In this special edition of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, welcomes Michael Kitces back for part two of their conversation. They cover the questions shaping the next era of advisory firms: whether AI can finally solve the industry’s integration problem, where the time AI saves actually goes, and why the CRM is positioned to remain the hub of the modern firm.

Michael shares Kitces Research findings showing that staff leverage still predicts advisor productivity more than technology spend does, and explains why the entry-level bar for future advisors is rising. He describes clients who check their advice with ChatGPT as a sign of deeper engagement, walks through the custodial economics behind Vanguard’s acquisition of Altruist, and explains why in-person marketing is outperforming digital as client acquisition costs fall.

Firm leaders will come away with a clearer picture of where to invest next: in team design, delegation, deeper client conversations, and growth strategies built to scale.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

1. Why Michael Kitces believes the CRM, not the AI platform, will remain the hub of the advisory firm
2. Where AI time savings actually go, and why AI is driving deeper planning rather than bigger client counts
3. How staff leverage continues to predict advisor productivity, and what that means for building the next generation of talent
4. The custodial economics behind Vanguard’s acquisition of Altruist and what it could mean for asset managers and advisors
5. Why in-person marketing strategies are outperforming digital ones as client acquisition costs fall

THE 2027 LIGHTNING ROUND

1. One tech tool to try. An AI note taker such as Jump or Zocks, valued for the client dossier it builds before your next review meeting.
2. Most overhyped trend. The idea that AI will help every advisor serve 200-plus clients.
3. Most underrated planning strategy. Tax-savvy tools, including tax-loss harvesting with direct indexing and tax-aware long-short strategies for concentrated positions.
4. One article every advisor should read. Kitces research on what actually drives referral outcomes.

Michael Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, is the Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com and Head of Planning Strategy at Focus Partners Wealth, an independent RIA with more than $50 billion in assets under management. He is a co-founder of XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, New Planner Recruiting, fpPathfinder, FA BeanCounters, and NexGen, and hosts the Financial Advisor Success podcast. A recipient of the Financial Planning Association’s Heart of Financial Planning award, Michael is dedicated to helping financial advisors become better and more successful.

Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026).

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Every growing firm reaches a point where getting bigger requires changing how the business works. In part one of this two-part special edition of Building The Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, flips the script with Michael Kitces. Instead of discussing the industry, they talk entrepreneur to entrepreneur about what it takes to build and lead a growing organization.

Michael has led multiple businesses from a handful of people to teams of 30, 50, and 100+, and he outlines the four stages every growing firm moves through, starting with the founder-centered “starfish org chart.” He shares the hiring roadmap that is guiding his next three key hires, explains why word of mouth eventually needs support from a deliberate growth engine, and opens up his EOS quarterly rocks, from data automation and management training to written culture statements and a careful approach to AI.

Firm leaders will come away with a clear lens for identifying their own stage of growth and the structure their next stage requires. As Michael puts it, every day you wake up, you are running the largest company you have ever run, and that is where the opportunity lives.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

1. The four stages of business growth and how leadership changes at each one
2. When formal career tracks become essential for attracting and retaining talent
3. How a hiring roadmap helps leadership rank priorities across every department
4. Why a 15 to 25 percent annual growth target balances opportunity and sustainability
5. Where AI can add value in a firm, and where precision requires human control

Michael Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, is the Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com and Head of Planning Strategy at Focus Partners Wealth, an independent RIA with more than $50 billion in assets under management. He is a co-founder of XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, New Planner Recruiting, fpPathfinder, FA BeanCounters, and NexGen, and hosts the Financial Advisor Success podcast. A recipient of the Financial Planning Association’s Heart of Financial Planning award, Michael is dedicated to helping financial advisors become better and more successful.

Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026).

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Before you evaluate anyone else this review season, take a moment to evaluate yourself. In this episode of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, explores followership: whether the people you lead believe in your vision, believe you are committed to their development, and believe you have their best interests in mind. Your title gives you authority. Followership is earned one conversation at a time.

Drawing on research from Robert Kelley, Korn Ferry, SHRM, Steven Rogelberg, and McKinsey, Ray shows why one-on-ones are the clearest window into whether you have earned it. He shares a six-question self-check that reveals how well you truly know each person on your team, along with a personal story about what happens when a leader shuts down a team member's ambition instead of supporting it.

Firm leaders will leave with a practical next step: run the self-check for every person who reports to you, turn any gaps into the agenda for your next one-on-one, and ask the hardest question of all about what you might be making harder than it needs to be.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

1. What followership is and the three beliefs that define it
2. Why one-on-ones are the best place to see whether you have earned your team's followership
3. What the research reveals about engagement, meeting quality, and why people leave
4. Six questions every leader should be able to answer about each team member
5. How to support a team member who tells you who they want to become

THE SIX-QUESTION ONE-ON-ONE SELF-CHECK

1. When their week goes really well, what happens? When a week wears them down, what's usually behind it?
2. Do they know what kind of support they need from you right now, and have they asked for it?
3. How do they want to be recognized when they excel, and how do they want to hear about it when something misses the mark?
4. Where do they want to be in two to three years, and what skills, competencies, and experiences stand in the way?
5. What matters to them outside of work right now?
6. Have they completed their own professional development plan, and have you read and discussed it?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

1. What do you need to know about your team that would help you support them more effectively in achieving their career goals?
2. What is one thing you, or your organization, do that makes your team's job harder than it needs to be?

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Robert Kelley, "In Praise of Followers," Harvard Business Review (1988)
• Korn Ferry research on leadership and followership
• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) research on one-on-ones and engagement
• Steven Rogelberg's research and Harvard Business Review writing on one-on-one meetings
• McKinsey research on career development, attrition, and on-the-job learning
• ClientWise Executive Coaching and Team Development

Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026).

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube