Reality Correspondence

The complete DGF Method.

The public method shows seven stages. The interior discipline has twelve. The difference is not secrecy; it is resolution. The principal experiences the method as a coherent sequence; the House holds each stage with precision.

  1. I

    Entrustment

    The matter is received in confidence, by name. Discretion, boundaries, and the terms of consideration are agreed before any examination begins.

  2. II

    Reality Review

    What actually exists is established from first sources — ownership, obligations, participants, and the true circumstances of the matter — distinct from what has been described.

  3. III

    Reality Correspondence

    Where the described reality and the actual reality diverge, and the practical implications of the gap.

  4. IV

    Continuity Interview

    A private conversation with the principal, conducted in the register of the matter. The House listens for what would be at risk if the situation were treated only as a transaction.

  5. V

    Continuity Review

    The House considers what deserves to be carried forward, what should be renewed, and what may be released. Strategic alternatives are compared, including the path of doing nothing.

  6. VI

    Identity Review

    What the matter carries beyond its financial dimension — memory, meaning, participation, and belonging.

  7. VII

    Stewardship Review

    What continuity now requires of the principal, family, and any trusted advisers coordinated around the matter.

  8. VIII

    Continuity Report

    A signed written document prepared for the principal — the signature work of the House.

  9. IX

    Strategic Alternatives

    The available paths, honestly compared — including the path of doing nothing, and paths that would return the matter to a more appropriate hand.

  10. X

    Specialist Coordination

    The lawyers, banks, auditors, curators, and trustees to be engaged, in what sequence, around a single continuity plan.

  11. XI

    Execution

    The matter is carried out by the appropriate professional advisers, with the House holding the continuity point of reference.

  12. XII

    Renewed Continuity

    What has been carried forward is now alive in the new form. The relationship with the House continues, quietly, by name.

Return to Selected Teachings