Common Learnings From 3 Leaders at OneDigital
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Reflections from OneDigital’s leadership reveal how long-term growth, strategic focus, and execution discipline guide success in a noisy, fast-moving world
Like many others, I spent a lot of time in January reflecting on 2023. Whether for year-ahead strategic planning or just formulating a New Year’s resolution, there is no better time than the start of a new year to look back on lessons learned.
This type of introspection in a “noisy” world can be extremely valuable, especially when comparing notes from the lens of multiple leaders in the firm.
As I listened to my partner and CEO of OneDigital, Adam Bruckman, and COO William Carew talk about their own lessons learned during our annual growth summit last week in New Orleans, I noticed a trend. The findings, as you will see, perfectly demonstrate the value of having an executive team keenly focused on long-term growth. Here is what they shared:
From Adam Bruckman (CEO):
1. Matrix management, though difficult, becomes much easier when you focus on serving your people and clients.
2. Diversification is a powerful – and often better – way to grow, but only when you have a proven track record of execution.
3. In M&A, patience is a virtue. This is especially true in tough financial markets.
From Bill Carew (COO):
1. Keep your eyes on the horizon and focus on clients/markets. Beware of becoming too internally focused.
2. Keep it simple; complexity is the enemy of execution.
3. Growth makes everything a lot easier.
And for my own lessons learned as Chief Growth Officer:
1. Continually assess headwinds and tailwinds, adjusting where necessary.
2. Quiet the noise in the marketplace. Focus on the things you can control and deals that will make you a better company.
3. Have a long-term view but work with immediacy.
Seeing our reflections side-by-side, it is no coincidence that although we have different responsibilities within the company, we have so much overlap in our lessons learned.
In our daily work, we process endless data related to different functions and teams across all business areas. But, more often than not… the daily reports, industry news, and market shifts are a great deal of noise with the potential to distract from what matters most to the success of the business.
So, for 2024, our teams are tasked with one thing: Make it Matter. To me, that means:
1. Focus only on what moves the dial toward realizing our company vision – being fierce advocates of health, success, and financial security.
2. Keep execution simple and be ready to adjust based upon headwinds and tailwinds.
3. Focus on your own teams, your clients, and prospects and don’t let short-term success get in the way of your long-term strategy.
Yes, our lessons learned may seem remarkably simple – but trust me – in a world where everyone and everything is competing for your attention, it is easy to get lost in the noise. What learnings are you bringing forward from 2023? I am curious to hear how others are adapting for the rest of the year ahead.
Read the full series from Mike and Connect with him on LinkedIn, here. To hear more from leaders who joined OneDigital through acquisition, visit the Why OneDigital Hub.
About OneDigital
OneDigital’s team of fierce advocates helps businesses and individuals achieve their aspirations of health, success and financial security. Our insurance, financial services and HR platform provides personalized, tech-enabled solutions for a contemporary work-life experience. Nationally recognized for our culture of caring, OneDigital’s teams enable employers and individuals to do their best work and live their best lives. More than 100,000 employers and millions of individuals rely on our teams for counsel and access to fully integrated worksite products and services and the retirement and wealth management advice provided through OneDigital Investment Advisors. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Atlanta, OneDigital maintains offices in most major markets across the nation. For more information, visit onedigital.com.