When I was much, much younger, the most noble thing a person could do was "speak truth to power." Now my view of truth and power is more nuanced. Those people who bring important truths to light, and who use their power for good, are the ones who influence us most deeply.

Why am I telling you all this? It has to do, of course, with our fortieth-anniversary Influencer project. We are looking to honor those practitioners who have had the greatest, most positive effect on the financial planning industry. Expect to hear more about this project soon—on our website and by email.

In the meantime, today's business continues. In 2010, today's business means working on your business, whether to build on last year's growth or to repair last year's damage. We want to help you do that—so we've teamed up with Stephanie Bogan, of Quantuvis Consulting, to share the results of her groundbreaking research on best practices. Bogan is one of my favorite Influencers because she grounds her ideas in both rigorous research and practical experience. In this issue, the first of her four reports talks about how top-performing practices invest in themselves and set priorities, and features tips on how you can apply her research to your own practice. You'll find her report here.

But wait, there's more. The legal and regulatory worlds are full of tumult, much of which is discussed on these pages. Let's talk estate planning for a moment: This is a year of complete chaos. The estate tax has gone pfft, evaporated into thin air—but is set to return, at punitive levels, come next year. Meanwhile, the rules for the "no-tax" era are unbelievably complicated. Dealing with the ramifications is a brainteaser—but also a real opportunity to prove your value, and columnist Martin Shenkman shows you the way here.

Please be in touch with us. We'd love to know who has influenced you.

— Marion Asnes, editor in chief

Marion Asnes became the editor of Financial Planning magazine in 2005. Financial Planning is the leading professional magazine for independent financial planners and has a circulation of 115,000. The topics covered on its pages range from industry news and trends to sophisticated discussions of portfolio management, estate planning and philanthropy. Asnes is the first female editor in chief of Financial Planning in the magazine's 38-year history.

Before joining Financial Planning, Asnes was a senior editor at Money, participating in the magazine’s coverage of personal finance, retirement, investment and health care issues. Her areas of expertise included retirement and 401(k) planning, asset allocation, estate planning and the particular financial challenges faced by women. In addition to her regular editorial duties at Money, Asnes co-edited Money for Women, an annual special issue that was featured exclusively on “The Today Show” on NBC.

A 27-year service journalism veteran, Asnes has contributed to a long list of national publications including Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, More, Mirabella, Working Woman and Lear's. She has spoken at conferences and symposia ranging from the National Endowment for Financial Education’s Retirement Summit to the National Football League’s Rookie Symposium. In addition, Asnes has appeared on national television programs as an expert on financial and economic topics including CNN, CNN Headline News, NBC's Today, ABC's 20/20, PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor.

Asnes graduated with a B.A. from Cornell University.