First Friday Feedback: May 2026

In May's edition of First Friday Feedback, Phil and McCall Chamberlain, Cannon's Student Development Coordinator, explore the shifting demographics of wealth management and the necessity of generational engagement. McCall explains how her marketing background helps her tailor communication to a younger, more diverse wave of professionals entering the field. The discussion emphasizes that while technical data is foundational, personal confidence and the ability to simplify the complex remain the industry's true differentiators.

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Transcript

Phil: Hi, I'm Phil Buchanan with Cannon Financial Institute. We produce the podcast series Monday Morning Mojo, The Cannon Curve, and Cannon Connect. Each of these podcasts invites listeners to email or text their feedback, comments, and questions. They are all answered right here on First Friday Feedback. If you're new to our podcast, go ahead and subscribe to all four and get engaged by sharing your perspective. Life is about the journey, so let's go for the ride.

Phil: Greetings, Cannon Nation. It is Phil here with First Friday Feedback for May of 2026. Well, the month of April is behind us. We are into what is hopefully warmer and, for much of the country, a little wetter season. We have dealt with droughts and wildfires in different parts of the country, and I hope everyone is, uh, is staying safe and secure.

In the month of April, we spent a lot of time on our various podcasts focusing in on the concept of engagement, how we engage with our clients, our potential clients, our broader community of practice. Today, I am joined by one of Cannon's own, Ms. McCall Chamberlain. She is the student development coordinator at Cannon for all of our Cannon schools.

McCall, welcome to First Friday Feedback.

McCall: Hi, Phil. Thanks for having me.

Phil: Now, McCall, I first was introduced to you on a day that you were ill. Uh, you were, uh, coming in. It was your, your first official day as an intern with Cannon. You had recently graduated from Georgia Southern University, and it was, it was day one of employment, and you walked in with a pale face and a smile, but I, I could tell that something was going on there.

Do you remember that day?

McCall: Ve- yes- ... like it was yesterday. I mean, I was so scared first walking in, 'cause I had already driven to the wrong spot. So on Google, I had pulled up the old location of the office, so I was already stressed that I was gonna be late, and then I didn't know anybody. I didn't know where I was going and who I was gonna see when I walked in.

And then- I was introduced to Phil and I was like, "Oh my gosh, it's the chairman- ... and I'm not ready."

Phil: You were, uh, you were, you were quite ready. So l- let's go back. Passions, interests, pursuits. I think you were a marketing major, if I remember, in college. Yes. And that was the, that was the internship that, that you came into.

Your role and responsibilities now with Cannon are... Well, we're all in the business of sales, we're all in the business of marketing, but, uh, your professional duties and responsibilities as our student development coordinator is, you know, doesn't fall under the, the, the marketing scheme. Can you talk a little bit about how the, the study of marketing and, and the concepts of marketing carry over into almost any duty and responsibility of professionals in a service business?

McCall: Of course. I mean, any time you're talking about business, you're talking about marketing. So from the standpoint of when I started, I was just business administration, and then when I took my first marketing class, I was like, "This is for me." I, it just, it's what my brain ran on. It made sense to me.

Everything just connected. For when you're working with sales, you're marketing yourself, but you're also marketing the company. So just because you're telling them about the company doesn't mean you're not marketing them. So everything you say matters. That ends up in their brain. That's what they remember about you, then that's what they're gonna remember next time they call you.

So you always have to think about it in a marketing sense of, am I saying what I really want them to know, or am I directing to the right audience? Am I talking the right way to this audience? That still works in sales every single day. So every day I'm talking to students, I'm like, "Is that what I would wanna hear from somebody?"

I put myself in the, their shoes, 'cause that's how marketing is. You're trying to do it from their point of view to make sure they're marketed how they would like to, and what they would need in the business that they're in.

Phil: That's a very educated answer you have right there, and one that, that, that I wholly buy into.

You know, one of, one of my observations of the wealth management industry overall is it doesn't do a really good job on what I'm gonna call generational engagement. Okay? So you and I fall in, in, uh, in different generational classes. I'm a Gen X-er, you're a Gen Z. We've got the millennials in between us.

How important is it that not only the, the, the professionals that different ages and stages of a family interact with, with an organization kind of matches up to, to who the family is, but that the positioning, the narratives, the stories that are used are different for the different generations? What, uh, w- what's your perspective on that?

McCall: So when I'm, for example, like when I'm talking to someone on the phone, I can kind of tell, okay, you wanna get off or you wanna stay on And it kind of, that also tells you kind of what generation they are too, because a lot of the older generations love to talk on the phone. I have an old soul, so I like staying on the phone.

I will sit and talk to you as long as you want me there. I'm happy to do that, 'cause I learn best that way, and I also engage best, I guess, the best way is through phone. But I wouldn't say that that also is the only way that you can tell by generational, but everyone learns differently, but everyone also hears differently.

So even though you might hear them that, oh, I like it, you know, the nutritional way of not having paper anymore, well, that really does matter in the end, 'cause you're like, "Oh, I wish I would've had a piece of paper of that instead." Well, it ends up ha- affecting the generational.

Phil: It, it definitely does. So if we unpack that just a, just a tad bit more, how do professionals in financial services, how should they be thinking about the approach?

Again, I go back to the narratives, I go back to the stories, the examples, the, uh, the positioning of their value. It, it really needs to be intentional based upon the client age and stage that you're dealing with, right?

McCall: Yes, 100%, 'cause when you're talking to a younger person, they can hear all you're saying, but they might not see it until they visually see it.

So every single person, I treat them all the same. This is how you call me, this is how you email me, and then after this call we just had, I'll send you any follow-ups that, that we talked about. If you were talking about a schedule, I'm gonna put it in there. If you were asking about some dates and times, you might have heard me, but to have it in paper and be able to go back and reference it is always gonna be helpful.

So even though you might be different generationals, I always try to make everyone have all the options of the generations that they like.

Phil: You know, th- that, that is a smart move simply because you fall into ... Well, you gave yourself as an example. You fall into the Gen Z category. Pop culture tells us that, uh, all Gen Z's are addicted to their phone, and they can't, they can't hold a conversation and hold somebody's, uh, eyesight, and, you know, you gotta, you gotta text them or Snapchat 'em or a, a video feed or something like that.

But, but that's not necessarily the case. Again, you can do broad generalities, and really connecting and meeting people where they are as opposed to where you are is most important, huh?

McCall: Yes, 'cause in my role where I'm at with the student development coordinator, I'm trying to develop your education.

What's best for you? What fits in your schedule? What works with all of your things that you have at your normal job, the day-to-day that you have to do? Yes, I called you, but that doesn't mean you have to call me back. If you need me, you can call me back. If not, you can shoot me an email. Whatever's best at your plate, because I know times are crazy.

I have crazy days where I don't get to answer the phone as quickly as I like to or call them back as quick. So I wanna make sure that everyone understands- it's okay. It's not too big of a deal. We'll make sure we get in touch, and we're gonna s- I'm gonna keep on it 'cause even though you might not have time right now, I will make sure we make time for it.

Phil: The, uh, the phrase I use for that is you are patiently persistent, uh- Yeah ... in, uh the way that you, uh, in the way that you think about that. This is not a, uh, a, a question that I personally have had to answer in many, many years. For you, it, I, I rather imagine, uh, comes up on occasion. Um, you are on a, comparing the two of us, you are on the, uh, the younger side of your career journey.

I may be on the, uh, on the older side of, uh, of my career journey. You have had numerous instances where somebody met you for the first time and said, "Oh my God, you, y- y- you, you sound much older when we're, we're talking on the phone." Is that a, uh, a compliment? Is that a criticism? What, uh, what are people saying when they tell you that?

McCall: I take it as a compliment. I don't know if they're meaning it as a compliment. But I always try to look at it, everything in a positive way. So I look at it as, "Oh, great. Even though I'm young, you still thought I was, you know, educated enough to help you and understand that." So that pat on my back, I at least did my job of getting you where you needed to go.

Phil: Well, um, you bring a, a tremendous level of credibility, uh, to your role and responsibility, and that comes from, well, number one, you are a, a student of the profession. You, you have a, uh, an incredible work ethic and, and a high commitment level to, uh, uh, to the client experience. Was that something that was just innate in you?

Was that something that you model after watching Mom and Dad or professors? Or w- where does this, uh, where, where does this drive, where does this passion come from?

McCall: So my granddad, he was an entrepreneur, so he had multiple businesses growing up. So anytime I walked into an office, we immediately from a young age knew, like, office etiquette of what to do.

And then my dad started working with the family company, and just 'cause a lot of the family has a lot of say in what we did when we had the family company, just because it mattered. It affected all of our lives, not just ones who are working inside of it. But hearing it to know, like, the experience is probably the most

That was the most impactful thing for the company at the time, that I saw how much it can make or break you having those clients. And so in my head it was always, is that even a question? Make sure they're happy. Like, you want them to have the best experience, and if it's not, how are we gonna fix it next time?

'Cause everything you can always fix. You can't ever take back, but you can always, "That's great feedback. Thank you so much." And then we can go and alter and figure out what's better next time, and best for the majority of students, not just, you know. And even that one person who has bad feedback, we, I take that to heart.

I wanna know, how can I so small I can change that to make them feel a lot better about that experience for next time?

Phil: Okay. I want to get back to this multi-generational approach. You know, if you take a look at, uh, at Cannon, we've got, uh, we have subject matter experts, adjunct faculty members that, uh, you know, are literally in their 70s.

Mm-hmm. Doesn't make up the majority, but we, we've got some in their 70s. You're in your 20s. Mm-hmm. You take a walk through our offices, you will see all ages, stages, genders. Uh, you know, it, it, it's a pretty, uh, pretty diverse at, at sometimes people will say eclectic, uh, assimilation of professionals. The same is true in, in wealth management.

From your perspective, your point of view as being on that, uh, that younger stage, you're, you, you're constantly... and I hope all of us are, we're constantly learning. Uh, we learn through the examples of others. When we think about the, the wealth industry overall, we have seen the average age of our students get younger and younger.

You go back to, uh, early part of the 2000s, I think the average age of, of people in our, uh, our personal trust level one curriculum, average age was late 30s. You had, uh, roughly two-thirds of the, of the population were male. Today, the average age has dropped into the high 20s. The gender differences have flipped, uh, about two-thirds female to, uh, to one-third male.

What do you take from that as a, as a young professional when I give you those statistics? Reading the tea leaves, what does that tell you?

McCall: Well, first thing, it's a beautiful thing. I think it's awesome that women are getting the opportunities to go into the wealth industry in general. I don't see anything bad by it.

I think in all, like when you're coming into schools for us, if you learn the basics from the bottom up, so when you're first starting in your career to then that's your base, it's like learning your multiplication facts, now you know the basics of it, now I can build on my career from understanding it this way.

I think it's a great thing being younger 'cause when you're younger, there's also families things comes in when you get older, so then you can focus solely on your education. And when you see a lot, so Scottsdale's probably our most popular that has so many young students coming in. Mm-hmm. It's great because we have Lisa and I on our team, which is two different types of generations.

Mm-hmm. And so we get to match both of our students, because we have the younger for me, and then we have the older. And the thing is, we'll flip-flop all the time. I'm with the older and she's with the younger, 'cause we, we mesh so well that it works to make sure we're covering all of our bases. So if someone's more comfortable talking to a younger person than an older, we have it covered in our

Phil: little, little team.

You, you, you got the chemistry part of that down. That, that's exactly right. I've been asked the question, you know, numerous times, what is it that, that separates Cannon as a, as an educational entity, vis-a-vis AI versus Google versus, you know, other organizations that might provide educational services?

And one of the things that I have always said is that a, an intentionally defective grantor trust is an intentionally defective grantor trust. Mm-hmm. Uh, there are only so many ways that you can, you know, slice and dice and, uh, you can understand the, the facts and the fundamentals. But what we are seeking to do is to prepare a generation of professionals that are professionally attractive, not just for their knowledge base, but for their communication skills, the ability to take the complex, synthesize it and simplify it.

You know, one of the things that often happens when you learn new content, when you learn new data, you tend to speak to the data and not to the individual. Mm-hmm. You, again, from a communication standpoint, are a, a very engaged, very personable individual. People are predisposed to like you, uh, based on, on, on the way that, uh, way that you approach.

How does that type of confidence get developed? Uh, again, is that innate? I- I- Is it something you have personally worked on? I mean, I... Where does that come from?

McCall: Yeah. I would, I'd probably say I give props to my dad the most, because even if I ever broke myself down, he never let me get down on it, and he was like, "You're smart.

Who cares about anything else? You're gonna make it so far 'cause you're smart. You put your head down and keep going. You'll be fine." So kind of just like the confidence inside of myself gets it to come out in the just normal me talking or anything like that. But I'd have to say probably my dad, just because, like, yes, my mom did have a lot to do with it, too, 'cause she was, you know, at home with me a lot and all that.

But I think it's also getting it from your dad, 'cause you look up to him of like, that's what you want your significant other later down the line to do for you. So, and now I kinda have that also, so it's nice to have that transition of if you have somebody that supports you, it gives you more confidence to get- anything done that you can dream of

Phil: Well, that, that, that's true in a personal life, a social life, a professional life.

Uh, you know, to have, um, I remember a, uh, a, a minister one time gave a, uh, uh, gave a great sermon. He said, uh, "You've got your balcony people and you've got your basement people." And, uh, I literally remember being in church, turning around, looking up in the balcony to see who he was talking to, but it was, it was really metaphorical.

He said, "Your balcony people are the ones who extend their arm and pull you up. Basement people, well, they- Yeah ... they tend to pull you down." And so, you know, that is, that is important deal. You know, I think back to you and where you are in your career, and I, I, my mind wanders back, uh, a few decades to when I was at a similar stage.

I had no choice at, at that early stage but to emulate the, the actions of others and the behaviors of others. You had a very interesting, uh, role with us as an intern. You actually helped me coordinate these podcasts for, for, for quite a period of time. Do you go back to any of the lessons learned, uh, the interviews that we did with, with various individuals that you helped coordinate, lessons or, or pieces of wisdom that they gave you and that you still use today?

McCall: 100%. That, I think that was the tipping of the iceberg for me for the confidence level, to know that I could talk to higher executives, because as an intern level, you're thinking, you know, you're kinda dirt level. No offense to any interns out there or anything. We're great. We're gonna, we're gonna be great one day.

But it's just, you don't think that you have the ability to talk to a higher individual, and then working on the podcast, I was coordinating with them or their assistants to get them on the podcast at this time and whatever works for them. But then when we got on the call or the pre-call, anything like that, they're just a normal person that worked their tail off to get off where they are.

That's all it takes, just work till you get to that dream of where you wanna be. And I think, well, I always remember Michelle Danis. She was probably the biggest, most impactful one for me of all the podcasts we did, was hers because she, even though her mom didn't let her go to her pilot lesson, she went and made money to go be able to do it herself and go get her own lesson for her flight.

And I think that was probably the biggest turning point that I still think of to this day for me.

Phil: Yeah. Michelle is a, uh, is a fantastic individual, and if anybody wants to, uh, hear her story- Uh, you can go back in the archives, the Cannon Curve, uh, Michelle Danis. Um, well, in, in kind of wrapping, wrapping up our conversation today, um, and again, we never know what we, we don't know, but we can always be working towards, uh, finding the, uh, finding the ultimate answer.

From your stage of, of working here as an intern, uh, moving into a professional role, traveling, going to our schools, uh, meeting our, our students face-to-face, is there, is there one, one big moment, is there one big thing, uh, that you think back on where you said to yourself, "I've got this"? You know, I, I, I, I, I actually do have the, the skill, the ability, the wherewithal to, to make it happen.

Was there a, a particular point where it, it really clicked for you?

McCall: It was probably after the interview that I had here. 'Cause even though I was an intern, I still was doing the interview process just like everybody else was. So I think being put up against other even more, they were older than me, individuals, and to think, "Okay, I got the job over somebody who's probably more experienced."

Um, this is an entry level for me. I've never done anything before. I've, I've, you know, had jobs in the past in high school and in college. I worked at a law firm and, but that's never to the point of what I'm at now. And whenever they, like, let me know that I got the job, I was like, "Okay, I did it. I, I can keep doing this.

I can do so much better. I can do so much more." It... All I needed to do was have the confidence and positivity, because having a positive mindset changed everything for me. In college, I did have a pretty negative mindset. I didn't wanna have to go to certain things. You know, we had sorority events, and that always wasn't the best thing for me, or friends, or other things, and I just always looked at things negatively.

And then I was like, "Stop. What... You graduated college. You did a amazing thing that a lot of people can't do." And then I, ever since then, it's just, like, been be positive on every single thing. Always look at the positive side.

Phil: That is a wonderful way to live your life, not just a glass half full, but, uh, the, uh, the temerity to believe that you can fill up the other half.

So I love that. Uh, I, I love it, uh, love it a lot. I, I appreciate you. Uh, thank you for joining me on the podcast today. I hope this has been, uh, been insightful. Uh, regardless of where our listeners are in your career, uh, be mindful there is always something to learn from everybody that's around you. Uh, and as much as I hope that I have, uh, been able to share and that the leadership team has been able to share with you, McCall, uh, rest assured we learn from you, uh, every day.

Your passion, your enthusiasm, your drive, um, it is, uh, it's contagious. Thank you. Uh, so, uh, so keep it up. Uh, I will remind you of, uh, an admonishment that I got. I had, uh, I had won, uh, a, uh, a significant project, uh, for the organization early in my career, and, uh, one of my colleagues looked at me and said, "Well, you've been chasing that 18-wheeler.

You've now caught it. What are you gonna do with it?" You know, that's the, the, you know- Yeah ... you always gotta keep the, uh, the eye on the next stage. So, uh, good luck to you. I know we're gonna see great things continue in your career.

McCall: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.