Tag: Team Culture
Behind the Scenes: The People Who Keep Your Financial Life Moving (Ep. 14)

Behind the Scenes: The People Who Keep Your Financial Life Moving (Ep. 14)

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When it comes to financial planning, it’s often the behind-the-scenes teamwork that makes everything work seamlessly.

In this episode of Living Beyond the Numbers, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with two of The Planning Center’s client service specialists, Marisa Hardwick (Chicago) and Blake Murphy-Skelley (Moline), to spotlight the people who make sure every account, transfer, and detail is handled with care.

Together, they pull back the curtain on what it really means to serve clients well, solving problems quietly, building trust, and creating a sense of calm even during life’s most stressful moments. From handling RMD season to comforting clients after loss, Marisa and Blake share how empathy, precision, and teamwork bring The Planning Center’s mission to life every day.

What to expect:

  • The role client service specialists play in delivering peace of mind
  • How small details and follow-ups create big client trust
  • What happens behind the scenes during transfers and RMD season
  • The emotional heart of financial service and why it matters

Discover the care, coordination, and human connection that keep your financial life running smoothly.

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Marisa Hardwick:

Connect with Blake Murphy-Skelley:

About our Guests:

As a Client Services Specialist, Marisa Hardwick’s responsibilities include providing administrative support to our financial planners and excellent customer service to our clients. With a background in healthcare services and working in residential life as a Resident Advisor while in college, it has always been a passion of hers to help those in need. Marisa strives to foster a supportive environment for our team, assuring they can depend on her to deliver top-notch service to our clients.

Blake Murphy-Skelley’s responsibility as a Client Services Specialist is to assist all clients of The Planning Center and members of our team. He has been working in customer service since he was 14 years old and is glad to be bringing that knowledge and experience to The Planning Center. Blake wants to provide a safe space for clients to feel comfortable as soon as they walk through the front door.

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Balancing Priorities and Protecting What Matters with Matt Mercer (Ep. 8)

Balancing Priorities and Protecting What Matters with Matt Mercer (Ep. 8)

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What does a theater degree have to do with running a financial planning firm?

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with Matt Mercer, Chief Operating Officer and shareholder at The Planning Center, to talk about leadership, priorities, and the hidden work that keeps client relationships running smoothly. Matt shares how his theater background shaped his approach to people, process, and change, and why curiosity beats judgment when challenges arise. He opens up about the lessons of fatherhood, the mantra “you can do anything, not everything,” and what it means to put the right people in the right work. Listeners will hear how operations act like WD-40, removing friction so clients feel cared for, and why cooling down after change matters as much as the change itself.

What to expect:

  •  How curiosity creates trust in leadership and planning
  • Why “right person, right work” is client care in disguise
  • Practical rhythms for balancing work and family
  • Change management lessons that actually stick
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Matt Mercer:

About Our Guest:

As the Chief Operating Officer at The Planning Center, Matt Mercer focuses on optimizing our people, processes, technology, and compliance. Matt’s role involves everything from setting the company’s strategic plan to supporting our operations staff in their daily workflows, onboarding, and training on new technologies, updating internal processes, and overseeing special projects.

After graduating from St. Ambrose University with my B.A. in Theatre, Matt spent ten years working in Operations with multiple companies in the Quad Cities area. He is fortunate enough that these experiences have brought him to The Planning Center, where he enjoys working with our team. In my role, I aim to help build an efficient infrastructure that assists our advisors to focus on their clients.

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