Adviser 3.0 Archives - Financial Planning in Surrey

How Was it for You? My First Podcast Interview

Dominic Thomas
Post written: March 2026 • Updated: June 2026
3 min read

How Was it for You? My First Podcast Interview

I was asked to do a podcast interview for Adviser 3.0, which is a podcast aimed at financial planners, so a relatively small audience. I was concerned that I wouldn’t have much to say of value, which gave me some anxiety about how I might be received by my peers. I don’t run the biggest or most profitable firm, I don’t have ambitions to conquer the UK or have any brilliant new technology to offer. I don’t have a book, podcast or software to promote, I am not the most qualified or revered expert, I have a track record, experience and yet still make mistakes, still face struggles, still fail to have brilliant answers to age old problems. So a sense of vulnerability through exposure provided me with a sense of “I have little of new value to contribute”. The fact that I verbalised this to the team at Adviser 3.0 was met with reassurance, but if I’m honest, didn’t negate the feelings. So I was curious about how things would go.

Imposter Syndrome – But I’m Still A Work In Progress

The interview was OK, it wasn’t designed to be interrogatory, or particularly investigative. I am not good at assessing my own performance, I can assure you that I have no harsher critic than myself, I know what I can be capable of and am often disappointed by the reality.

The experience was a new one for me, held in a proper Shoreditch studio, with a technician, but also being filmed. I quickly appreciated what I knew to be true, (but had not experienced) that this isn’t normal discourse, where ideas and thoughts are exchanged back and forwards across a table, but the requirement for precision, clarity of thought and structure. I’m not media trained.

As topics were raised, I responded in the moment as best I could, but was conscious of lacking a sharpness that is often desired for these things. I moderated my tone and language (or tried to) with the aim of drawing others in rather than being confrontational and abrasive to prompt response (which is my default setting). On reflection, it felt as though each subject was very lightly touched upon, I didn’t make enough of them and I felt that I’d been a bit too lightweight. I didn’t provide enough “a-ha” moments or friction and to be honest, to me everything is connected – money, power, culture, technology, the planet and our own human need to make sense of things. I felt that I wasn’t feisty or provocative enough.

On reflection, (which for me means a disturbed night of little sleep, waking at 4am to ponder getting up to reflect more formally) I found myself wishing that I had made some better choices about what was said, phrased things better, offered up better examples and personalised the challenges rather more. I wish my mind was not so full (or scattered) that I couldn’t readily recall the material that supported my positions, or the anecdotes and metaphors that may have helped add weight and colour.

Controversy Gets Attention

It wasn’t a bad experience, it was “OK enough”. It’s not going to be a hugely successful podcast for them (if they deem it fit to even use it). I understand why controversy works. Like all skills, I need more practice and unfortunately that means more work, a lot of it, on the way I do these things. My ego will take a few dents and some will attempt to be reassuring and kind. I know I can do better and it’s important to me, because my clients and team are important to me. I want to be clear in communicating; genuinely listening properly, deeply and helping to shape thoughts and hopes whilst acknowledging fears, reality and uncertainty. As I knew would be the case, I reaffirmed that I have much to improve upon.

So this is the start of that. You can view the interview here if you wish, the podcast is not designed for clients, but for advisers, helping us all do a better job for you. Iron sharpening iron and all that. As a result, it’s loaded with assumptions, jargon and sector hot topics that are naturally unhelpful or at least not terribly interesting. So it’s a bit “behind the curtain” with mainly practical issues that challenge those of us in the field.

Video embedded link (provided by Timeline):

References:

Adviser 3.0 Podcast: https://adviser3point0.co/podcast

What do we do: https://www.solomonsifa.co.uk/what-we-do/

Who we work with: https://www.solomonsifa.co.uk/refer-us/

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Do I have enough? Reflections on Adviser 3.0

Matt Loadwick
Post written: May 2026 • Published: May 2026
2 min read

Do I have enough? Reflections on Adviser 3.0

Last week I attended Timeline’s Adviser 3.0 conference along with Daniel & Jemima. I also attended the conference last year, in what was my first experience of a financial services industry conference. I was pleasantly surprised by the brightness and energy of the event (it was ‘carnival’ themed after all…) and this year was a similarly vibrant occasion!

We had the privilege of attending some thought-provoking talks from industry leaders, kicked off with Morgan Housel, the author of Psychology of Money (Dominic has handed out a good few copies of this book and we have some left – so please email [email protected] if you would like a free copy – it’s a good read!).

Morgan’s focus is on how human behaviour affects financial outcomes, as opposed to thinking of finance as a science. He’s an excellent communicator, utilising the art of storytelling to get across his sharp and incisive points. Reflecting on his session, one of the points that resonated with me was the poignant question put to the audience, “do I have enough?”

This hugely important question is key to financial success, and our satisfaction with life itself. Morgan sees this reflection as something that should be exercised regularly. It is not some state of enlightenment that we all reach (as great as that would be); rather it’s an ongoing process of reflection, a process that I intend to do more regularly!

With a view to helping advisers connect better with potential clients of all ages, Dr Paul Redmond delivered an insightful and entertaining talk about generations – from Baby Boomers all the way through to Generation Alpha (who have now been succeeded by Generation Beta).

Dr Redmond sought to highlight common trends in each generation, things that arise through shared experiences of technology, culture or societal expectations; all of which are, of course, forever evolving. I was particularly struck by his assertion that in a world where technology has become ever-present, we have lost the experience of boredom, which has in turn had a negative impact on our attention span. The line from Dr Redmond’s slide said rather neatly, “A wealth of information leads to a poverty of attention. Attention is our biggest barrier to success.”

I came away from the conference feeling inspired and full of ideas, which is exactly what you’d hope for from an event such as this. The financial services industry doesn’t always have the best reputation, but the best of the industry offers some excellent people full of bright ideas, who give cause for optimism about the future.