What We Value

Around this time last year, MY Wealth Planners® went through a serious review of its mission, vision, and values. In the prior year, we’d gone through the process of becoming a Certified B Corp, and a year on, we’d made the decision to fully adopt the Entrepreneurial Operating System (“EOS”). A major part of EOS is that you build a significant part of how your firm operates around its stated values. Unlike symbolic values that many companies list, EOS prescribes that values are not only a statement about what matters to a company, but also should define the default behavior of the team and its culture, and by extension, should be reflected in everything from business decisions to employee evaluations.

Last year, we determined that our values were Accountable, Engaged, Transparent, and Selfless Service. In doing this, we spent time evaluating how these values show up in our day-to-day work and what it means for these values to be prominent in both internal decision-making and client interactions. But, like all things, this is a project that is never quite finished.

Last month, our Office Manager Stephanie and I attended an executive leadership training up in Bozeman, MT. Among the many things covered during the training was a review of firm values and re-establishment or adjustment of said values. While I was pleased that, unprompted, Stephanie said that today our values are certainly based in accountability, engagement, transparency, and selfless service; we acknowledge that value was missing and that we could do a better job of defining said values with our team in mind, but also with our clients and community in mind, rather than describing them in the same way to both audiences.

So this week, I thought I’d share the outcome of that project and what the revised and now present values of MY Wealth Planners® are with you.

Defining What We Value Already

In our project and review of values, we decided to define our existing values and our new value in terms that were applicable internally to the MY Wealth Planners team and how we work together, and externally to clients of the firm and how we serve them.

SELFLESS SERVICE

Internal

• We protect time on our calendars to fulfill our commitment to meaningful community service as part of our work.
• We proactively step in to help a teammate before being asked, especially during high-volume weeks, client emergencies, or deadlines. We share responsibility for “invisible work,” so it doesn’t fall to the same people.
• We treat community involvement as part of the job, encouraging planners and staff to be visible, helpful, and relationship-oriented in the communities we choose, while proactively looking for opportunities to provide pro-bono help and supporting one another in delivering it responsibly and professionally.

External

• We volunteer no less than 100 hours per year with nonprofit organizations and show up consistently in the community.
• We provide pro-bono assistance to nonprofits and low-income individuals where appropriate and impactful.
• We participate actively in our community as members, friends, and planners, because we believe our work should serve the public good

TRANSPARENCY

Internal

• We communicate openly and directly, sharing information, clarifying expectations early, and asking thoughtful questions while assuming positive intent to avoid misunderstandings.
• We standardize how we explain recommendations so every team member can clearly articulate the reasoning behind decisions.
• We align internal processes with our external promises around disclosure, clarity, and expectations.

External

• Fees are disclosed before services begin, so clients understand costs up front.
• Planner compensation is publicly disclosed so clients can evaluate incentives.
• Clients receive clear explanations of the methodologies used to create, maintain, and implement their plans. We educate for understanding so that everyone is on the same page.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Internal

• We hold ourselves to high standards through shared ownership of quality, ensuring clear accountability and clean handoffs with defined expectations and shared context for seamless execution.
• We surface problems early, review progress regularly, and correct course quickly.
• We take ownership of all outcomes by addressing mistakes, resolving them efficiently, and improving the process going forward, while also recognizing and reinforcing exceptional work that sets our standards.

External

• We regularly review both progress and challenges within a client’s financial plan.
• We proactively take responsibility for errors and communicate clearly while resolving them.
• We refer clients to trusted professionals when conflicts of interest cannot be managed appropriately

ENGAGED

Internal

• We show up prepared and engaged as a team, bringing updates, asks, and priorities, so we can deliver responsive, practical, and implementable advice and ensure clients are never dependent on a single individual.
• We actively contribute to blogs, podcasts, and educational programs as part of staying engaged with both professional development and community impact.
• We engage with curiosity and care, asking thoughtful, open-ended questions, listening to understand before offering advice, and taking a genuine interest in both our clients’ and teammates’ lives so relationships are grounded in trust and meaningful connection.

External

• Clients are supported by our full team throughout every stage of their financial plan, with responsive, practical guidance they can act on.
• We focus on long-term, trusted relationships supported by ongoing education and communication.
• We take a genuine, ongoing interest in our clients’ lives, not just their finances, so our advice reflects what truly matters to them.

Defining Our New Value

As mentioned, we determined during the executive training that there was a value we’d been practicing for several years now, but that we had not defined or stated clearly. That value showed up in our scholarship around hiring and developing new professionals in the field, how we share our hiring and mentorship practices with our peers, and how we make it a point to heavily emphasize professional development in both technical and interpersonal competencies within our team. This is meaningful not only because it means we are constantly acting as students of our craft as financial planners, but also because we’re emphasizing the importance of supporting others in their journeys.

The value we defined at the retreat that we now place among our existing values is this:

WE GROW OUR OWN

Internal

• We hire and design entry-level roles to provide real professional experiences—client service, planning support, and analysis—rather than sales-first or low-quality early career work.
• We provide a structured pathway from entry-level roles into licensure and increasing responsibility, with clear expectations tied to defined career tiers.
• We invest directly in development by supporting education, licensure, and professional designations, while actively teaching and mentoring through peer shadowing, “teach-backs,” and shared learning (wins, lessons, and tools) so knowledge isn’t siloed or left to individuals to “figure out” alone.

External

• Clients work with a firm that deliberately builds skilled planners, not product-pushers, so advice is grounded in competence, planning expertise, and service.
• Our community benefits from a firm that invests in the long-term health of the profession by creating legitimate entry points and developing capable practitioners, even as automation reduces traditional junior roles.
• By developing talent internally through clear roles and progression, we provide continuity and depth of service for clients over the long term.

We have practiced this value for many years now. We’ve had over half a dozen interns within the firm, we’ve hired entry-level positions for every role historically, developed the professionals on our team into more senior positions, and we’ve made professional development and education a cornerstone part of our practice. For example, in EOS you assign quarterly “rock” objectives; things that must be accomplished uniquely by each individual to ensure the overall firm plan is staying on track.

For example, in Q1, Daniel Stefanski on our team was assigned the rock of “Lead from the Front,” specifically meaning that he was to spend 50% of every day side-by-side with Anahi, our new planning analyst, to give her constant and relentless mentorship on a daily basis. Anahi had her own rock: “Complete the FPQP” (Financial Paraplanning Qualified Professional Certification), which was designed to speed her up in getting her knowledge base aligned to her next objective, pursuing the CFP® Certification. In Q2, we have similar objectives. For Daniel, it’s “Dress for the Job You Want,” in which it’s been his responsibility to run the practice while I’ve been out at several conferences and trainings this quarter. This is important because Daniel will be launching his own practice soon, and getting an opportunity to “be in charge” is valuable development for him. Anahi was given the rock of “Trust the Process,” which aligned to starting her CFP® Certification and believing in the training program we offer here in order to better assume the role of a future financial planner. And even as I write this, Daniel Stefanski is spending the entirety of this week in an intensive study program for the CFP® Exam, which he’ll be sitting for in July, and next week he’ll be joining me at another executive training in Bozeman, focused more on KPIs and client service models.

This type of professional development and relentless advocacy has been a keystone of how I’ve built MY Wealth Planners® from day one. Whether someone came to us with experience, as a career changer, or fresh out of college, we’ve made it a point to focus constantly on improving and developing their professional skillset so that, in turn, they can deliver the promise of our mission: to provide the highest quality financial planning services in Longmont. We’ve done that with an emphasis on technical and interpersonal competencies with every employee who has come through the door, and we’ve continually demonstrated that value over the years. Putting it to paper among our other values only makes sense at this point.

What’s Next?

Briefly, I’ll share that we’re about to enter into a well-anticipated new phase at MY Wealth Planners®. We announced all the way back in October that Daniel Stefanski would be returning to New Jersey to be with the love of his life, and in doing so, would launch his own practice. There are some regulatory rules we have to follow regarding such things, so I can’t say much more than that, other than to say we’re excited for him, and also look forward to supporting him as he gets his firm off the ground. Daniel’s last day with us will be next June 12^th, 2026, and we’ll be throwing him a going-away party that afternoon. If you’d like to come say hello one last time, please send Daniel Yerger an email, and we’ll let you know the details.

In the going forward days, we’ll be welcoming a new member to the MY Wealth Planners® team on June 15^th, and we look forward to introducing them to you that week. They join us from a fellow B Corp Certified Fee-Only Financial Planning firm here in Boulder County, and will join Anahi on the Wealth Planning Analyst team in support of our clients and the development and facilitation of living their best financial lives.

In the meantime, as this transition occurs, please feel free to reach out to anyone on the MY Wealth Planners® team with any needs, questions, or inquiries. As we noted with the announcement at the start of the year about the firm’s trajectory, you may find that the broader MY Wealth Planners® team is more responsive on assorted issues or needs as we work to better utilize workflows and team project systems in support of clients. Please don’t be surprised if you email one of us and another one of us calls or responds to the email. When we say that we take a team service approach at MY Wealth Planners®, we really mean it. After all, that’s part of what it means to be engaged and accountable!