Ron Carson is one of those icons in our world of financial services who just keeps on giving. I’ve followed Ron and the growth of his firm since I became an advisor many years ago. He’s one of the most dynamic speakers, leaders, and gurus that makes you want to absorb and retain every word and follow his team’s successful coaching lessons along your journey. His firm’s growth has been magnanimous throughout the years, and being involved with Ron and the Carson Group for many years makes us very humble and proud to present Ron’s story, and particularly his support of women and diversity of cultures in his organization. We are so grateful to Ron for sharing his story with us and all our followers. As I always say, RON ROCKS!
– Maree Moscati, CEO, Copytalk
Ron Carson
Founder & CEO
Carson Group
How can CEOs and presidents make the financial industry more inclusive to women?
Ron: We ask this question all the time, but who is really doing something about it? We’ve got some major initiatives that we’re going to be announcing soon. Within our organization, we give scholarships to women that want to come into financial services, and we have teamed up with AAAA Foundation to support initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help African American students forge successful careers in the financial planning profession.
We’re getting aggressive. We are putting real resources behind this problem to make serious in-roads in this area, and that’s how deep we all need to go.
Share with us one of your “oops” moments that then allowed you to “turn it around.”
Ron: I used to be a micromanager, and that not only is not any fun, but it hinders your growth. You need to hire the best people you can find and get the heck out of their way. It’s your job to be a librarian and not the entire library of information. There’s just too much information out there, so one of the greatest things I learned to say was, “I don’t know, but I know how to find out. Let me lean on my network, and I’ll get you the answer.”
For the first half of my life, I was at a ten on the uptight scale. Now I’m at a one, and even when we’re in “get shit done” mode at Carson, I maybe get up to a three and a half or a four. It’s made the biggest difference in my life. I really like living on the left side of the one to ten scale just in terms of letting things roll.
Tell us something about yourself that most people aren’t aware of.
Ron: I would say there are a few things. I went to auctioneering school when I was a freshman in high school, and so when we do charity events, I cry those auctions, and people are surprised that I can do that.
Also, I grew up on a farm outside of Omaha, and I’m still a plant-based farmer, mostly corn and soybeans, with some wheat, oats, and alfalfa. We’re trying to get a permit from the state in order to raise hemp. I would describe myself as a hippie CEO, which I think surprises people when they meet me.
Another key thing that may surprise people is that what really drives me is my desire to have a bigger impact on the world, and I know the more successful Carson is, the bigger positive impact I can have on causes that I’m passionate about.
What was unique about narrating your audiobook during COVID?
Ron: Well first, it took forty-some hours to narrate eight hours. I think I underestimated how hard it is to narrate a book because I’ve never done it before.
But in general, I talked about how, it’s horrific, and I don’t want anybody to get sick or anybody to die, but especially at that time, it seemed like COVID-19 was bringing the world together. We rallied around something we were all terrified of.
Then I talked a lot about how service is going to be delivered. I think forever after COVID-19, people are going to be more comfortable with digital interactions, especially some of our older clients who previously always wanted to come in for meetings, but now they realize that Zoom is really easy, and why would they want to fight traffic?
Bio:
Ron Carson is founder and CEO of Inc. 5000 firm Carson Group, a Barron’s Hall-of-Fame wealth advisor, one of Forbes’ top wealth advisors in America, radio talk show host and New York Times bestselling author.
Throughout his 37-year career as a financial advisor and industry icon, Ron has always believed in fulfilling a deep-seated purpose to be the most trusted for financial advice – to provide families and individuals with straightforward guidance and full transparency when it comes to planning their financial future. This mission – and Ron’s own success as one of the most celebrated and respected independent advisors in the country – has attracted the attention of thousands of advisors hungry for a recipe for success in improving their own businesses and better serving their clients.