Knowledge and Insight

Innovation Is About Arguing, Not Brainstorming. Here's How To Argue Productively

Added on April 2012 in Thought Leadership

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Summary: Turns out that brainstorming isn’t the golden ticket to innovation after all. Science shows that brainstorms can activate a neurological fear of rejection and that groups are not necessarily more creative than individuals. Brainstorming can actually be detrimental to good ideas.

But the idea behind brainstorming is right. To innovate, we need environments that support imaginative thinking. We need to work both collaboratively and individually. We also need a healthy amount of heated discussion, even arguing. We need places where someone can throw out a thought, have it critiqued, and not feel so judged that they become defensive and shut down. Yet this creative process is not necessarily supported by the traditional tenets of brainstorming: group collaboration, all ideas held equal, nothing judged.

The 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers

Added on March 2012 in Thought Leadership

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Summary: After two decades of advising organizations large and small, my colleagues and I have formed a clear idea of what's required of you in this role. Adaptive strategic leaders — the kind who thrive in today’s uncertain environment – do six things well:

Rough markets cull the advisory herd but in a healthy way, new Cerulli data shows

Added on August 2011 in Thought Leadership

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Summary: Fourteen thousand advisors fell by the wayside from 2009 to 2010 but dually registered advisors and RIAs have bucked that trend, gaining strength in numbers, analysts with Cerulli Associates say in a new study. In that time period, the number of advisors dropped from 334,160 to 320,378 – a loss of 4.1%, according to the Boston-based company its annual Advisor Market Sizing analysis.  Dually registered advisors grew a whopping 10.2% from 11,591 to 12,773.  

TD Ameritrade Institutional Advisor Index Survey

Added on October 2011 in Thought Leadership

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Summary: According to a survey conducted by TD Ameritrade Institutional, more independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) are making the move to develop a formal succession plan and most say they will identify an internal successor.  According to the quarterly survey of 502 RIAs, 62 percent of advisors say they have or are in the process of developing a succession plan, up from just 43 percent in2010. 

Business model cracked but not broken

Added on February 2012 in Thought Leadership

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Summary: For many, 2011 will be remembered as the year the broker-dealer model cracked. Scores of independent firms shut down, unable to keep up with rising legal and compliance expenses. Dozens were simply buried under the cost of lawsuits from clients who bought suspect private investments when the market was roaring in the middle of the last decade.