A Client called me Doug Ireland
A client today called me Doug Ireland…
I had no idea who he was…
My client explained…
Doug Ireland is a character in “For Love of Money” (The Concierge) played by Michael J Fox.
Doug is a concierge at a luxurious hotel in New York.
Doug is very well-connected and is very good at his job, giving personal attention to guests like Gene Salvatore while occasionally pocketing a big tip. He also helps people who don’t tip as well.
My client explained, this is exactly what you do.
You are well connected and are able to support us in whatever we need through your network, and you provide us with the personal attention we need to ensure we are on track to become financially free. We pay you a fair fee for the services you provide, however we know you also help and support people that cannot afford your services.
However, this is the bit that got me…
Doug’s dream is to open his own hotel.
He has saved every cent and obtained an option on an old hotel.
But he only has a few weeks to begin development and needs at least $3m immediately to start the development or it goes back to the city.
Doug’s best chance is Christian Hanover, a somewhat unscrupulous billionaire.
Christian considers the proposal and asks Doug to “take care” of his mistress, Andy Hart.
Christian has been leading Andy on, making her believe that he was divorcing his wife.
Doug learns that Christian is deceiving Andy about getting a divorce.
But because his hotel proposal is urgent and Andy is old enough to make her own decisions, he doesn’t intervene.
Andy learns that a document Christian has asked Doug to sign was intended to permit the billionaire to take over the hotel project and force Doug out.
My client explained, this is like the media and our politicians, driving financial planners out of the industry and pushing the cost of advice up.
That hit a bit different – that a client could articulate what we do and what is happening to the financial planning industry through this simple analogy…
I won’t be holding my breath waiting for change from the media or our politicians, instead I’ll be watching “For Love or Money” tonight to see what happens with Doug & Andy...
