The Values Volumes: Be Big

July 30, 2026 YeBu® News & Events By: Tricia Lowney

Earlier this year, we began our exploration of The BIGs – YeskeBuie‘s six core values that were co-created by our team – by introducing you to how, when, and where our values system was created. We followed that up by doing a deep dive into Client Big, the guiding value from which all others flow, at the heart of which you sit. Today, we move to our grounding value. If Client Big informs our highest and best purpose, Be Big requires our team to show up as our best selves to serve that purpose – to serve you.

How can we show up and Be Big together?

Be Big acts as an anchor for our values system, sitting at the bottom of the circle and mirroring Client Big, because to Be Big is to show up with our whole being – to always embrace our fiduciary duty, to take accountability and ownership for every action, to commit to our communication agreements, and to be authentic to ourselves and our purpose in serving you.

As we move through our lives, both at work and at home, we embody Be Big by cultivating humility, empathy, and genuine connections with everyone we meet. It shows up in how we build our team, how we communicate, and how we put the interests of you, our Clients, first.

When we say “Be Big,” what we mean is that…

We believe that every great organization is a living system that invests in its social capital.

This value starts before someone even joins the firm. Our interview process includes spending two full hours with the entire YeskeBuie Team. The first hour is spent connecting with the potential team member over lunch, getting to know them as a person. The second is a real conversation about our core values and how the candidate sees themself living each one. It’s how we ensure alignment with who we are, what we do, and our overall goal of offering human-centered, evidence-based financial planning to Clients looking to Live Big^®.

When we welcome a new member to the team, Be Big keeps showing up. It shows up in our required (or rather, inspired) readings: “Honest, Direct, Respectful,” “Think Again,” and “The Investment Answer.” It shows up in our Communication Agreements. And it shows up in the regular rhythms of our various all-hands meetings, where we check in, give feedback, and hold each other to showing up The YeskeBuie Way^®.

Be Big helps us stay true to the highest standard of excellence that Elissa and Dave set when they founded YeskeBuie.

Be Big Spotlight: Retreat

Every year, our team renews our commitment to our values at a firm-wide retreat, remembering how those values became rooted in who we are. This year, the team traveled to Dawn Ranch in Guerneville, CA, for four days to explore the Hero’s Journey.

We circled up in large group discussions, using Brené Brown’s TED Talk on The Power of Vulnerability as a jumping-off point, talking honestly about what it means to be seen. In smaller breakout sessions, we spent time exploring the stories that have shaped who we are, which stories no longer serve us, and how we continue to grow and change as we move through life.

We kept coming back to a line from Joseph Campbell:

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

It’s easy to hear that as a line about one person’s growth, but we talked about it as a team, which meant it became about our growth, too. This intensive, introspective work – the workshop sessions and the time spent together over meals, playing board games, and in the “in between” moments – helps us further the firm’s mission and deepen our connection to our Clients, to each other, and to our communities.

How Does Be Big Show Up For You, Our Clients?

Be Big might feel like internal, team-based work, but you are a part of our team, too. In fact, we couldn’t do the work we do without you. Everything we do is in service of you. And so, our team members commit to Be Big so they can show up to serve you in more robust ways. Be Big shows up in…

The YeskeBuie Way^®: We commit to and dedicate ourselves to upholding our highest standard of excellence.
Our Communication Work: We focus on strengthening team communication and on being honest, direct, respectful, and aware (what we refer to as “HDRA”). We have communication agreements, created by the team, that we adhere to. We train and practice active listening and comfort with silence and how to ask open-ended questions so we can truly listen to and hear what you have to share with us.
Financial Planning Team Training: Our Financial Planning Team members attend FPA Residency for a deep dive in relationship, listening, and presentation skills. And they also attend MoneyQuotient training which requires them to go through the discovery process and use the tools on themselves. Being willing to do the work on ourselves allows us to be fully present and empathetic with you when we engage in your Discovery Meeting and anytime we’re learning more about you.
Our Culture of Accountability and Ownership Mentalities: We take immediate accountability when a mistake happens and share with the team so everyone can learn and the mistake is never repeated.

Be Big means reaching out and engaging with all the world has to offer. Growing and developing, both professionally and personally, is how that value takes shape, transforming from an idea into a reality.

Embracing Vulnerability and Centering You

Embodying Be Big (through vulnerability, personal accountability, and authenticity) is a cornerstone of our culture. By embracing our relationships with and responsibilities to one another, we are empowered to build the world we demand. Investment in YeskeBuie’s social capital allows us to push each other forward as a strong, unified team.

And every ounce of work we put into being wholly with each other is work we’re doing for you. We believe that a team that has embraced both our strengths and our humanity is a team that shows up for you at its best. We can enter every interaction as our true selves so that you feel you have the space to do the same. That’s what Be Big has always been about.