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Every day, Chris Fils follows a plan for success.
It starts with him getting up at 4:30 a.m. He goes to the gym, eats breakfast and drives to the office. In the car, he listens to audio books and podcasts, not wanting to waste a single moment when some inspiration can sink in.
His work day is planned out, too: time for checking in with his team, meeting people for lunch, going to meetings and working on projects. After work, there’s networking time. It’s a schedule designed to help Fils accomplish the most each day.
Fils is the complex manager for the Raymond James & Associates Suncoast Complex, which includes the Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Venice branches. The job is a homecoming of sorts for Fils, who grew up in Fort Myers. “It’s very entrepreneurial,” he says. “It’s exciting.”
He’s returned to Florida after serving as one of the youngest branch managers at Morgan Stanley, where he ran the San Francisco Bay Area-Los Gatos branch. He achieved the role at a young age, he says, by doing it the hard way. He networked, put his clients and team ahead of himself and just plain outworked everyone else. “I was determined to do it,” Fils says.
Another key to his success, he says, was getting help from mentors. “They wouldn’t sugarcoat,” he says. “They would give me feedback whether it was positive or negative.” They offered important specifics: Here’s what you have to do to get better.
The experience working in California and New York helped prepare Fils for his current role. “The mix of Silicon Valley and Wall Street really helped me gain more experience, and I can relate to more people and more advisers,” he says. “To do what I love and be in my backyard, it’s a priceless opportunity.”
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