Trending
To read my full newsletter, subscribe here.
A couple weeks back, Archie Wilson, an incoming freshman punter from Australia, stood at the podium during a Nebraska football press conference.
A reporter asked: “How are you doing being so far away from your family?”
Wilson froze. His eyes welled up. And he broke down in tears.
That moment of raw humanity hit me. Maybe because I’m a Nebraska fan. Maybe because my son Gideon just moved into his freshman dorm in Lincoln. Either way—it stuck with me.
It was a reminder that behind every stat, every performance, every role—we’re just people trying to hold it together, missing our families, carrying doubts, wondering if anyone notices.
Your clients are no different.
We spend so much time building, scaling, automating. But in the middle of all that, the most important thing might just be the simplest question: Are you doing all right?
The Shift We’re Facing
We live in an age where AI notetakers record every call, summarize every detail, and sometimes even auto-populate the CRM. It’s very likely that many firms will soon see those tools replace the CRM entirely.
Salesforce knows it—that’s why they’re desperate to keep firms paying into their ecosystem.
But here’s the reality: technology won’t save your client relationships. Presence will.
AI can help with memory. It can surface insights. It can handle the mechanics. But it can’t replace humanity. Instead, the opportunity for us is to use these tools to amplify presence—to free you up time for you to show up.
Five Ways to Stay Present in the Age of AI
“Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘you’re not alone.’” - Brené Brown
- Use AI to remember—then go deeper.
- Pick up the phone when there’s no agenda.
- Turn automation into personalization.
- Listen for silence.
- Make consistency your edge.
The Takeaway
For Archie Wilson, vulnerability opened the door to a whole state—and even a nation—seeing and supporting him.
For your clients, presence does the same.
AI will keep getting better at tracking the facts. But the future of client experience isn’t about data capture—it’s about empathy delivery.
And the question is simple: are your clients doing all right?
Related: Your ‘Master Recording’: What Taylor Swift Knows About Ownership That Most Advisors Miss