Top 3 Takeaways from the Academy of Life Planning’s Ask Us Anything (24 October 2025)
When the Academy’s Inner Circle gathered last week for our latest Ask Us Anything, one theme rose above all others:
“How do we turn values into a viable business model?”
What unfolded was a masterclass in collective intelligence — a conversation spanning continents, life stages, and professional journeys. From newly certified planners to 88-year-old veterans, everyone contributed insight into what it really takes to build a holistic wealth planning practice in the age of empowerment.
Here are the three big takeaways that defined the hour.
1️⃣ From Isolation to Ecosystem
“A 21st-century organisation is built on collaboration, self-directed teams, and intelligent infrastructure.” — John Harris (USA)
The conversation made one thing crystal clear: the era of the lone financial planner is ending.
The next generation will thrive by building ecosystems, not empires — creating trusted networks of accountants, solicitors, coaches, and mentors under one shared philosophy of service.
At the Academy, we call this the Concierge Model: the holistic wealth planner as convener.
Not the gatekeeper of products, but the integrator of human talent — the person who brings structure, empathy, and shared purpose to the client’s life and money.
💡 Lesson: Map your missing talents. Build your team around them. Collaboration is no longer optional; it’s the business model.
2️⃣ From Procrastination to Activation
“We must always include why now?, not just why me?” — Steve Conley
Across the circle, everyone recognised the same challenge: clients love the idea of holistic planning — but they hesitate to start.
The answer isn’t more persuasion. It’s timing and storytelling.
Clients act when they feel emotionally connected to their future selves and can sense the cost of inaction.
As Steven from Canada put it beautifully:
“I help clients imagine their future selves thanking them for taking this step today.”
💡 Lesson: Frame every engagement with three questions —
Why this? Why now? Why us?
That’s how we turn curiosity into commitment.
3️⃣ From Product to Purpose
“Eighty percent of national wealth lies in human capital, not financial capital.” — Steve Conley
The discussion turned to what truly differentiates holistic wealth planners: we focus not on products, but on people’s potential.
Human capital — skills, creativity, relationships, purpose — is the engine of value creation. When we help clients align their work, wealth, and well-being, we unlock returns that compound far beyond financial markets.
💡 Lesson: Every planner is also a human-capital coach. The GAME Plan framework turns this philosophy into practice — helping clients plan life before money, so their wealth has meaning.
🌿 The Holistic Planner as Convener
As John Harris reminded us, leadership in this new age isn’t about control — it’s about convening:
“The role of the leader is to bring all the pieces together around a shared goal.”
Knowledge may be democratised by AI, but wisdom, empathy, and collaboration remain profoundly human.
That’s the true work of the Holistic Wealth Planner — the CFO to the client’s CEO, the architect of structural trust, and the convener of an ethical ecosystem.
✨ Join the Movement
Our next Inner Circle Ask Us Anything takes place in November.
Members and guests are invited to join the conversation, share their insights, and help co-create the future of financial planning — transparent, ethical, and deeply human.
🔗 Learn more: http://www.aolp.co.uk
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