G2: Building the Next Generation

CHAPTER 16Conclusion

This is an optimistic book. I wrote it with the sincere belief that the financial services industry already has a fantastic group of professionals who are eager to take on more responsibility and lead their firms into the future. As G2 and G3 make their way further down the career track, they must support one another to ensure the firm continues to grow.

Advisory firms and their founders only need to look around to find the team they have been waiting for. Many of those professionals are already at the firm, and those who are not can be attracted to join. All that the next generation needs is inspiration, training, and opportunity. They will do the rest.

From G2 to G3

G2 is perhaps better described as a group than a generation. Some G2 professionals are in their twenties and belong to the Millennial generation, while others are in their forties or fifties and belong to Generation X. Their identity within the firm is not driven by the year they were born but rather the role that they play. G2 is a group of professionals who are defined by their responsibility to act as a bridge between the founder‐centric past of the firm and its organization‐centric future.

The reality in most firms—especially large firms—is that beyond the founders, the generations start to blur as people join and exit the firm in a continuous process on their way through the different stages of the career track. Instead of a distinct generational event, succession becomes an ongoing ...