Episode 676 - Power in Storytelling

In this Monday Morning Mojo, Phil reflects on business plan presentations, emphasizing that effective planning isn't about numbers, but about telling a compelling story. By showcasing how strategic narrative can transform data into engagement, he encourages professionals to use storytelling as a powerful tool for turning goals into realities in 2025.

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Transcript

Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I'm Phil Buchanan, Executive Chairman of Cannon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push, and motivational insight to live your best life.

Thanks for joining. Good Monday morning. It is Phil here with episode 676. of Monday Morning Mojo. You know, over the past four and a half weeks, I have listened to more than 60 business plan presentations for 2025. Some of these presentations were incredibly detailed. Some were almost devoid of any details.

Some projected modest growth. Others projected exponential growth. Almost all of them outline what's going on. What people expect to occur usually in financial terms in 2025, but what people project isn't nearly as important to me as their insights as to how and why those results are likely to occur.

Now, true at the end of the day, it is the bottom line results, but so many individuals focus just on. what they wish to happen, and they don't spend the time developing the story of how and why those things are likely to occur. So let's talk a little bit about just projections in general. One thing that I have been challenging companies, groups, individual advisors on is to do their forecasting in ranges.

What are their target objectives? What are their worst case scenarios? And what are their best case scenarios? Folks who build business plans on just one specific number or specific goal often hedge those goals, hedge those objectives a bit downward. It's human nature. By giving license to do a worst case a likely target case and then a best case scenario.

Well, this empowers a growth mindset when you then require them to perform a how and why analysis as to each tranche, best case, worst case and target. You really do force a level of introspection and analysis That gets people's creative juices flowing with these individuals, groups and companies then make their presentations and discuss the how's and the wise.

Well, what that allows is every person who is present to begin to understand the complete story. What has to happen and how perhaps they can play a role in helping to bring that story to reality. In a recent 2025 business planning session, one of the managers began her presentation with a slide that simply read 2%.

She then asked the group gathered, what comes to mind when you see that number? Someone yelled out milk. In reference to 2 percent milk, and of course everyone laughed, she smiled and said, 2 percent as it applies to our business. I think somebody then yelled out, that's what we should be charging in fees.

But as time went on, she outlined the challenge of wealth management firms across the globe. Think about it. Assets are managed and market returns are generated. And those market returns are either going to be positive or they're going to be negative. Now, using sound investment management strategies, wealth management firms seek to capture the majority of the upside and limit the severity of the downside.

But at the end of the day, rising tides lift all boats and falling tides likewise lower them. No one, she says, has the ability to control the market. It's very true. Second, she noted, many of their clients were moving from the accumulation phase of their life to the utilization phase. Now, what this meant, she said, is that more and more of their clients are going to be considering distributions from their accounts on an annual basis.

Part of the job she shared is to help them determine the most effective and efficient way to take such distributions. But she went on to conclude that however they analyze it the result is likely going to be a drawdown from the client accounts So she said we can't control the market and we can't control that our clients age and we'll need funds But what we can influence and by extension Control is the decision of clients to leave the firm She shared that in the last year the firm overall had seen a 2% Client terminations of relationships.

The assets involved in the prior year were north of 35 million. She then went on to say that this 2 percent attrition rate had been fairly consistent over the last five years, except in 2020 when it was less than 1%. She then put up a slide that showed for their firm the three most common situations that prompted a termination.

Number one was the death of a client. Number two was a client moving out of state and transferring the relationship. And number three was a client retiring or selling a business and consolidating relationships with someone else. She then asked the group if they were capable of managing wealth for heirs and not just for matriarchs and patriarchs.

Well, of course, came the answer. She then asked if the firm worked with any clients who lived out of state. It moved out of state from where they were domiciled. Sure, came the response. Finally, she asked if the firm managed relationships for clients who had retired or had sold their business. And of course, she said no.

The answer was yes. So the manager went on her number one priority with her team in 2025 was eliminating that 2 percent loss. She said each year's attrition, i. e. loss of assets, loss of relationship carried a 10 year present value. of roughly 2. 5 million. And that's each and every year for the last five years.

She went on to lay out some of her ideas, but ask several of the different individuals gathered if they would be willing to help her perfect the plan to close the gap. Each individual that she called on volunteered readily. In fact, there were a couple other individuals she didn't ask to participate that volunteered on their own.

Now, this manager did a great job with her presentation. The reason why is she told a story. She didn't use just data points. In fact, she only used data points to crystallize the story. and in her call to action. So my key takeaways from that meeting and key takeaways of the meetings I participated in is well, number one, a compelling story will trump the numbers on a spreadsheet or a performance report every single time.

Number two, when you get others to participate in the story, they will participate in the after actions. So my thought for each of you is you're putting the final touches on your 2025 goals and objectives. Focus more on the story of how and why you are planning to pursue the courses of action that you intend and what roles others can play in helping you to get there.

When you bring people into your story and you do so effectively, your stretch goals Will become well within reach and likely part of your 2025 reality. Monday Morning Mojo is a production of Cannon Financial Institute. Executive producer of Monday Morning Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner.

Production manager is McCall Chamberlain. Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force of good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.