Everyone,
Tailwind 1.1 has been available for about a month now, and based on the feedback we’ve received so far the upgrades we have included have been beneficial to you. We have been listening to your feedback and we have put many of your suggestions into version 1.1. Our goal is to provide the best tools to assist you in collecting and using financial data from your clients, and we appreciate all of the suggestions we have received. We hope that this release demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement of our products – The tool we provide today is better than the tool you used just a short while ago. And we will improve them yet again in the near future. But for now, let’s talk about what’s new in version 1.1!
You can view version 1.1 in two ways: First, we refined what we debuted at COW College 2009. Secondly, we have expanded the role of Tailwind’s products. We started life as a data collection tool: Now we are a data collection and distribution platform. Because there are lots of changes worth discussing, I will start with discussing one of the major changes in this article and then talk about the other changes in subsequent articles.
The first thing I’d like to talk about is the integration of Tailwind with the Circle of Wealth process. In version 1.0 we included some steps into the product, but in version 1.1 we’ve included all Ten Steps into the Tailwind workflow plus a rich set of instructional materials from MoneyTrax, including tips, videos, audio recordings and supplemental documents.
The integration of the Ten Steps starts on the main screen, where you can see all ten steps available as views on the left sidebar. To the left is a screenshot of part of the main screen sidebar. Notice that each COW step is listed in the sidebar, including a number indicating how many of your clients have last completed that step. To see the cases that just completed that step, simply click on that line in the sidebar, and then click on a case to open that case.
The case screen in version 1.1 is designed to give you more information instantly. We added a workflow bar which shows you at a glance which phase (Collect, Verify, Leverage, or Implement) your case is in. If a phase is green and checked, that phase is complete. The Workflow bar also shows you whether the case is Open, Completed, Suspended or Canceled; and the number of follow-up flags (items the client flagged for discussion with you).


When you move your mouse over one of the phases, a popup menu will open, showing you which steps in that phase have been completed. The Collect phase menu is shown on the left. You can check or uncheck any step to indicate whether or not it’s complete. You can also click on the text of the step to view instructions on what to do to complete that step.
There are other functions also available under the Collect menu. You can send the questionnaire to the client, control client notifications (if you’re filling out the questionnaire on behalf of the client you may want to disable client notifications), and control whether or not to include Insights profiles in this case.
This menu also shows whether or not the Insights Profile reports are available, and when was the last time the client logged in, which is useful to determine whether or not your client is doing their part.
Final Thoughts
This is the first of many changes in version 1.1 we’ll be discussing on this blog. Many of you have probably also noticed that some features have been added to Tailwind 1.1 since the release. An example is the Last Client Login indicator, which was added about two weeks ago because a client asked us to put it in. Continuous improvement is a core value at Tailwind, and if we get a great suggestion from you, we will definitely put it on the list of planned improvements.
Tune in very soon for more articles on what’s new in Tailwind 1.1. And if you have a special topic of interest, please feel free to comment on the blog, or contact us as iwish@tailwindfs.com.