Ribs, AI, and the Secret Sauce to Scaling Wealth Management Companies

A few weeks ago, I had family in town. Naturally, I broke out the smoker and went with a classic: 3 2 1 ribs.

If you’ve never smoked ribs before, 3 2 1 is a tried and true method.
Three hours on smoke.
Two hours wrapped in foil with moisture.
One final hour unwrapped to glaze and finish.

It’s a simple process, but skip a step and you ruin the meal.
The ribs come out dry, tough, or flavorless.

And that got me thinking. AI in wealth management works the same way.

AI isn’t a magic trick. It’s a recipe

Wealth firms are excited about AI, and for good reason.
But too many are jumping straight to tools and outputs without following a proven process.

Just like good barbecue, you need the right ingredients, timing, and method
Otherwise, you end up with half baked results that no one wants to serve.

Here’s what the 3 2 1 method can teach us about adopting AI the right way and how it connects directly to the Elev8te 9 step roadmap.

3 Hours: Let the Data Smoke
Roadmap Steps 1 to 3: Leadership, Team Dynamics, and Change Readiness

Before you add AI to anything, your foundation needs to be right. That means

• Aligning leadership on the why
• Creating buy in across teams
• Preparing the culture for change
• Making sure your data is structured and accessible

According to Accenture, 97% of financial firms are investing in AI, but only 26% say they’re ready to scale it

The biggest reason why? Poor alignment and bad data.

This is the smoke phase. Let it do its work.

2 Hours: Wrap It in Use Cases
Roadmap Steps 4 to 6: Story, Goals, and Technology Gaps

Once the foundation is warm, wrap the meat and lock in the moisture.
For AI, this means wrapping your strategy in clear, practical use cases:

• Automate meeting prep
• Predict client attrition
• Classify service tickets
• Flag risky transactions

McKinsey reports that firms using automation and AI tools reduce onboarding time by 30-50%.

These are not futuristic experiments. These are high value quick wins that build trust in the process and confidence in the results.

1 Hour: Unwrap and Sauce It
Roadmap Steps 7 to 9: Strategic Roadmap, Implementation, and Scale

Now it’s time to show the work. Let the firm see what AI can really do:

• Client summaries powered by AI
• Predictive alerts in CRM
• Advisor dashboards with proactive recommendations
• Chat tools for service teams

Capgemini found that AI enhanced CRM tools lead to a 25% boost in advisor productivity and up to 20% more revenue per advisor

But don’t skip the taste test. AI only scales when it’s aligned with operations and integrated into the workflow

The 3 2 1 Process Works for Ribs and for AI

Whether you’re cooking for family or scaling your firm, you need a proven process
The Elev8te roadmap works because it brings the right steps in the right order. Just like 3 2 1 ribs.

Too many firms want the results without doing the prep
But just like tough ribs, AI without process is hard to swallow

Ready to get it right

Let’s build your AI strategy like a pitmaster. Slow, intentional, and built to serve

Schedule a FREE strategy session below.

-Ed Wright