When I joined YPO Scottsdale in 2014, I thought I’d be walking into a room full of business leaders who looked and thought like me. After all, financial services is where I’ve spent my career, and I assumed most of the lessons I’d hear would be about investments, revenue growth, or leadership in firms like mine.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
YPO is a global community of leaders from every industry imaginable—hospitality, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and beyond. Sitting at a table with CEOs, founders, and innovators from fields outside my own has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my career.
What I’ve learned is that some of the best insights for financial advisors don’t come from within our industry at all. They come from leaders who see the world differently and who’ve had to solve problems in ways we can learn from.
Lesson 1: Customer Experience Is Everything
One of the first lessons I absorbed came from leaders in hospitality. In their world, success is measured by how the customer feels at every single touchpoint. From the greeting at the front desk to the way a room is prepared, details matter.
For advisors, this translates directly. It’s not just about building a technically sound retirement plan—it’s about creating an experience where clients feel heard, valued, and cared for. Every email, meeting, and follow-up is part of that experience.
Advisors who adopt a hospitality mindset stand out. Clients may not remember the exact investment return in a given year, but they will remember how they felt working with you.
Lesson 2: Innovation Requires Risk
Tech entrepreneurs in YPO often talk about their willingness to take risks, test ideas quickly, and adapt when something doesn’t work. That’s not always comfortable for financial advisors, who are trained to be risk-averse and compliance-focused.
But innovation doesn’t have to mean recklessness. What we can learn from tech leaders is the importance of experimentation. Try new ways of engaging clients. Test new technology that makes planning more transparent. Experiment with communication styles to see what resonates.
The point isn’t to gamble with clients’ futures—it’s to take calculated risks in how we deliver value.
Lesson 3: Scaling Requires Systems
In conversations with manufacturing and operations leaders, one theme always comes up: systems. Factories don’t scale by accident; they scale by creating repeatable, efficient processes that deliver consistent results.
Advisors can take a page from this playbook. Too many practices rely on the individual advisor’s personality or habits. That works for a small book of clients, but it doesn’t scale.
By building processes—clear onboarding steps, standardized communication, consistent review schedules—advisors create firms that can grow without chaos. Systems don’t make a business impersonal; they make it sustainable.
Lesson 4: Culture Drives Performance
I’ve also learned from leaders in healthcare and education that culture isn’t an afterthought—it’s everything. In high-stakes environments like hospitals, culture determines whether teams collaborate, adapt, and succeed under pressure.
The same is true in financial services. A strong culture of learning, mentorship, and client-first thinking creates advisors who thrive. A weak culture leaves advisors disengaged and clients underserved.
At Secure Investment Management (SIM), we’ve worked hard to build a culture where technology and compliance support—not hinder—advisor success. That culture keeps us aligned on our mission: empowering clients through clarity and education.
Lesson 5: Leadership Is Service
Perhaps the most profound lesson I’ve learned from YPO peers is that leadership isn’t about being in charge—it’s about serving others. Leaders in nonprofits, community organizations, and even family businesses often describe their role as one of stewardship.
For advisors, this perspective is powerful. We’re not just managing money; we’re guiding people through some of the most important decisions of their lives. Leadership in our industry means serving clients, mentoring new advisors, and contributing to the financial literacy of our communities.
Why Cross-Industry Learning Matters
It’s easy to get stuck in an echo chamber when you only learn from people in your own field. Financial advisors have plenty to learn from each other, but if we stop there, we miss the bigger picture.
Cross-industry learning forces us to see challenges differently. A problem that feels unique to financial services often has a solution already tested in another industry. Whether it’s hospitality’s obsession with experience, tech’s drive to innovate, or manufacturing’s focus on systems, these lessons apply directly to the way we build advisory firms.
Bringing It Back to Advisors
So how do we turn these insights into action? For me, it’s about asking three simple questions:
- How does this lesson apply to client relationships?
- How does it apply to building better teams?
- How does it apply to growing the business sustainably?
Every time I leave a YPO meeting, I bring back ideas that shape how I lead at SIM. And every time I share those ideas with my team, I see how cross-industry learning sparks new approaches and stronger results.
Stay Curious
Being part of YPO has reminded me that curiosity is one of the most important traits of any leader. The financial services industry is changing rapidly, and the advisors who succeed will be the ones who stay open to learning—not just from peers, but from leaders in every corner of the business world.
The future of our industry isn’t just about better products or sharper strategies. It’s about adopting the best practices from wherever we can find them and adapting them to serve our clients.
That’s the real insight YPO has given me: wisdom is everywhere, if you’re willing to listen.