Episode summary
Ep 500: Amplifying Business Growth By Constantly Honing Your Time Towards Its Highest-And-Best Us...
Financial Advisor Success (Kitces)
· · 1 hr 40 min · Hosts: Michael Kitces, Adam Van Deusen
Summary
The episode focuses on how the business was scaled by relentlessly rethinking where the founder’s time should go. The guest describes using a simple “look at the tape” method: calendar-based time tracking, grouped into a handful of categories, to see where his hours actually went and identify what could be delegated or stopped. He argues that time management improved only after he got honest about low-value work, including social media drift and tasks that were technically doable but not his highest and best use.
A major turning point came when the guest realized he was not a natural people manager. Inspired by Gino Wickman’s Rocket Fuel, he explains that he shifted from trying to run the team himself to finding an operational “integrator” who could manage day-to-day execution while he focused on vision and growth. That change unlocked expansion from a three-person team to a 26-person platform.
The discussion also covers how he handed off content production without losing quality by defining QNR standards — Quality, Nerdy, Relevant — and building feedback metrics from readers and attendees. His broader argument is that founders can let go more confidently when they clearly define standards, score results, and let the audience or clients confirm whether the work is good enough.
Key takeaways
- The guest says calendar-based “look at the tape” tracking exposed where his time was really going and made delegation more systematic.
- He argues that the first step in reclaiming time was not working harder, but delegating bookkeeping, billing, and other low-leverage work.
- He says he is not a natural people manager, so he built the business around an integrator who likes running day-to-day operations.
- The guest says QNR — Quality, Nerdy, Relevant — became the standard for handing off content creation without losing brand consistency.
- He argues that founders need feedback systems from clients or audiences so they can trust delegation instead of supervising everything themselves.
Notable quotes
“I got into this habit of being very like becoming increasingly proactive in recording and tracking where my time was going”
“And the and the analogy that was told to me is if you are in a leadership position, you actually have the same kind of phenomenon and opportunity”
“I think what what shifted was eventually I got pretty good at letting go of those things”
“I was much better at all the other parts than the just the actual like manage the team and develop the people”
“I can actually build things and I don't have to be the one who manages all the people and runs the business”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, where you go behind the scenes with financial planner, speaker, and consultant Michael Kitsus to hear stories of how leading financial adviserss navigated the inevitable challenges that arise on the path to success and get insight from leading industry consultants about how to break through to the next level in your advisory business. And now, here's your host, Michael Kitsus.
Welcome everyone. Welcome to the 500th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast. My guest on today's milestone podcast is me, interviewed by kitsis.com financial planning nerd, Adam Vanusen.
In this episode, we talk in-depth about how I managed my time, starting with the exercises I undertook to better understand where my time was going and how it might be used better. how I started delegating certain tasks to others so that I could focus on higher value opportunities and how I balance my responsibilities across the kits.com platform and other businesses I'm involved in with raising a family and still having time to get enough sleep each night. We also talk about how I made the decision to forgo an opportunity to run a successful advisory firm to start the kits.com platform.
how I gained the confidence to transition away from producing much of the content on the website by identifying key metrics that show whether team members who took it over are meeting our standards for quality, nerdiness, and relevance and how I have intentionally managed the growth of my business and sometimes purposefully delaying new initiatives in order to digest recent growth to ensure it continues to operate in a sustainable manner well into the future. And be certain to listen to the end where I share how having well-defined core values and interview questions that explore them has helped attract high-quality candidates to the company when we look to hire.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- time management frameworks
- advisory firm scaling
- operational integrator model
- firm metrics and content standards
- cultural alignment in hiring/interviews
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Kitces.com
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Financial Advisor Success (Kitces), this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Kitces. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
