First Command – A Financial Planning Company that Walks their Talk

I’ve worked for a lot of startups and I love the rush of getting something started and seeing it grow. I’ve worked in a field that barely existed when I graduated from college. Very few companies I work with are even 10 years old. I love what I do, but I’ve gotten an inside view of another type of company.

Now that I’m married to a financial planner and through him I’ve got to experience another kind of business. One that’s been here a while. First Command financial planning company celebrates 50 years in business this year. They started off helping military families and now serve middle class America who want to plan for the future financially.

Here’s what impresses me about First Command:

Honesty. In good times fraud and cheating may go unnoticed, but not in today’s economy. Attitudes have changed quickly. Instead of being envious of the rich who flaunt their wealth, people have come to despise that. People have gotten reason back. I don’t think First Command ever lost that. They recently went through an intense audit and again I saw honesty and providing a good service at a good value. I appreciate their honest approach to business.

First Command treats their people well and reward the right things. Since First Command plans for the future they don’t have to panic at the last minute. They focus on training and developing their top performers for the long term. When we go to First Command events I can expect it to be well done and they do things with class. They take care of the small details to create a great atmosphere and get feedback on how to improve. They clearly reward success.

Values. The company isn’t panicking because of the economy. They have reserves. They apply the principles they use to guide their clients to financial security. I plan to post about their credit card and bank because it’s first class. Also, the company upholds values of integrity, loyalty, and freedom. They value marriage and families.

When my husband travels he’s not exposed to cheating and partying (they have fun but it’s not way out of control). There are examples of strong relationships – even in our office it is like family. We have a great time together.

At First Command’s 50th anniversary gala this month we talked to the person next to us at breakfast. He taught us about building a strong marriage. I learned from him and respected him by the time we finished eating. I have experiences like this regularly.

First Command seems to have aligned themselves with the values the military holds but seems to have strayed from. It’s like what network marketing wants to be but rarely achieves. In both, people own their own business but still have oversight from a parent company. Both preach values and tend to be creative and amazing at rewarding their top performers.

Every business has problems. Like many older companies there are things to grapple with. They’re not immune. I just have a lot of respect from what I’ve seen up close for the past eight months. I think my husband has been with them for 8 years now. I have never been with any company that long.

It’s been a stressful time of changes which I heard about while we were dating. But unlike other companies where they have clamped down on everything and hurt morale tremendously, the tone of the company is supportive. It is not condemning, distrustful, or threatening.

This week we had some important decisions, they met with the office and gave him advice, but they trusted their advisers and staff to come up with a solution. I just got a call from Stephen about a solution that looks like it will work. We’re both sleeping better!

Trust has never been more important and from my view, First Command is a company that deserves that trust.

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