ID 20 WINNERS — Q & A
ID 20 winners from page 11
PART 1 :
Is the glass half full or half empty ?
Perspective on the biggest challenges or opportunities for the industry
Exponential growth via disruption
John Ziambras : I remember seeing a sign last January that said : “ it is not the New Year that needs to be different ; it ’ s You !” and I don ’ t think there has been a time in the last few decades that this could be more relevant and serve as a mandate and a motivator to each one of us .
Planning tends to create linear growth , disruption tends to create exponential growth and we have been , officially and unequivocally , disrupted by the most unfathomable of causes , a global pandemic . And while the ultimate impact of this pandemic on people , societies and economies will take years to assess , our industry has been presented with a historic opportunity to reinvent the way it markets , sells and services its products . Natural selection will weed out those who continue to focus their energy on protecting what has been there versus the adaptable visionaries who will find new ways to engage advisors and consumers and successfully convey the immense value of our products in planning for and safeguarding one ’ s financial future . It is our own relevance , not our products ’ that will be at stake .
I remember seeing a sign last January that said : “ it is not the New Year that needs to be different ; it ’ s You !”
John Ziambras
Sheryl Hickerson : Ann Landers once said , “ Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work , so most people don ’ t recognize them ” and isn ’ t that the truth ? The opportunities in financial services are too plentiful to write in this short piece , but from my perspective , going into 2021 our biggest challenge is creating equitable communities for all professionals to feel welcome in . Too often organizations are trying to apply short-term fixes to long-term mostly undealt with problems within our profession . The boldest opportunities are those not only staying the course in the change they desire to see made , but those who stand alongside the disruptor and saying , “ We ’ re going to help you build this ... together .”
ID 20 winners continued on page 14
12 Perspectives Q1 2021