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The infamous academic adviser… I am still getting over the awful advice that my academic advisor gave me freshman year when I started at the the University of Pennsylvania. When I entered college, I really had no idea what I wanted to do in terms of career choice, I really had no idea what I wanted to do in general, and so I turned to my handy dandy college adviser.

Maybe I had a bad experience, but the feeling that the adviser experience was sup-bar is one that is not solely mine. The biggest problem that I had with my college adviser, in hind-sight is that there was no real advising. She did not help to focus me, something that I think is extremely important, especially freshman year of college. And she did not lay out the reality of the college experience. She told me to explore my options, have fun freshman year, see where the winds take me.

But now it is my junior year and there are so many requirements and courses that I have not taken. And while I will not say that it is entirely her fault for letting me loose and allowing me to take all of the useless classes that I did freshman year, if I would have known the importance of not only having a general plan, but also the importance of tackling general requirements and major requirements with single courses, I would be much better off right now and have more realistic hopes of graduating on time.

So my advice to all those people out there they are entering college that have no idea of what to do: make a general plan, even if you don’t exactly know what you want to do for the rest of your life, have some ideas. Look at different paths of study that you can take and plan it out. Trust me, you will be better off in the end. But most importantly, seeing as how it is your freshman year, have fun, and be safe!

Read More:

Tamara Sinclair (http://www.helium.com/items/464785-tips-for-dealing-with-your-academic-advisor-at-college)

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Yes! Yes!! Some basic planning before hand can save hours of headache and confusion later! Have you given thought to why you want to go to college in the first place? What’s the point of going to school? More importantly, what’s the payoff for YOU? It is your investment; it’s your life; it’s your time…

The last ABAA meeting for the year is nearly upon us — 8 Dec 2009. The topic of conversation will be ‘what is a business analyst’s role in an agile world’?

At first I thought this would be a very interesting conversation but the more I thought about it the more I thought it was a little naive to be asking the question in this way. Is there an actual role? … see for yourself . . .

Kanban

• Prescribes no formal roles

ZenAgile

• Samurai – the defender of the project
• Roshi – the project lead, teacher and mentor
• Sensei – the team’s mentor, leader and users’ champion
• Team – multi-disciplinary where its members are chosen based on need

Scrum

• Scrum Master – protector and champion of the team from The Powers That Be
• Product Owner – customer representative and stack prioritiser
• Team – multi-disciplinary based on need

Extreme Programming (XP)

• Tracker - measures and communicates the team’s progress
• Coach – like the Sensei in ZenAgile this is a supporting role that helps a team stay on process and help the team learn
• Tester – helps the customer define and write acceptance tests for user stories in the same way a Product Owner might do in Scrum
• Customer - defines what is the right product to build, determines the order in which features will be built, and makes sure the product actually work
• Programmer - implements the code to support the user stories
• Programmer administrator - manages the programmer environment

DSDM [1]

• Executive Sponsor – commits appropriate funds and resources
• Visionary – initialises the project by ensuring that essential requirements are found early on. The Visionary has the most accurate perception of the business objectives of the system and the project. Another task is to supervise and keep the development process in the right track.
• Ambassador User – the knowledge of user community into the project, ensures that the developers receive enough amount of user’s feedback during the development process.
• Advisor User – the one who represents important users’ viewpoints
• Project Manager – manages the project in general
• Technical Coordinator – designs the system architecture and controls the technical quality in the project
• Team Leader – ensures that the team works effectively as a whole.
• Developer – interprets the system requirements and model it including developing the deliverable code and build the prototypes
• Tester - checks the correctness in a technical extents by performing some testings. Tester will have to give some comments and documentation.
• Scribe – gathers and records the requirements, agreements, and decisions made in every workshop
• Facilitator – manages the workshops progress, acts as a motor for preparation and communication.

RUP

• Well, it has over 30 roles … so let’s not go there

If the essence of agile is simplicity then there’s certainly something wrong with some of these ways of working. The most striking thing in all of these is the lack of an actual, dedicated, business analysis role. There are certainly elements of a standard BA in DSDM’s Scribe and Facilitator roles. The Tester and Tracker roles in XP could also be done by someone with a BA background. Craig Brown of Better Projects has even suggested that a BA could undertake the role of the Product Owner in Scrum. But Scrum, ZenAgile and Kanban essentially take the most appropriate people with the most appropriate skills in order to acomplish a specific task or activity. In these, there is obvious room for a BA role to lead or follow, but no defined role for a BA to play as it’s task dependent.

So what is a business analyst’s role in an agile world? Just like there is no PM role in agile there is also no actual BA role either. In some areas that focus more on software engineering there aren’t even any standard analyst roles but moreover a focus on eliciting customer needs directly. It means that in some agile projects there may not be a perceived need to involve an analyst at all.

In reality, though, someone needs to assist with the following:

• Understanding users’ needs, wants, expectations, capabilities and attitudes
• Communicating and documenting those needs
• Translating those needs to those who will implement the project
• Ensuring that the output meets the needs of users and the strategic goals of the project and, moreover, the organisation as a whole

This reinforces that skills in business analysis are important for everyone in the project and not just a single role as is prevalent in traditional waterfall projects. It suggests that everyone, from the project lead, samurai or scrum master, should have these skills.

So what is a business analyst’s role in an agile world? There is no BA role. But everyone should definitely have a business analysts skills.

M

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1. http://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/rh/49/Roles-of-DSDM.html

Central Florida Future – http://bit.ly/8KleHL

By Cassie Turner

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Published: Friday, November 20, 2009

Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009

Caitlin Bush

"Most Americans do not know slavery not only exists in the world today, it flourishes," said Ron Soodalter, co-author of The Slave Next Door, in his presentation in the Pegasus Ballroom Monday morning.

"Somewhere around 27 million people are in bondage in the world today. Now, that’s over twice the number as were trafficked in chains in the entire 350 years of the African slave trade."

Soodalter, an active abolitionist and historian, kicked off International Education Week at UCF as the keynote speaker for the Second Annual International Breakfast. The Slave Next Door presentation concluded the three-part series on "Slavery’s Resurgence" facilitated by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Global Perspectives and the International Services Center.

The series began with Somaly Mam, a Cambodian human rights activist, former slave and author of The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine, when she shared her experiences in September.

In October, Micheline Slattery, a human-rights activist and former restavek, or domestic child slave, in both Haiti and the United States, addressed about 300 attendees.

Modern-day slavery includes around 800,000 men, women and children trafficked each year around the world. According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site, about 17,500 of them end up in the United States, with a high percentage received in Florida.

Soodalter suggests a simple Google search on human trafficking for astounding results.

In spite of major federal legislation and anti-trafficking laws passed in 43 states, 103 human-trafficking convictions have resulted, Soodalter said.

Trafficking remains hidden, is largely unreported and difficult to identify. According to the 2009 Trafficking in Persons, or TIP, report, published by the U.S. Department of State, forced labor/involuntary servitude represents the majority of human-trafficking cases in the world. The co-author of Soodalter’s book,  Kevin Bales, wrote the original 156-page TIP report, titled “Trafficking Persons in the United States — A Report to the National Institute of Justice.”

“The whole thing is disserving and extending,” said retired UCF foreign language professor David Gurney. “It contributes to the antagonism from people in underdeveloped countries to Western civilizations or Western countries.”

In the 1850s, purchasing a slave ran roughly $1,200, the equivalent of around $40,000 in today’s money. The reality is purchasing a slave today costs as little as $100, which makes them affordable and disposable, Soodalter said.

A trafficking victim lives in fear of violence or the threat of violence daily, he said.

Shawn Cox, victim witness coordinator and licensed clinical social worker with the United States Attorney’s Office, advocates that trafficking is a crime of absolute power over someone. According to the report Cox co-authored, “Victims of Human Trafficking and Trauma,” the psychological consequences of a victim are similar to the consequences of severe or chronic child abuse or experiencing acts of terrorism.

"In case you thought slavery doesn’t touch you, guess again," Soodalter said. "Chances are, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, has been touched by slavery."

The good news is there have been some inroads made recently in the area of agricultural servitude, Soodalter said. When Taco Bell refused to stop buying produce picked by enslaved workers in an effort known as the "Ban the Bell" campaign, it set a precedent that several other companies, including McDonalds, A&W, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut, Whole Foods, Chipotle and Burger King, have followed, Soodalter said.

"The message is clear," Soodalter said. "Slavery and worker abuse will not be tolerated. Not here, not now, not ever."

Mark Freeman, public affairs coordinator for the Global Perspectives Office, said they are hoping to continue the series next spring since response has been incredible. Because of the series last spring, students on campus were so spurred into action they formed the unofficial student group “Students Against Slavery @ UCF,” Freeman said. “Students Against Slavery @ UCF” has a Facebook page, and Harry Coverston serves as the faculty advisor for the group.

"Spreading the word is the most important thing," said Frank Hegedus, a senior political science and international relations major. "There is only right now."

http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/abolitionist-historian-wraps-up-global-perspectives-series-1.2093273

Neil Bathon

A comment on social media from Neil Bathon, founder, FUSE Research Network LLC

Separating the facts from the hype of social media’s promise or menace has never been more important.

Is social media new and different — or a repackaging of traditional communications techniques? We invite promoters and skeptics in equal measure to weigh in on the veracity of what social media consultant, D. Bruce Johnston has termed, “nothing less than the transformation of how investment products will be packaged and distributed through social media.”

This week’s guest post is from Neil Bathon, founder at FUSE Research Network LLC and Managing Director at PMR Associates LLC.

Mr. Bathon has devoted his professional career to improving the productivity and effectiveness of the resources dedicated to the development and distribution of investment products and solutions.

Two way communications puts the 'social' in social media

Mr. Bathon recently commented on last week’s Social Media Memo post, RIA Steege turned to social media “to do opposite of what everyone else was doing.” To adhere to Mr. Bathon’s own standards for accuracy and courtesy, the following is published in unedited form.

“I am sure I am being overly simplistic but the article seems to suggest that Mr. Steege sent out an e-mail to a qualified list of prospective clients with an invite to a seminar.

“I did not pick up on (and do not get generally) the social media aspect of the initiative.

“I am all for using different mediums to reach people (phone, e-mail, website, posters, flyers, etc.). It seems like there is a desire to raise traditional sales and marketing tactics to a new special level and place mostly by the consultants and purveyors of social media services that are trying to differentiate themselves in order to build their business and gain clients.

“Said another way…if I use my Blackberry to put together a thank you e-mail in the parking lot of the B/D I just met with…and I attach a document that is relevant to what I just discussed with the broker…that is good follow-up. But if I use twitter to deliver a 40 character thank you, is that social media?

“Maybe it is definitional. For me, social networking is where people that have a common interest and connect or link themselves with the purpose of advancing their “cause”…whatever that may be…cooking, politics, hunting, etc.

“Also, the fact that people can use LinkedIn to find out how they are (or could be) connected to someone is, for me, a neat sales prospecting tool but unless we (at FUSE) develop a deeper bond and connection between folks where they ‘participate’ in something….I don’t think we have created a network.

“Just a thought… Neil”

Earlier, we wrote about the need for long term care insurance. The likelyhood of needing to pay for long term care in some form is nearly HALF for those 65 and older. We are simply living longer and our bodies are more likely to break down the longer we live.

The primary reason that people don’t get long term care coverage is of course – COST. So let’s look at some ways which can help someone to control the cost on a policy. Keep in mind also that the cost of the premium is still FAR LESS than the cost of coverage if the entire amount is coming out of your pocket when you have a need. Again, the reasons to own a policy are to protect your savings from having to be spent down, and also to have choices over the type of care you would be able to receive when the need arises.

1. Buy the policy between age 55 aand 65.

This should be obvious. Yet most people don’t think of it, or they put it off and want to look at it later, after age 65. Premiums are much higher  at this age, than for someone in their late 50’s. Also you would like to be able to pay for the premium out of savings or dividends from an investment. Lets say your premium is $4000/year.  If you have assets of at least $150,000 or more, you should be able to generate enough dividends to pay the premium from that without depleting your nestegg.

2. Meet with your representative to determine the proper per day amount of coverage.

In the previous article, we talked about the IN Partnership.  If you looked at a policy with $5000/month coverage that would also work out to $167/day. You can select the amount of years you’d like to be covered for. 4 years at this rate would give you a total policy value of $240,000, which would easily satisfy the requirements for total asset protection in Indiana. You could also opt for less years (2 years or 3 years), which would lower your cost.

3. Look at a longer elimination period.

The elimination period is like the deductible on auto or health insurance. The longer you are able to pay for care out of pocket yourself, the lower the premium will be. Of course, just like the deductible, you need to have the savings to back it up, when you have a need. Look at your savings and determine what is a realistic “out of pocket” amount you can handle, and relate that information to your agent.

4. Use a representative who represents a variety of insurers to get the best rate.

Be careful though. You don’t want “cheap” when it comes to insurance. I work primarily with 3 providers – John Hancock, Met Life, and Genworth. These are all major firms with solid reputations who are the leaders in Long Term Care. Of course we can look at all 3 and find which one may provide the best fit (and best value) for the client. 

For more information on long term care, please visit my website http://www.deanvoelker.com. You may also follow me on Twitter, http://www.twitter.com/deanvoelker. I also host a weekly internet radio program, “Improving Your Financial Health” at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach.

Centennial Leadership ran its first successful pep rally in over a year.  We had struggled with student response in the past so decided to take a year off from pep rallies.  Yesterday the tradition was revived.  The gym was full and loud.  The Leadership class did a great job planning, preparing, and running the show.  We used the tried and true Battle of the Sexes theme.  It got the kids fired up.  We followed the formula of beginning with low risk whole group activities.  They watched a video we made followed bya a group cheer and paper airplane contest.  We then moved to medium risk activities.  These are activities where several people participate in front of the group.  These included the benchwarmers relay and stuff the VW.  We then moved to high risk activities where there are very few people doing something in front of the group.  We did a bubble gum spit and a gender trivia contest.  Then the grand finale was four of our teachers doing a lip synch dance number to Beyonce’s Put a ring on it.  The theory behind this assembly came from the DVD building school climate from differencemakers.com.  If you have questions about our rally contact me.

If you’re looking for a tax break this year, there’s still time to open a Solo 401(K). But do your research and seek experts to help you understand the plan, how to manage your account without the need for a custodian which amounts to extra fees, and how to transfer your existing new plan. You’ll find the options for investing and maximizing your contributions are plentiful but the clock’s ticking—you only have until December 31st to open one for 2009.

Following the success of a social media campaign last summer in raising assets under management, Chuck Steege, a Registered Investment Advisor from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, recently explained what motivated him to experiment with the Internet’s newest marketing tools.

Mr. Steege’s sense of experimentation, in fact, flew in the face of a recently released report from Equation Research that stated that  ”not knowing enough about social media” was given as the #1 reason for not trying it. Mr. Steege readily admitted he knew little about keywords and third party blogging when he started and yet he continues to hold his own today on Google page 1 for keywords AMT+credit+refund, a business emphasis of Mr. Steege’s, as recently as November 11.

“ The primary driver,” Mr. Steege said, “was to do the complete opposite of what everyone else is doing. Furthermore, the only way to understand something is to try it yourself!  Nothing gained nothing lost.”

Equation Research also named compliance constraints as a frequently cited reason by financial professionals to avoid blogging, twittering, LinkedIn and other social media vehicles and techniques. Regulatory compliance was not difficult, Mr. Steege said for a couple of reasons. First, the content was educational in nature and not product driven. Secondly, he said the combined efforts of his “marketing team — Paula David, Bruce Johnston and John Drachman — was important because they look at marketing through the compliance lens.”  

Of all of the tools employed in his summer campaign, the one which contributed the most to business building was the access Mr. Steege had to the e-mail list of a regional center of influence, an estate attorney, who participated in the three-part series with him. For more details on how the program generated $40,000 in commissions and fees on an investment of less than $10,000, see Financial Advisor’s Small Media Effort Pays off Big.

Following the success of a social media campaign last summer in raising assets under management, Chuck Steege, a Registered Investment Advisor from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, recently explained what motivated him to experiment with the Internet’s newest marketing tools.

Mr. Steege’s sense of experimentation, in fact, flew in the face of a recently released report from Equation Research that stated that  ”not knowing enough about social media” was given as the #1 reason for not trying it. Mr. Steege readily admitted he knew little about keywords and third party blogging when he started and yet he continues to hold his own today on Google page 1 for keywords AMT+credit+refund, a business emphasis of Mr. Steege’s, as recently as November 11.

“ The primary driver,” Mr. Steege said, “was to do the complete opposite of what everyone else is doing. Furthermore, the only way to understand something is to try it yourself!  Nothing gained nothing lost.”

Equation Research also named compliance constraints as a frequently cited reason by financial professionals to avoid blogging, twittering, LinkedIn and other social media vehicles and techniques. Regulatory compliance was not difficult, Mr. Steege said for a couple of reasons. First, the content was educational in nature and not product driven. Secondly, he said the combined efforts of his “marketing team — Paula David, Bruce Johnston and John Drachman — was important because they look at marketing through the compliance lens.”  

Of all of the tools employed in his summer campaign, the one which contributed the most to business building was the access Mr. Steege had to the e-mail list of a regional center of influence, an estate attorney, who participated in the three-part series with him. For more details on how the program generated $40,000 in commissions and fees on an investment of less than $10,000, see Financial Advisor’s Small Media Effort Pays off Big.

Braine Burz, the voice of reason and conservative wisdom, often sees others fail and shakes his head. Always prepared and seldom in an unsafe situation, he’s the guy in the back of the room rolling his eyes in silent but obvious critique of all that he see’s. (he sounds like a fuggin party – ed) . Here are cynical yet wise words from the Braine himself, on a subject that atx climbers grapple with all the time…

Malik Obama Holds Photo Of Brother Barack In Islamic Garb

WorldNetDaily links to a document published by the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University. Hasan’s name appears on page 29 of a report titled “Thinking Anew – Security Priorities for the Next Administration…Presidential Transition Task Force,” April 2009-January 2009.

It is confirmed that the Nidal Hasan in listed in the document is the same Hasan who murdered and allegedly wounded fellow soldiers at Fort Hood. Hasan apparently applied to sit on the task force through the University’s website, and was present at several meetings. Hasan served as a member of the Uniformed Service University School of Medicine.

This task force was tasked with developing homeland security policy.

The HSPI [Homeland Security Policy Institute] fashions itself a “think and do tank” and claims its mission as that of building “bridges between theory and practice to advance homeland security through an interdisciplinary approach.” I wonder if one of those bridges leads to “understanding” the mindset of terrorists like Hasan, a participant in George Washington University’s “think and do” mission?

Download the pdf report here

If you are Arab and educated, the military, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department or the White House wants you. No vetting required.

MN

You wouldn’t think of owning a home without insurance to replace it in case of fire or disaster, would you? Of course not. In fact, its required by law when you take out a mortgage. But the chances of losing your home in a fire or disaster are very slim.

Also, car insurance is required by law in case of an accident. You want to be able to cover the cost of replacing the car if something happened. Seat belt laws are also there for our safety. But the chances of being in a car accident and totalling the car are also very slim.

Did you know that there is a much greater risk which could drastically affect your retirement nest egg? And it doesn’t matter how you may be invested?

In fact, the wealthier you are, the more risk you may have. And the chance of “something happening” is much much greater than replacing your house or your car, yet most people aren’t covered at all, or even given it much thought.

What might this be, you ask?

According to John Hancock, 49% of all people turning 65 will need Long Term Care at some point and 72% will use Home Care Services. 49% – that is HALF!!

There are several myths on Long Term Care which should be cleared up. First, most Long Term Care is NOT provided in nursing homes. In fact, also according to John Hancock, 80% of older adults who receive long term care services do so in their own homes.

Another myth is on Medicaid. Medicaid will only cover LTC in nursing homes – and they choose which one you can use. (i.e. “cheap”) Also, before you can qualify for Medicaid you savings MUST be spent down significantly to poverty level. (The actual amount varies from state to state.) Also the government can (and will) look back over your records for the past 5 years before letting you qualify for benefits.

The real risk if you don’t have insurance coverage is how it can wipe out your savings. (Remember earlier how we said that your investment portfolio didn’t matter?) According to Met Life, the annual cost for nursing home stay averaged $75,190 in 2006. And inflation normally grows in healthcare much faster than in other areas. Assisted living facilties, which are more like apartments, averaged $35,616 in 2006. And without coverage – that is 100% out-of-pocket.

Fortunately, there is hope. Since 1993, Indiana has offered a Partnership Program, which can help you to protect your nestegg. What that means is, if you purchase a Long Term Care Insurance policy which meets the program guidelines, you can protect the same amount of assets as the amount of coverage in your policy. Buy a $100,000 policy – protect $100,000 in assets. And if your policy provides at least $228,045 in coverage (2008), you will be able to protect ALL of your assets.

It doesn’t take long to figure that $228,000 is a good benchmark either. Figure 4 years (48 months) at $5000/month and you get $240,000.

Another huge benefit is that premium payments for Indiana Partnership Long Term Care Policies may be deductable on Indiana state tax returns. In a future article, we will look at ways to control costs. But I certainly hope that this at least makes you think. My job as an advisor is to help you “protect” your nestegg.

You can contact me through my website http://www.helpmy401k.us and follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/deanvoelker. I also host a weekly internet radio program “Improving Your Financial Health” at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach.

We just finished up an exceptional customer facing event in Miami…In Seth Godin’s book, Permission Marketing, he explains what effective marketing is; the different between interruption marketing and permission marketing.  You can’t effectively mass market solutions and consulting services using interruption or typical marketing strategies.  Instead you must gain permission through things like education, providing value to  the client.   Combining this with something as urgent as data security provides a winning combination, allowing you to continue growing the relationship, increasing permission levels, as you provide trustworthy advice (the ingredients of being the trusted advisor).

In this case we brought together a group of clients, people already working with a solution provider, and gave them the next phase in curriculum…this builds the next level of permission.  We now have permission to meet with executives to discover assets and risk, where as before we only had permission to sell “products and install” to IT.  Using risk analysis, I can gain permission to talk to almost anyone in the organization, without wearing my sales hat. I’ve moved from vendor to adviser.  This is the next step in taking your business to the next level.

Salt Lake City, Provo, and St. George, Utah – November 9, 2009 – Intermountain Financial Group, the Utah Agency for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is pleased to announce that Jerry Borrowman, MSFS, CAP, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF and former officer of the local Beneficial Life Insurance company will join the all-inclusive financial services firm as the new specialist for Advanced Life Insurance Solutions starting immediately.

“We are very eager to have Jerry join our dynamic team,” said Todd A. Reid, JD*, CLF, General Agent of Intermountain Financial Group. “His advanced life insurance knowledge, combined with his extensive training, managing and educational background, is a welcome supplement to our firm.  His addition enables us to further develop our already strong agency into a significant powerhouse.”

            “I am very excited about joining this great firm and working locally with agents, clients, and their other professional advisers,” said Borrowman. “This unique opportunity not only challenges me professionally, but also meets my goal of working with a highly rated carrier with superior surplus and strength. said Borrowman.

Before accepting the position with Intermountain Financial Group, Borrowman served as a Life Insurance agent over 30 years ago with another prominent firm and in that time he worked as an agent, a manager, recruiters, and a full-time trainer. He was also the Vice President in field technology allowing him to travel outside of the country. Borrowman boasts five industry designations along with a BA in Political Science and a Masters Degree from the American College. He also has 10 books in print.

About the company:

For more than 156 years, local residents and businesses rely on Intermountain Financial Group to help them secure their financial futures. The company has been in awarded the Work/Life Award by the Utah Department of Workforce Services in 2008 and 2007 naming them one of Utah’s best places to work and the national Sloan When Work Works award in 2008. The company currently has offices in Salt Lake City, Utah; St. George, Utah; and Provo, Utah. The agency boasts over $740 million assets serviced as of year-end 2007. 

# # #

* Not Practicing on behalf of of MassMutual or MML Investors Services, Inc.

**Securities and investment advisory services offered through qualified registered representatives of MML Investors Services, Inc. member SIPC.  (Salt Lake City Agency – 6340 S. 3000 E., Suite 500, SLC, UT  84121 – (801) 943-6277)

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives.

Insurance offered through MassMutual and other fine companies.

Last year, as imploding credit markets roiled the economy, mutual fund organizations throughout the country took stock of their revenue prospects.

It was clear that a change or two was in the wind at Denver’s Old Mutual Investment Partners, too. For Chief Executive Officer, D. Bruce Johnston, one more change was clear: He wanted to do something different.

From thought leadership to measuring results

Two major influences fueled his thinking: The prolific blogging activity of his friend, the best-selling author of The Ultimate Client Experience, Scott McKain and the promise of social media metrics and analytics in measuring the success of advisor value-added programs. After serving as a C-level executive at Conseco Funds, Garthmore Funds, Sentinel Funds and Old Mutual, he wanted to take a closer look at the role of social media in transforming business strategies in general and mutual fund distribution in particular.

Bruce shifted his family to Tuttle, Oklahoma where he started networking, interviewing industry thought leaders and practicing the social media arts. In short order, his blog, DBJ Associates became a rising source of reliable social media information for the relatively slow-to-adapt financial services industry.

He also completed a program to provide vigorous, aggressive third-party blogging support to an RIA who wished to attract interest in tax planning themes during the dog days of summer. 

Bruce continued, “Social media in the form of social networks, online communities or blogs will become more and more a routine part of marketing, sales and distribution. That’s where the future is headed.”