At the start of January many financial advisers set intentions and resolutions for the year ahead. A new focus, a new direction or a promise to themselves that this would be their best year yet. But by March something interesting often happens. The goals are still there somewhere in the background, but the urgency fades. Client work takes over, emails pile up and meetings fill the diary. The familiar rhythm of the business pulls everything back to where it was before. So it’s worth asking a simple question. Do you still remember the resolutions you made at the start of the year? And if not, what might be getting in the way? Sometimes the real issue isn’t lack of ambition or ability, it’s that something else still has a grip on your time, your thinking or your energy. Old habits, old ways of working and old expectations. In many cases, the best year you’re capable of having isn’t waiting for you to do more - it’s waiting for you to let something go. So perhaps the more useful question right now isn’t: What should I start doing? It might be: What do I need to stop carrying into the rest of this year? Use this prompt with ChatGPT or Claude to help get some clarity: "Act as a thoughtful business strategist and experienced coach for a financial adviser. At the start of the year I set the following goals for my business and personal life: [Insert your goals] It is now the third month of the year. Please help me analyse why many advice professionals drift away from their intentions at this stage. Ask me a series of probing questions to identify: - what might be pulling me back into old habits - what activities or clients may be consuming energy without moving me forward - what assumptions about my business or role I may not be questioning - what I may need to stop doing, delegate or redesign in order to make this my best year yet Challenge my thinking where necessary. Do not simply agree with me and help me see blind spots I may not have noticed. Once we have explored this, help me identify three specific things I should stop, three things I should start and three things I should double down on over the next 90 days."

I just created a scorecard for advisers partly as a vehicle to attract people to this group. The theme of the scorecard is "What's holding you back as an adviser?" 23 quick questions looking at visibility and marketing, clarity and consistency, growth and confidence and operations & business model blockers. Takes two and a quarter mins to complete. I have tested it myself but just need a few advisers to go through it so that I can check it is working as it should. Thanks in advance. https://adviser-momentum.scoreapp.com/ Phil

Simple and very powerful thoughts from former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss.

Are you or your business going through a period of change or transition right now? It could be internal processes, brand refresh, redundancies, tech changes, cultural changes - something else etc. Thanks in advance...

Great idea for a course - 10th December. This full day in-person course is for you if you want to enhance your skills in your first meeting with clients. In-person in Manchester with Steve Martin and Damien Rylett - two of the very best. More at 1st Meeting 10 December 2025 | Financial Planning Training Academy