Zingerman's Shares Leadership Philosophy

What do Zingerman’s and The Center have in common? 

Zingerman’s is, of course, the renowned Ann Arbor company noted for its great food and service.   The Center recently hosted a half-day presentation by Zingerman’s at its annual staff retreat, exploring a philosophy known as “servant leadership.”

Giving great service to staff is one of the important components of Zingerman’s great service to its customers.   At its Dec. 16 retreat The Center team learned about this leadership philosophy, and how it can supplement The Center’s long-standing commitment to client service.

An added bonus were all the tasty Zingerman’s  foods we all shared during breakfast!

Gregg Bloomfield, Matt Chope, Amanda Toia, Troy Wyman, Tim Wyman

Jaclyn Jackson, Melissa Cyrus 

Welcome 2012. Nice to Meet You!

On behalf of our 19 team members, Happy New Year! The headlines thus far in 2012 trumpet the rhetoric of a contentious presidential election, difficult economic issues in Europe and beyond, and a rare Detroit Lions appearance in the playoffs. As advisors, we keep the world’s events in mind, but know that your personal milestones are our first priority.

In order to assist you in accomplishing your life goals and achieving financial confidence, we have been working on a variety of initiatives for you.

• In February we will present 2012 Financial Planning & Investment Opportunities at the Bloomfield Township Library. There will be a day and evening session, in addition, a recording for our clients residing across the nation (a few worldwide too!). We will cover a variety of topics, which include the potential income tax landscape as the Bush tax cuts are set to expire. We will also provide a snapshot of today’s investment landscape and share our view of the future. And as always, review our well-grounded investment principles designed to help you appropriately plan while taking into consideration taxes, inflation, and fees.

• Throughout the year we will offer a variety of educational workshops for you and guests. Topics include Social Security (maximizing benefits for those that have yet to begin receiving benefits), Medicare strategies, Social Media (with an emphasis on safe-guarding your privacy in a wired world), and an Investment Forum. These programs are intended to provide sound advice concerning today’s most relevant financial topics, so please feel free to invite your family and friends to share in these educational opportunities.

• As you may know, we have partnered with The Oakland Press and launched our Money Centered Blog that provides actionable advice surrounding many of today’s financial planning and investment opportunities. Under the leadership of Sandy Adams, CFP®, we have enjoyed the opportunity to communicate with you and our community more frequently. This blog is a great way to share our collective experience, judgment and commitment to your well-being with relevant financial planning and investment topics, and it continues to energize our internal conversations and stretch our leadership in the financial planning community. Look for a new post three times per week! We have also launched Center Connections, a blog that will keep you apprised of news, events, and announcements concerning our clients, our team, and The Center.

Since our firm's founding in 1985 our advice, tactics and strategies have changed, but the core tenets of financial planning have remained the same: helping you with your most important goals. Whether it’s a successful retirement, providing education funding for children and grandchildren, or planning the legacy of your estate, our highest satisfaction is not the dollars and cents of a rewarding investment but your accomplishments which our financial conversations can foster.

We look forward to our work together through 2012 and beyond.