10 habits of highly innovative financial execs

By Sarah Min

What does it take to be successful and effective in the financial services industry? 

We asked 10 industry executives, all of them among InvestmentNews’ Icons & Innovators,what they do to stay on top of their game. Click through for their daily habits and rituals.

Search for different perspectives

“Prompted by my dad when I was a 13-year-old living in France — where he encouraged me to read four different newspapers across the political spectrum — and effectively hardwired by my economics training at Cambridge, I make a point each day to look for different perspectives on the same issue. While not always easy, and sometimes infuriating, this has helped broaden my mindset, think about issues I would normally not see, and develop more robust hypotheses about markets and the economy.”

— Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief economic adviser, Allianz

Surround yourself with smarter people

“I surround myself with smarter people who can bring a variety of skill sets and experience to bear on a given task or problem, and then I listen very carefully.”

— David Grau Sr., president and founder, FP Transitions

Sit with your team

“I live with my clients and employees. Constantly traveling and listening to clients and don’t sit in office, sit out on floor with team where people can more easily approach me for any issue they are facing.”

— Shirl Penney, founder and CEO, Dynasty Financial Partners

Prayer in the morning

“An hour of prayer time first thing in the morning.”

—Ted Benna, founder, 401K Benna

Make time for friends and family

 “My best habit is setting up recurring meetings in my personal life like we do at work – recurring weekly date nights, recurring monthly dinners with my parents, recurring monthly time with friends. It guarantees I will make time for the most important people in my life.”

— Clara Shih, CEO and co-founder, Hearsay Corp.

Take advantage of tech options

"Last year I began to use the email pause feature on Gmail. This means that I'll receive all of my emails at the end of the day rather than receiving them as they come in individually. I've found that it helps me focus on the priorities and the bigger picture rather than homing in on the small details throughout the day. If something is truly urgent, I’ll hear about it either way."

— Jon Stein, founder and CEO, Betterment

Read the news

“I spend the first hour of my day reviewing publications: [InvestmentNews], the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily and others. There’s no substitute for being up on the latest news and thinking.”

— Charles R. Schwab, founder and chairman, Charles Schwab & Co.

The midday workout

“I work out seven days a week. I really don't enjoy exercise for its own sake, but I find it to be incredibly important to help me sleep and be present during the course of the day. My advice is to go during the middle of the day for a little escape from the day, rather than doing it in the morning or after work. I usually go at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. I find midday workouts to be really productive. They give me focus and energy to continue the day, and I get home less exhausted. At least two to three of those days of exercise are hot yoga. The nice thing about hot yoga is that it is so intense that I can’t think about anything else except getting through the class! The physical benefits of my exercise habit have offset years of playing rugby and getting older.”

— Joe Duran, founder and CEO, United Capital

No emails

“I do not use email. This frees up my time to read and avoid constant distractions.”

— John W. Rogers Jr., founder, chairman and CEO, Ariel Investments

Stop and listen

“I work very hard every day to not react to situations, but first stop, listen, ask myself, ‘Do I know all that I need to in order to react/make a decision?’ And if I don’t know exactly what I want to do about a situation, I wait until I do. You can imagine that as a leader I face a great number of situations and decisions each and every day, and learning to handle these in the manner described has made enormous positive impact on our culture and results … Believe me when I tell you that my ‘hard wiring’ is to ‘fire, ready, aim.’”

— Greg Friedman, founder, CEO and president, Private Ocean

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