This case study is based on the situation of a client of the Covenant Group. Names and details have been changed to preserve privacy.



Curtis Matthews applied the same discipline to his advisory practice that he’d learned in his first career as an officer in the Armed Forces. Even though Curtis had entered the financial services industry less than two years ago, after he retired from the military, he acted like a veteran advisor.

Uncharacteristically for a rookie, one of his first acts was to engage us to help him develop his business plan. That turned out to be a fairly easy assignment because he arrived at our office with a comprehensive document he had created on his own.

It was clear that Curtis had experience in developing operational plans, and when I joked that he could teach us a thing or two, he countered that his military training had taught him the wisdom of always seeking the counsel of specialists, even when he felt confident in his own abilities. As he said then, a leader who thought he had all the answers could easily jeopardize the outcome of a mission.

That’s why I was more than surprised to get a call from Curtis, saying he wasn’t sure he’d made the right career choice and he was seriously considering leaving the business. We agreed to meet for an early breakfast the next day.

“Curtis,” I began, “of all the people I have seen come into the industry recently, you are one I would have voted ‘most likely to succeed.’ You have the maturity, the discipline, the focus, the thirst for knowledge…”

“Thanks for the accolades, and I appreciate all the help you gave me when I started,” Curtis interjected. “I had a lot of options when I retired from the service, and I analysed each one before settling on the financial advisory business as the one that fit me best. It provided the opportunity for me to live up to my own professional standards, to manage my time as I felt appropriate and to have control over the momentum of my business. It required comparatively little capital to get going, yet the economic potential is virtually unlimited.

“Most of all, I really felt it was an opportunity to have a positive impact on people’s lives,” he continued. “I spent a lot of years receiving and giving orders, and sometimes I didn’t know the reason for either. I felt this industry would allow me to serve the best interests of people on an individual level rather than as part of some grand scheme decided by someone far removed from them.”

“It sounds like you made your decision for all the right reasons two years ago,” I replied. “What’s happened to change your mind?”

“On those points, nothing,” Curtis said. “I still believe all those things to be true. However, it’s just not turning out as I thought it would, and I am not sure it’s right for me. I have not made the progress I should have by now.”

“Without trying to sound sarcastic,” I said, “do I hear you saying, ‘The mission isn’t going according to plan, and the officer in charge is questioning his ability’?”

“Yes, I guess that’s part of it,” replied Curtis. “I also wonder if I missed something in the planning stage. What do you think?”

“Well, I’d like to think that, together, we did a pretty good job with your business plan when you started,” I said. “You came to us with a very detailed strategy, around which we determined some specific marketing tactics and sales activities — which, I assume, you have implemented?”

Curtis jumped in: “You can count on it. I have done absolutely everything we agreed upon. It’s just not translating into the results I expected.”

“I’ve no doubt you followed the plan rigorously,” I said. “Now, let me ask you a military-type question: what is meant by the term ‘commander’s intent’?”

“That’s easy,” he responded. “It refers to the objective of a mission — the outcome the commander wants. For example, if a military unit is ordered to blow up a key bridge to stop the enemy from crossing a river, the commander’s intent is that the enemy will not cross the river, no matter what. If something goes wrong — for example, with the explosive charges — and the bridge can’t be destroyed, the unit knows they have to find another way to make crossing the river impossible for the enemy. That was the commander’s intent; blowing up the bridge was just a way to carry it out.”

@page_break@“So, what was the commander’s intent when you started your financial advisory practice?” I asked.

“I hadn’t thought of it in military parlance,” Curtis replied, “but I guess it was to build a solid second career through helping people achieve their financial objectives.”

“Sorry, Curtis,” I said, “but that sounds a lot to me like ‘Stop the enemy from crossing the river by blowing up the bridge.’ Have you mixed intent and strategy there?”

“You’re right,” he replied thoughtfully. “I have. My intent was to build a business that I would enjoy for the rest of my working life. My strategy for doing that was to get into the financial services industry and help people. But that doesn’t change the fact that it hasn’t worked out as planned.”

“You haven’t met your targets,” I agreed. “But has your intent changed? Do you still want to build a business?”

“I certainly do!” Curtis cried.

“And does the strategy of helping people with their finances still excite you?” I asked.

“Yes, it does,” he replied.

“Is it possible,” I asked, “that the tactics simply didn’t work for you — that the explosives, so to speak, misfired? And if so, what is the procedure?”

“The procedure in that situation is to regroup and devise new tactics to complete the mission,” Curtis replied, with a little more enthusiasm than before.

“Is that something you are willing to consider?” I asked.

“Yes, it is.” Curtis answered. “I really don’t want to leave the business. I feel the potential in it and I love working with my clients. It’s been a greater struggle than I anticipated, and maybe I’m feeling down because I expected early success. I came into the business full of hope and energy, but both have faded recently. Is there such a thing as ‘post-start-up blues’?”

“In fact, Curtis, there is!” I said. “Our observation is that advi-sors building their practices pass through fairly predictable stages of growth.

“The first is all about survival — getting through the challenges any new enterprise faces. I refer to it as the ‘blunder’ stage,” I continued, “because it’s the stage at which you get to make mistakes in the interest of learning what works and what doesn’t. So, you try anything and everything to find the secrets to success. It can also be quite painful. You have to be prepared to pick yourself up from your failures and charge forth with some new tactics to gain momentum.

“This stage can last 12 to 24 months, then one morning you wake up and ask yourself, ‘Is this all worth it?’ That’s the second stage, which I call ‘wonder’ — exactly where you are right now, questioning the wisdom of your decision and wondering if there is a better way. I think that’s what motivated you to call us again.”

“You’re right,” Curtis said. “I’m feeling pain and looking for relief — inside or outside the business.”

“I’m pleased you didn’t just walk away without looking inside first,” I said. “The good news about being on the cusp of the second stage is it presents an opportunity to identify repeatable patterns that have worked for you, and make them a bigger part of your strategy.

“It is also a chance to become more systems-oriented and rein in your activities so they are focused where you have experienced the most success. I would guess, for example, that as a military officer, you are not accustomed to people saying ‘no’ to you, so you probably find the sales process frustrating. We can look for ways to reshape your approach so it is less about selling and more about helping people solve their problems.

“Keep in mind that you are operating in a dynamic, evolving business environment. Nothing is chiselled in stone. And if one strategy or tactic fails, we need to look for new ones. Does all this make sense?”

“It certainly does,” he said, with renewed energy. “Let’s schedule a time to get started.” IE



George Hartman is a coach and
facilitator with the Covenant Group in Toronto. He can be reached at george@covenantgroup.com.