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Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines

Practice Management > Marketing and Communications > Client Outreach

The Lesson Joe Biden Just Gave Your Clients

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What You Need to Know

  • Biden made the decision that is right for him and his community. Your client can do the same.

When ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked President Joe Biden on July 7 if he’d be willing to end his reelection campaign, the president replied, “If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that.”

On July 15, amid further calls to drop out of the race, Biden told NBC News’ Lester Holt, “Look, I’ve been doing this a long time … my mental acuity’s been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long, long time in three and a half years. So, I’m willing to be judged on that.”

While everyone was focused on the president’s words as his defense of remaining in office, I heard something different. I heard an elderly person insist, despite their children’s concerns about their physical and mental incapacity, that they can still drive a car.

“I’ve been driving ever since I was a teenager!”

“I haven’t had a ticket, or an accident, or an incident in decades. So what’s the problem? I just had a bad night. Look at my record.”

Joe Biden’s insistence that he will be able to perform as well over the next four years as he has over past the half-century is a classic attitude among seniors who can no longer be trusted to safely operate a motor vehicle.

So how did Joe finally decide to exit the race — to quit driving? We can thank the persistent, carefully worded and often delicately phrased encouragement that he was given by others — commentary that helped the president reach the decision to quit. In the end, his decision was for his sake, his health, his legacy.

Yes, his past has been admirable. Yes, his track record is strong. But that’s not what this has been about. Joe Biden’s situation had nothing to do with the fact that he’s been a good driver, that he paid his auto insurance bills timely, that he hadn’t been involved in many accidents.

Rather, it was all about his ability to continue performing safely in the future. Yet, Joe Biden was in denial. Thus, it took a lot of people a lot of effort and repetition to persuade him to surrender the car keys.

You will be in his same situation one day. More likely, you will have clients in that situation even sooner — and when you do, it’s up to you to help them realize they need to stop driving, before they hurt themselves or others.

Help them acknowledge that their reflexes aren’t what they used to be, that they are placing themselves and others at risk by their continuing to drive. By joining with their children, doctors, other professionals such as their lawyer and accountant and even the DMV, you can help your clients understand that the time has come to step aside.

Confronted with this reality, people fret over their loss of freedom. How will they get where they need to go? Well, that’s what Lyft and Uber, and delivery services like Amazon, are for.

And a great way to help them see the importance of accepting their new reality is to simply invite them to look at the leadership demonstrated by Joe Biden. He voluntarily chose to step aside.

Sure, it took some persuasion, repetition and gentle and loving encouragement, but in the end, he made the decision that is right for him and his community. You (your client) can do the same.

You need to engage with your clients about their (or their parents’) situation. When the time comes, we need to help each other make the decisions we are often unable to make entirely on our own.


Ric Edelman is an author and founder of the RIA Edelman Financial Engines (earlier Edelman Financial Services). He now leads the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.


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