structured communication as critical to retaining clients during the transition. With a focus on transparency and empathy, she designed a four-step client transition process, ensuring a smooth handover while maintaining the trust of her clients and team.
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Hire Slow, Vet Fast
- Stop taking every applicant and hire slowly with clear vetting to protect culture and capacity.
- Build career paths and processes so hires fit long-term firm needs.
Lock In Core Partners Early
- Build a stable operations partner and pay to keep key contributors rather than delaying equity decisions.
- Early equity offers can secure long‑term commitment from essential team members.
EOS Brought Structure And Candor
- Adopting EOS created consistent leadership rituals and clearer goals that accelerated growth.
- Open, honest dialogue became the catalyst for better team alignment.