The Future is Faster Than You Think: Aaron Cirksena Of MDRN Capital On How Leaders Are Preparing…

The Future is Faster Than You Think: Aaron Cirksena Of MDRN Capital On How Leaders Are Preparing for The Innovations, Disruptions, and Strategies That Will Define Tomorrow

Embrace change rather than fighting it so you can gain the benefits it brings in all aspects of business, which is what we did during COVID.

The pace of change is accelerating, with innovations and disruptions reshaping industries faster than ever. Leaders must not only anticipate these changes but also develop strategies to thrive in this evolving landscape. How are forward-thinking leaders preparing for the technologies and challenges of tomorrow? What strategies are they putting in place today to ensure success in the future? As part of this series, we are interviewing Aaron Cirksena.

Aaron Cirksena graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2011 with a degree in economics. Since then, he has devoted his entire career to financial planning, distribution planning, and managing client money. He first worked with multiple $1 billion teams at Morgan Stanley and independent firms and eventually created his own independent services firm, MDRN Capital. He has been featured in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Kiplinger, and the Wall Street Journal.

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Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to "get to know you" a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I decided to pursue a career in financial planning after seeing my parents go through a trying time that involved acting on some bad financial advice. They had sold a business and used the proceeds to become too heavily concentrated in illiquid, highly aggressive investments. Essentially, I saw the impact that bad advice — or no advice at all — could have on people close to me as they approach retirement. It inspired me to make sure I had a complete understanding of how finances and investments worked so that I could avoid financial problems myself and help others avoid them as well.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I think, honestly, COVID is the most interesting story that has happened to me since starting my career because it's what led to the formation and unique structure of my company, MDRN Capital. COVID was a terrible thing in a lot of ways, but it forced us and a lot of other industries to innovate and get creative in a hurry. It also forced our society as a whole to get comfortable using technology in ways we hadn't been before the pandemic. The idea of a fully virtual retirement planning firm where you never meet your advisor in person and of handing money over to that type of firm would have seemed insane before COVID. But now it's a reality. We bring on clients from all over the country each day who entrust us with millions of dollars to manage for their retirement.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes us unique is the way we operate a fully virtual firm and the level of services we can offer because of the efficiency our virtual model provides. We are all about convenience, efficiency in terms of both time and cost, and maintaining the highest level of service for clients.

In launching MDRN Capital, we essentially took the Ally bank model and applied it to the retirement planning industry. By cutting out costs and utilizing technology that became prevalent during COVID, we can save significant costs over brick-and-mortar firms and pass those savings back to clients, covering their costs for things like tax planning, estate planning, and more.

The story that shows how successful the model has been is that we have local clients who use us for retirement planning and prefer to meet over Zoom rather than visit with an advisor in person. They make it clear that the service we provide stands out as a value-added option in the industry.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I think being adaptable, coachable, and smart enough to know what I know and what I don't know are the three most important character traits that were instrumental to my success.

Being adaptable is far and away the most important skill, as things in business can always change. Because there will always be new problems to solve, you need to be able to adapt, as we did during COVID, to continue to operate and continually improve.

Being coachable is the next most important. You have to be able to take constructive criticism or feedback, even as a leader, and use it to improve your business and the client experience. We applied that trait when we switched to a custodian that gave us a much-improved user experience. We also listened to our clients as they expressed their desire to incorporate tax and estate planning in the processes we made available to them.

Lastly, you need to be smart enough to know what you know and what you don't. I'm comfortable admitting I may not be the best at every single aspect of running a business. For example, my strengths lie in marketing and creating a phenomenal value proposition and client experience, but I hate many aspects of the operational side of our business. So, the first and most significant hire I made at MDRN Capital was bringing on an experienced and well-versed COO who was extremely strong in those areas. That hire allowed us to grow exponentially faster than we could have with me handling operations. So, know your strengths and weaknesses and hire for your weaknesses.

Ok, thank you for that. Let's now jump to the primary focus of our interview. What emerging technologies do you believe will have the most significant impact on your industry in the next five years, and how are you preparing for them?

Artificial intelligence will have an enormous impact on our industry going forward. Not in the role of replacing humans in the planning process, as that will always be needed, but in the way of being able to augment it and improve the experience for both the advisor and the client. AI will be able to give advisors so much more time by automating many of the laborious tasks that we now do manually. This will empower advisors to focus much more of their time and energy on client relationships, resulting in clients receiving the best experience possible. For clients, AI will make many aspects of the relationship faster, easier, and more efficient by facilitating streamlined processes for data collection, Q&A, and data reporting.

How do you balance the need for rapid innovation with the risk of potential disruptions in your organization?

We balance those aspects by avoiding the temptation to change things that already work well just because something new or flashy comes out. When we see areas of the client experience that could be improved, we look for solutions. But when we feel that things are working well, we're not quick to change them just for the sake of introducing a shiny new object.

Can you share an example of a strategy you've implemented to future-proof your business against upcoming technological changes?

I believe embracing virtual advising the way we have will future-proof our business. More and more firms will likely go virtual over the coming decade due to the cost savings and efficiencies it can add, combined with its ability to recruit and hire the best advisors in the country regardless of their location. We have embraced the model very early on, and because of that, we are well-positioned to capitalize on it as the market continues to shift toward an approach that leverages the ease of Zoom meetings.

What skills or mindsets do you believe are essential for leaders to thrive in an era of rapid technological advancement?

Again, it goes back to being able to embrace change and adapt quickly rather than resisting it. Things will always change, which means only those businesses that can adapt quickly will come out ahead.

What are your "Five Things You Need to Prepare For The Disruptive Future"?

1. Embrace change rather than fighting it so you can gain the benefits it brings in all aspects of business, which is what we did during COVID.

2. Don't be afraid to do things differently than the herd. The new thing you embrace can be the thing that allows you to stand out from the crowd. Embracing a fully virtual model made us an outlier.

3. Be able to admit where you are weak and hire the best people in those areas. We've done that in a number of areas, including the operational role I mentioned above.

4. Create a phenomenal client experience and promote it in a way that spells out exactly who you're a good fit for. For example, we are a perfect fit for investors who value efficiency and convenience, having all services included in a one-stop shop, but we would be a terrible fit for someone who must have an in-person handshake and cares less about value.

5. Create outstanding and engaging content. One of the main factors that has contributed to our success is our ongoing commitment to creating engaging and easy-to-understand content that resonates with our ideal client base.

How do you foster a culture within your team that is both adaptable and resilient in the face of fast-paced innovation?

We have weekly meetings during which we review virtually all aspects of the business. Rather than being complacent, we are constantly exploring how we can improve in every area or adapt to changes that may impact our business. That doesn't mean we make changes constantly, but we are always exploring options and ensuring we are prepared to adapt if necessary.

How do you ensure that ethical considerations and social impact remain a priority as you navigate rapid advancements in technology?

We always consider the client and their experience first and above all else. Before making any change in any aspect of the business, we ask our team, "Will this change improve the client experience?" If the answer is no, then we don't make the change.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

That was actually one of the main driving factors in deciding to take my firm fully virtual and to begin hiring more advisors. I knew that as an individual advisor, I would only be able to influence a relatively small number of people in my local area, regardless of how big a practice I built. By being virtual and expanding our advisor force, we are able to serve people throughout the country, achieving my goal of having a far greater impact on a much larger number of people.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can follow us on our various social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, and check us out on our website at www.mdrncapital.com.

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About the Interviewer: Cynthia Corsetti is an esteemed executive coach with over two decades in corporate leadership and 11 years in executive coaching. Author of the upcoming book, "Dark Drivers," she guides high-performing professionals and Fortune 500 firms to recognize and manage underlying influences affecting their leadership. Beyond individual coaching, Cynthia offers a 6-month executive transition program and partners with organizations to nurture the next wave of leadership excellence.