As of July 1, 2021, we are now “open for business” in our new office location in Bell Plaza, located in Bloomington on the southeast corner of France Ave. and 494. If you have not already done so, please update your contact information for us to the following mailing address: 3800 American Blvd. West Suite 930, Bloomington, MN 55431. Our email addresses and telephone numbers remain the same. When you are able, please stop by our new office. We would love to show you the new office location, and perhaps also buy you lunch or coffee.
As our firm transitions to this new era at our new location, I wish to express our appreciation to you, fellow trusted advisory team members, for the opportunity to work collaboratively on behalf of our valued clients. While we have a new office view, our collaborative approach to assisting our mutual clients has not changed. In this month’s update I want to share three reasons why I enjoy working together with fellow professional advisors to achieve the planning objectives of our joint clients.
- To Make Use of Each Professional’s Area of Expertise
Our clients benefit from the experience, training and expertise of each of the members of an advisory team. In “Eight Attributes of High-Performance Teams,” author Tim Baker describes how certain professional advisory teams have a “participatory” leadership style. In this model, the professional who is most knowledgeable or experienced in a subject area should be the “lead” on behalf of the team. Once that issue has been addressed, this advisor steps back from the leadership role, and allows others on the team to lead when matters arise in another advisor’s area of expertise. Regardless of who is the “lead” on a particular issue, the advisory members conduct ongoing dialogue so that the advisors can agree upon a unanimous plan for presentation to the client. To the extent possible, our firm enjoys the opportunity to work collaboratively with other advisors in this “participatory” leadership style.
- Continuity Across Multiple Generations
Our clients benefit from our ability to achieve a family’s objectives across multiple generations. As I stated in a post a few years ago, perhaps the most critical job that I am being “hired for” is to provide my living clients with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that matters will be addressed appropriately following death. By reason of my history with the clients, and the collaboration that exists within the advisory team, our clients know that the transition will be smooth to the surviving family members following death. With multiple professionals involved, we are more apt to be able to assist the younger generation or generation with their investment, tax or legal issues than if we were trying to “go it alone.”
- Continuity Within The Advisory Team
I joined the Veritage Law Group law firm from another law firm in 2009. Upon starting work at this firm, our firm’s founder Craig Erickson introduced me to many of his valued clients, many of whom I continue to serve today. At the time, I was also introduced to many of you, the valued members of our existing clients’ advisory team. By the time Craig retired a few years ago, I had been integrated into the existing advisory team. Now, as I am seeing other senior advisory team members retire, I can provide the retiring advisor’s successor additional insights and guidance into our client’s family and financial situation. In such a manner, we are able to fill in any knowledge gaps, and stabilize the needs of the mutual clients, over many years.