How we meet change-whether timidly or aggressively-directly affects our chances for success.

Too cautious and we miss opportunities or fall prey to circumstances. If we meet change with full-blown aggression, we can make major missteps that result in disaster. However, there is a middle ground, which encompasses problem solving, strategizing and contemplation followed by action.

This month, managing editor Lee Conrad sat down with Bob McCann, the new chief executive at UBS Wealth Management Americas. In our cover story, "Betting On McCann," Conrad finds out just what approach McCann will take in revitalizing his company. He has built a team and is taking steps to make his advisor force more agile. In fact, he tells Conrad that he wants to bring change to the culture of UBS and be more responsive to the needs of his troops.

By the time you finish this piece, which begins on page 24, you will form your own answer to the question: Will McCann proceed cautiously, aggressively or strategically?

You will also find columnist and psychologist Denise Federer asking a different question of you, our readers: "Why is it that regardless of the facts or information you give clients, some of them will behave unpredictably or irrationally?" Federer offers the answer in her article on page 54 entitled "When Good Clients Behave Badly." She instructs advisors to determine how a client thinks and what motivates that person. Federer goes further giving real-life examples of clients making bad decisions in the face of good advice and tells you how those customers were turned around.

I also encourage you to turn to pages 12 through 15, for our photo montage of the celebration in New York City honoring the Top Ten Branch Managers of the Year, sponsored by MainStay Investments. One of our honorees, Ted Durkin of Merrill Lynch, couldn't make it that night and we did miss him. But you can see the rest of the winners who had a wonderful time dining on the delicious fare provided by Del Posto restaurant and posing for pictures with celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich, the host the Lidia's Italy cooking show.

And if you haven't caught them online already, take a look at video interviews with several of the branch manager winners at onwallstreet.com. They offer insights into their personalities, their firms, their advisors and their achievements.

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