CEO Forum Magazine Jeff Motske

Cerulli Associates, a leading financial services market research firm, projects that more than one-third (35 percent) of financial advisors will retire in the next 10 years. In its wake, the next generation of advisors will inherit roughly $6 trillion of advisor-managed assets. This begets a crucial question: where will the industry find this next generation of advisors? As it stands, only a quarter of today’s advisor population is under the age of 40, according to the CFP Board, and of this, a mere 10 percent are under 35, Cerulli reports.

Why is the industry experiencing this new talent shortage? Of the myriad obstacles, poor industry perception and a lack of necessary structure to engage and mentor promising young leaders are two worth noting. However, they can be overcome with a commitment to understanding millennial preferences in the workplace and investing in the necessary resources to inspire today’s brightest talent to choose financial advising. It’s an investmentthat will deliver significant returns for both advisory firms and their clients.

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When Jeff Bezos started Amazon — originally called Cadabra — he announced, “Our goal is to be earth’s most customer-centric company.” Today Jeff Bezos calls it “customer obsession.”

As I explored why customer focus is the primary driver of many of the world’s most successful companies, I was thinking about conversations I had over the past year with CEOs who through customer-centric models are leading their industries. What I found is the key to a world-class customer experience really starts with your own culture. Below are direct quotes from 10 CEOs whose companies are leaders of service in their industry.

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