At the most recent Financial Planning Association annual conference in Denver I had a surprising number of advisors enthusiastically approach me to thank me and let me know they love the tools I have created for advisors to deliver Comprehensive Financial Services and have “implemented all my stuff.” This was fascinating to me since, as it turned out, they have not implemented Comprehensive Financial Services as I define it.

As a matter of fact, more often over the past couple of years I have experienced a phenomenon which Bill Bachrach foretold for me to expect where, in his case, after thousands of presentations before industry groups over the years, advisors in large numbers now approach him asserting they love his methods have “implemented all his stuff.”  Again puzzling since Bill frequently discovers they have, in fact, not implemented Values-Based Financial Planning™.  How can this be? How can it be that a financial advisor, who has listened to one or more presentations by an expert describing a big concept, now erroneously, feels they have put the concept into action? 

Then it struck me, this reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my Ideal Clients several years ago.  They had just returned home from one of their many trips to Hawaii; they described the history of Hawaii, their experiences on this trip and how things had changed since they began going there twice a year more than ten years before.  When I commented that they must be the most knowledgeable tourists on the island they both looked up.  Upset. When I asked them what was wrong, they both explained that they did not consider themselves tourists, but rather, after all the time spent in Hawaii, they considered themselves residents of Hawaii.  I pondered this a moment and then thought to myself, “tourists!” My instinct as an experienced advisor was to gently correct them to explain that “residency” has a legal meaning with tax and other financial consequences.   But after seeing their sensitivity about being described as a tourist, I bit my tongue, saw no harm in their little self-deception and quietly moved on to the business of the day. 

The reality is that my clients went to Hawaii decades ago for vacation, they fell in love with the culture and the experience they felt while there and returned more and more often.  But loving the culture and the feeling a place gives to you does not transform you from a tourist, who spends a few weeks a year there, into a resident who has made a greater commitment.  Residents have often shown their commitment in a variety of ways; often moving all their personal possessions there, buying property and cutting ties to the old home.  I feel fairly certain that the permanent residents of Hawaii certainly look at my clients as “tourists.”

Putting two and two together I realized that these financial advisors who heard me speak a couple of times at conferences and who feel they have subsequently implemented “all my stuff,” are well-meaning and charming tourists.  No offense, but they came into my “world of Comprehensive Financial Services” once or twice, loved the culture and the experience they felt while we were together.  I’m sure they implemented something as a result of my talk, but they have not made the commitment that the “permanent residents” of Comprehensive Financial Services have made.  They have not invested the time and energy to build the systems, the processes and the team to deliver what I describe from the platform at conferences.  They’ve moved in the direction of what, in my talks, I communicate, illustrate and counsel regarding Comprehensive Financial Services, but have not taken up full-time residence there.

So the question is this, which are you?  Are you a “permanent resident” who’s made the full commitment and invested the necessary energy to deliver Comprehensive Financial Services through a best in class Deliverables Team of Subject Matter Experts, or are you just a “charming tourist?”