Lessons on Commercial Lending from "Home Alone 2: Lost In New York"

The McCallister family heads out of town for the second year in a row in "Home Alone 2: Lost In New York," and are headed to Miami to celebrate Christmas. The night before the trip, Kevin causes a commotion at the Christmas pageant after his older brother, Buzz, acts out to get the audience laughing during Kevin's big solo. Later that night, Buzz delivers a disingenuous apology to the family, and when it's Kevin's turn he refuses to apologize and wishes to have his own vacation alone. Spoiler alert in case you haven't seen the 1992 holiday classic, Kevin's wish comes true when he gets separated from his family and ends up in New York City while the rest of the McCallisters are in Miami.

Between keeping the staff at the Plaza Hotel, "New York's most exciting hotel experience," on their toes and dodging the recently escaped convicts, the Wet Sticky Bandits, there are some unexpected lessons about commercial lending we can learn from Kevin's escapades in the Big Apple.

Stay focused to avoid major consequences.

A major highlight (read, marketing placement) in the movie is Kevin's latest toy - the Talkboy. It's a portable cassette deck with a built-in microphone that can record and play back audio. While it contributes to many key moments throughout the movie, I would argue the most important one for the plot is at the airport when Kevin needs to replace its AA batteries. The family is late (as usual) and running through the airport to catch their plane, but Kevin is splitting his focus between his family and getting new batteries into his Talkboy. He ends up following a man with a similar coat as his father onto a plane headed for New York instead of Miami.

This serves as a reminder that lack of focus can lead to major mistakes - especially in commercial lending. Staying focused on the details not only helps you stay in compliance and make informed decisions but makes sure you're positioned well to capture new opportunities when they arise.

Trust your gut.

As the family is boarding the plane, Kate, Kevin's mom, is standing by the door to make sure everyone makes it on. The gate agent insists that they will get everyone on and tells her she has to get on the plane. In the original movie, Kate realizes they've left Kevin behind when they're on the plane. In the second movie, she has a feeling of déjà vu as they're settling into their first class seats. "I have that feeling...No, I don't think we did [forget something], but I just have that feeling." If Kate had trusted her gut originally and stayed by the gate to make sure everyone boarded the plane, she wouldn't have been able to stop Kevin from getting on the plane to New York, but she would have been able to get started solving her problem a lot sooner.

It's not that different in commercial lending. Experienced lenders and credit teams can sense when something just isn't right. Whether it's warning signs or red flags, when your gut is telling you something is off - listen to it. It might not mean that something is wrong, but it's better to check early and fix potential issues before getting down the road and realizing you've got a major problem on your hands.

Institutionalize your processes. And follow them.

When Kevin shows up at the Plaza Hotel, he heads to the check-in and is greeted by Mrs. Stone, a no-nonsense woman who is hesitant to check Kevin into the hotel. She questions Kevin and he tells her “I'm traveling with my dad. He’s on business. He's at a meeting. I hate meetings. Plus I'm not allowed to go in. I can only sit in the lobby. That's boring. So my dad dropped me off here. He gave me his credit card and told me to give this to whoever was checking people in so I won't get into mischief. And ma'am, sometimes I do get into mischief. We all do!” Despite the irony that Mrs. Stone doesn't seem like anyone that would ever get into mischief, she reluctantly takes the credit card that belongs to Peter McCallister, "the faaaather" and calls Cedric the bellboy over to take Kevin to his suite. Later, the hotel manager runs the card and discovers that it had been reported as stolen, even though Peter had only reported it to track down where Kevin might be.

Had Mrs. Stone simply followed her processes, a lot of trouble could've been avoided. That's not saying that there isn't gray area or a time to make exceptions. But, in commercial lending it's important to know the processes and understand why they're in place. This helps avoid headaches down the line in your workflow, or worse during an audit.

Don't just scream in the face of risk. Seek to understand it first.

After Kevin leaves the Plaza Hotel and escapes Harry and Marv, he decides to see if his aunt and uncle who are from New York are home. Finding an empty townhome under construction, he starts walking the streets of New York City and encounters a few scary characters. He gets in a cab, and with a sigh of relief he says "It's scary out there!" The cab driver (who might have been the scariest character of them all) turns around and says "Ain't much better in here, kid." Kevin scrambles out of the cab and takes off running through Central Park. When he stops to rest, his foot gets caught between two rocks. The lady he had seen earlier that was covered in pigeons appears and helps him get his foot free. He's so scared he screams in her face and starts to run away before he pauses and says “Look, I’m sorry I screamed in your face. You were just trying to help me, right?… Your birds are really nice. I’ve seen you before. You had pigeons all over you. At first you look kinda scary but when I think about it, it’s not so bad. They must be all over you because they like you.”

Just as Kevin screamed at the pigeon lady, lenders sometimes react impulsively and scream in the face of perceived risk. In Kevin's case, pausing to understand the pigeon lady's intentions led to an unexpected alliance that actually paid off big time in the end. In the same way, bankers should seek to understand and assess risk rather than simply avoiding it. And who knows, taking time to understand a new borrower’s business model might lead to one of your most profitable relationships!

Remember the importance of community.

After befriending the pigeon lady, Kevin asked if she'd like to get some hot chocolate - his treat. He suggested getting out of Central Park and going someplace warm, and she lets him know that she knows the perfect place. She ends up taking him to the storage and lighting room at Carnegie Hall to hear the symphony. As they talk, Kevin asks her questions about her past and finds out that it's been several years since she's actually had a conversation with someone. Kevin says “I always think I'll have a lot of fun if I'm alone, but when I'm alone it isn't that much fun at all.”

Kevin realizes the value of community - which is important in banking, too. Commercial lending is all about community and building strong relationships, both with clients and between your teams. Building strong relationships can lead to referrals, new business opportunities, and a more collaborative approach to commercial lending.

Learn from your past.

Harry and Marv, the newly re-branded Sticky Bandits only thought they had learned from their previous mistakes and underestimated Kevin McCallister's innovation and ingenuity. Even though Harry brought it up, Marv insisted "This ain't like the last time. This ain't his house. The kid's running scared. He ain't got a plan." Turns out Marv was wrong and should have learned from the past. The duo even fell for a slightly different versions of the same booby traps as before. The Sticky Bandits end up truly earning their name with the final trick Kevin had up his sleeve – they are coated in varnish, chasing Kevin into Central Park just before they're covered in pigeon feathers and arrested.

For bankers, learning from experience is critical. It's important to take time after each deal to reflect on what went well and what didn't. What could have been improved or done differently? Did any red flags or warning signs emerge that were overlooked? Taking the time to debrief and learn from past experiences can help prevent making the same mistake twice.

"Home Alone 2: Lost In New York" makes us laugh, warms our hearts, and teaches us valuable lessons in commercial lending. In the end, Kevin is reunited with his family and actually becomes the holiday hero for the McCallister family (they wake up at the Plaza Hotel on Christmas morning to a room full of toys delivered from the toy store Kevin thwarted the Sticky Bandits' plans to rob). Here's hoping these lessons help keep you out of a "sticky" situation and make you the hero at your bank or credit union.

"Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal. And a Happy New Year."

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Author Bio

Mitch is Baker Hill's Growth Marketing Strategist. With over 10 years of experience in banking before joining Baker Hill, he brings creativity and industry experience to Baker Hill's marketing team.