Why Culture is the Foundation of Financial Advisory Success
Feb 26, 2026 3:04:56 PM • Written by: Joshua Herrington
I had the opportunity to speak at the Lincoln Financial Enterprise Leadership Session on “Partnership, Growth, and Driving Sales Together” this week in Charlotte.
The discussion centered on a question I spend a great deal of time thinking about: what actually allows a firm to thrive in a globalizing world?
For us, the answer is straightforward: culture must function as an operating system.
At The Pacific Bridge Companies, culture is not aspirational language. It is embedded in the process.
The Five Words. Mahalo. Aloha. Ohana. Pono. Imua. These are not branding elements. They are our core values that guide hiring decisions, onboarding structure, and how we begin each day.
Hiring for character. We look beyond experience to assess self-awareness and accountability. One question I consistently ask is about a candidate’s favorite and least favorite teachers. A résumé reflects history. That answer reflects perspective.
Training to values. Each morning, we rotate through a core value and share specific examples of someone who demonstrated it the prior day. Repetition builds pattern recognition. Over time, gratitude, love, collaboration, integrity, and work ethic become observable and measurable throughout the organization.
Not every environment is designed for everyone. When expectations are explicit and consistently reinforced, alignment becomes clear. That clarity is healthy.
Grateful to Doris Zimmer, CLU, ChFC and Lincoln Financial for the collaboration and thoughtful dialogue.
Alignment precedes growth.
With Aloha and Mahalo,
Joshua
Are You an Aloha Financial Advisor?
Joshua Herrington
Joshua Herrington-Vickers, Managing Director of North America at The Pacific Bridge Companies (TPBC), an international financial planning organization built on a multi-generational mission to transform the way financial services are delivered around the globe. TPBC's foundation is simple but rare in this industry: we believe doing good and doing well are not in conflict, they are symbiotic. Guided by the values of Mahalo, Aloha, Ohana, Pono, and Imua, our work is rooted in genuine care for the advisors we serve, the clients they protect, and the communities they belong to. That's not a tagline. It's how we operate every day across our global presence, with physical offices in Hawaii and Los Angeles and a dedicated Japanese platform serving advisors and clients throughout Japan. My role is to connect global advisors to the resources, ideas, and relationships they need — operating through TPBC's North American platform to serve RIAs, bankers, insurance advisors, attorneys, and CPAs wherever their clients' lives and wealth may lead. Whether a client is a foreign national navigating US financial structures, a first-generation family bridging two countries, or a high-net-worth individual with assets spanning multiple jurisdictions, I help advisors access cross-border planning alternatives and a global network of specialists across insurance, banking, investment, tax, and law that they simply can't build on their own. On the technology front, I serve on the NAIFA National Artificial Intelligence Task Force and lead global regional study groups with MDRT members focused on how advisors can practically and responsibly leverage AI in their practice. In an industry built on trust and relationships, understanding how AI changes the game — and how it doesn't — matters more than ever right now. Beyond the work, I serve on the Board of Trustees for Jammin for the Camp Corp, supporting Hoosier Burn Camp for young burn survivors. I mentor graduating students at San Francisco State University and volunteer as a Commander's Key Support Liaison with the United States Air Force, supporting unit families and community resilience. Outside the office, I play competitive games that reward pattern recognition and disciplined thinking — Top 1% on Tetris Effect Connected. If you're on Chess.com, send a match request: username Just-A-Dad. If your clients' lives cross borders, let's talk.