When Amazon’s Kindle arrived last year it first seemed like bleeding edge, then a novelty. Being an early adopter, I put my toes in the water and started using one. It solved some issues for me, being a frequent traveler. Rather than choosing one book, I could have all the books I was currently reading “fit” into my shoulder bag and come along on the trip.
Much like the iPod and Apple’s iTunes Store – the Kindle shops from Amazon.com and can buy books, magazines, blogs and other digital media. It supports Audible, MP3’s and a few other unprotected media formats. Also like the iPod, it is a fairly closed architecture in that it supports some open standards – but is tied to its manufacturer and most value comes from the manufacturer’s store. While I am not a DRM fan as I believe business models have shown that non-DRM media can make money – I also believe it is opening new markets like the iPod did and am willing to be patient as the business model expands.
From a wealth management perspective, I also started thinking about how I could use this device in the workplace, with advisors and staff.
In discussing this with peers I found the same pain point that comes up in conversations about wealth management – on boarding. This process of bringing on a new branch office, advisor or staff member is constantly fraught with bumps and bruises and the challenge of making transition (aka change) less frustrating.
Boiled down - there are four key areas of the transition:
- Administrative – depending upon your business model – licensing and registration, insurance, contracts and fees
- Accounts and Clients – moving your book(s) of business
- Access – getting access to new products and services, systems and support teams
- Learning – understanding how this all works in a new environment
Depending upon the organization you are joining – these steps can be systematized and a path of process and workflow, or a well-managed yet paper-based exercise. Either way – many groups do a good job, and others less so. The challenge is frequently in how you frame the expectations around a transition and how you deliver the materials to aid in the process. This is where I see an opportunity to put the Kindle to work.
Depending upon your needs, this could be the Kindle or its bigger brother, the Kindle DX. The difference is in screen size (6” versus 9.7”), capacity and PDF support (one via a conversion and the DX supports them natively). I gravitated to the DX as a wealth management tool. With it I can deliver a device that contains all of the PDF documents necessary for conversion (forms, manuals, procedural documents), subscriptions to relevant financial outlets (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Investors Business Daily, etc) and as a bonus pre-load it with books conducive to the organization’s outlook and philosophy. Additionally – with its support for conversion of Microsoft Office documents, text files, HTML files and even groups of documents within a ZIP file – the value goes up.
Thus with a single device, I can kick off the transition process with the documents, resources and information necessary to begin the four steps aforementioned. It will not replace system’s processes – but goes a long way to replacing numerous emails, paper-based binders and other information that is not always easily handed off without seeming burdensome. The $489 price tag seems low – per person – when considering the time and energy (and materials costs) of assembling the transition bundle to hand off to an incoming individual or team.
Of course it does not handle the transition for you – as that remains an important relationship process – it vastly simplifies the delivery of required and ancillary information.
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