The Right Side of the Table: Where Do You Sit in the Minds of the Affluent?

This book was written to help advisers in a variety of business life cycles make an intentional choice about the next decades of their careers. The title introduces a metaphor surrounding the proverbial conference room table. It suggests that as wealth increases in our society, wealth holders are demanding a different model for assembling their team of professional advisers. Team members will take specific seats at the table, next to or across from the wealth holder, based on the role they are best suited to play. As more and more advisers adopt authenticity in their selection, wealth holders will become savvier to those trying to disguise their underlying relationship goals. Advisers must be clear about where they're meant to sit and why.

It's also about helping our clients get to the root of their intent. So much of financial services is focused on tax savings and tax elimination. Yet for people who have financial independence, that can't possibly be their ultimate goal for their wealth. How could it? Life has so much more to offer.

To help wealth holders find the true intent for their wealth requires deep discovery, skillful discovery. It requires conversations in which there isn't a single product idea, service mix, or technical strategy dangling in the back of the adviser's mind. The quality of the wealth holder's choices increases in direct proportion to the quality of discovery used to facilitate them. This is a discernment-based style of communication, which is the foundation of our teachings and of this book. We believe that soon there will be a discernment-based adviser at every planning table. In the Right Side of the Table model, successful advisers will embrace an abundance mentality, inviting additional advisers to the table to fill roles the core team isn't suited to play.

The opportunities for professional advisers are tremendous. The time has come to make an intentional and wise choice. Which is the right side of the table for you?

Scott Fithian was widely recognized as a pioneer in the financial services industry. He spent his career developing tools, systems, and strategies designed to put the clients' mission and values at the center of the planning process. His work made him a sought after author, public speaker, and trainer in the profession. His brilliant career was cut short in September 2006 after an 18-month battle with cancer, but his legacy lives on.

Todd Fithian is cofounder and CEO of the Legacy Companies, and a frequent speaker on the subjects of client discovery and sustainability. He has consulted with business owners, corporations and families in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.