"Experience is the best teacher" is a saying, often attributed to Julius Caesar, that highlights how knowledge gained by experience creates a more lasting impression on learners. However, this experience doesn't necessarily have to be undergone personally, and learning from others who have personally experienced it is preferable to learning solely from books or, in today's case, the internet.
Mike McGlothlin, who has been in the financial industry for more than 35 years, is bringing his extensive experience in insurance, advisory, annuities, and banking to coaching. He founded MCGSpeaks as a way to deliver tailored coaching and educational speaking services to people in the business world, helping them maximize their growth potential and achieve their business or career goals.
Mike began his professional career in banking, before moving to the insurance and financial advisory industry after a couple of years. He spent much of his career in this space, moving from personal production to managing sales desks, and eventually managing national wholesaling organizations. Some of these roles include vice president of national sales development at Jackson National Life and senior vice president of the annuity division for Highland Capital Brokerage. Today, Mike is executive vice president of Ash Brokerage's retirement business, a position he has held for more than 11 years, having overseen the company's growth from $500 million in annual sales to over $4 billion without relying on acquisitions. He holds numerous financial credentials, such as Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Consultant, Chartered Life Underwriter, and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow, and has achieved the coveted Million Dollar Round Table status.
Mike was also on the board of directors and was elected president for 2020-2021 of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, which is now part of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).
According to Mike, his entry into the coaching world was a "natural evolution" of his expertise in financial sales leadership, and he now coaches business owners on growth mentality, talent development, innovation, and other topics to unlock their organizations' potential. He is a Certified Storybrand Guide and a Certified Go-Giver Speaker and Coach.
In his coaching programs, Mike emphasizes a simple approach, focusing on getting the right people by having diligent recruiting, interview, and training processes. When it comes to the 'right' people, he believes that a team must complement each other with differing qualities rather than having identical skill sets.
"As a financial advisor, I used to think that, if I wanted to double my sales, I needed to go out and hire another Mike McGlothlin – another salesperson. However, that just creates more pressure on the existing staff with paperwork, suitability, regulatory oversight, and various other matters. I realized that what you really have to do is to hire your opposite. Hiring managers typically don't think about that. They have to understand their risk profile, as well as their gaps and blind spots, then find the people that can fill those."
His coaching also deals with helping businesses quickly pivot in response to market conditions, especially for volatile industries such as finance. Over the past couple of decades, the industry has survived several huge shocks, such as 9/11, the Global Financial Crisis, the COVID pandemic, and multiple interest rate changes. Being able to successfully pivot around these shocks requires being responsive rather than being reactive, Mike says. The former is being prepared to take action in the face of a significant challenge, while the latter is characterized by panicking or being paralyzed due to being caught off guard.
Over the years, Mike has authored three insightful books, including Free Throws for Financial Professionals, where he takes practical leadership principles learned during his time as a student manager under legendary basketball coach Bob Knight and translates them into financial lessons that will help readers boost their business. He also wrote Winning Strategies: The New Rules of Retirement Planning and Above the Clouds: Winning Strategies From 30,000 Ft., as well as contributed to Lessons Learned at Knight School, which chronicles the individual and collective lessons learned by Knight's proteges from their time under him.
Mike supplements his impressive financial and business credentials with certifications as a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach from the National Association of Sports Medicine, and in Running Fitness Coaching from the American Fitness and Sports Association. These help him provide a more holistic coaching program, teaching clients how to grow their business while taking care of themselves at the same time.
"Just like in business, I'm meticulous with the numbers about my health, such as blood sugar and heart rate variability (HRV)," Mike says. "We encourage all of our clients to take care of their bodies. Especially from a corporate executive standpoint, we all live in stressful times, with our jobs demanding more from us than ever. Doing everything you can to help your body repair itself is going to be critical. We need to listen to our own bodies and be in tune with how they feel, how they react, and how they recover. Being in good health is important to make good decisions during the business day."
