How to Build a High-Performance Business

By H. Adam Holt

What many people don’t know is that before I founded Asset-Map, I was a financial advisor too.

Managing the time required to create financial plans, build strong relationships with clients, and develop my team’s skills gave me the necessary experience to lead Asset-Map today. And that experience also formed my thinking about how to create a high-performance business.

What’s the first thing you think about when you hear the words “high-performance business”? If you’re like most people, you think about high revenues or fat profit margins.

But high performance doesn’t have to be all about money. In fact, I think it’s more about how you treat the people in your firm.

My years in financial services have taught me that the more you focus on others, the more growth you’ll experience.

If you want to create a high-performance firm for yourself, these are the three recommendations I offer for how to go about it the right way.

Focus on Your Culture

As your culture goes, so goes your firm.

Culture begins at the top, and you have to consistently communicate the way you want your team to act and treat others.

Identifying a core set of values will guide your company’s mission. Writing down a list of ideals isn’t enough, though; you have to live by them every day.

As you add people to your team, look to add those who align with your values. You can teach skills, but it’s much more difficult to change a personality.

[Watch] Solving the Communication Challenge

Put Family First

One of the things that made my time as an advisor exceptional was that my team focused on our families first. Too often, we fail to remember that without the relationships we have with those we love, our professional success won’t bring us much enjoyment.

My team made it an expectation that if someone needed help, we stepped in to help cover for them. Missing a birthday or a child’s school performance wasn’t something we wanted to happen in our firm, so we made it a priority to keep our priorities straight.

Making sure your team knows that their personal lives and family are most important will develop loyalty in your organization, and you’ll all be happier.

[Watch] What Advisors Don’t Do Often Enough

Trust Your Team

Building a company is a collaborative experience. When you add employees, you’re expanding your family—and you’re adding additional views and experiences that can help you build a stronger business.

[Watch] Solving the Innovation Challenge

Creating a high-performing company means giving up some control, and putting real trust in people.

Allow your team to question existing processes and to offer new ideas. Trust that they have the ability to bring value to your firm with their perspectives.

You can try to innovate by yourself, but you’ll be better off if you don’t.

[Watch] Small Innovations Make a Big Difference

Set Your Priorities Before You Grow

I firmly believe that if you focus on setting your values and building up your people, then business success will follow.

If you go the other route and prioritize profits over people, you’ll burn people out and find that you’re likely to be alone when things get tough.

For a more complete look at how I’ve built high performing businesses and how you can too, click here to download a white paper I wrote about the topic.