Most Advisory Firms Don’t Have a Growth Problem. They Have a Courage Problem.

Not long ago, my brother was presented with a new job opportunity.  He was comfortable where he was. He knew the role cold and was respected by his peers. His routines were familiar, the relationships established, and the expectations clear. There is something deeply reassuring about operating in an environment where you understand every variable.

Then came an offer that disrupted all of that.

The new role that was offered was bigger. It would stretch him. It required learning new skills, building new relationships, and letting go of a few comfortable patterns that had served him well. There was a real risk. Not reckless risk, but the kind that makes you pause because it demands growth.

We talked through it. I asked him a simple question. “If you stay where you are, when you eventually leave, will they applaud you for a job well done?” He thought about it. Probably not.  He would be “ok”, and a few friends would be missed, but the position would hum along with the new person in his place.

Then I asked, “If you take this new role, and it works, will they applaud then?” Without hesitation, he said yes.

Six months later, he is happier than he has been in years. The stretch forced him to grow. The discomfort sharpened him. And if he continues on this path, he will close his career not simply satisfied, but fulfilled.  A meaningful cap on a very successful and respected career. 

For most of my career, I have seen the same dynamic play out in advisory firms.

The Seduction of Being Satisfied

Many advisors are satisfied. They have built decent businesses. They serve their clients well. They generate high incomes. They have teams that respect them and communities that value them, and there is nothing wrong with that. But satisfaction and significance are not the same thing.

Over time, I have come to believe that the limiting factor in most advisory firms is not strategy. It is not opportunity or market conditions, it is courage. The courage to step beyond what is working and into what is possible and be more.

The courage to hire before the revenue fully supports it because you believe capacity must come before scale. The courage to invest in infrastructure and systems that may not produce immediate income but will allow you to serve more families well. The courage to acknowledge that the skill set that built the firm may not be the same skill set required to build the next version of it.  Comfort is seductive, growth is disruptive.

From Income to Enterprise

At some point, every founder faces a quiet decision. Am I managing income, or am I building an enterprise? Managing income is understandable. It prioritizes predictability. It protects margins. It avoids unnecessary risk. Many firms operate very successfully in that mode for decades.

Building an enterprise requires a different lens. It means reinvesting and compressing short-term profitability in order to increase long-term value. It means focusing on equity and durability, not just annual distributions. 

It also means recognizing where you are not the expert. As firms grow, complexity increases. Technology, branding, operations, mergers and acquisitions, and professional management are disciplines in their own right. Leaders who dare to bring in talent or merge with others that complement their strengths often unlock growth that would have been impossible on their own.

That decision can feel uncomfortable. It can feel like surrendering control. It is often the decision that accelerates momentum.

What Courage Really Does

When advisory firms act with courage, growth follows. Sometimes organically. Sometimes inorganically. Often both.

Each acquisition or growth event is not just about assets. It is about capacity. With scale comes the ability to streamline systems, invest in better processes, and create environments where advisors can focus on advice rather than administration. Done thoughtfully, scale improves the client experience rather than diluting it.

Every growth event also represents more families receiving a financial plan. More individuals understand their path to retirement. More parents are gaining clarity around college funding. More business owners are navigating succession with confidence.  Courage in leadership expands service in practice.  That is the part of the conversation that matters most.

The Question That Lingers

Most advisory firms do not lack ideas. They have access to the same information, the same technology, and the same strategic frameworks as the firms that are growing aggressively. The difference often comes down to a decision similar to the one my brother faced. You can stay where you are. You can be respected. You can be comfortable. You can finish a good career. Or you can stretch. You can disrupt your own patterns. You can risk short-term discomfort in pursuit of something larger and more enduring.

Sure, you may be satisfied either way. But when it is all said and done, will they applaud? Will you look back knowing you did more, built more, helped more? Practically speaking, growth is rarely constrained by strategy alone. It is constrained by the willingness to act before certainty arrives. Courage is not recklessness; it is conviction in the pursuit of something better.

The question for each of us is simple. Are we satisfied? Or are we building (or joining) something worthy of applause?