The Doorman Fallacy - Podcast Episode Launch

PodCast
Written By Noel Bradford

This episode is brought to you by Authentrend, providing biometric FIDO2 security solutions that make MFA actually work for small businesses. Check them out at authentrend.com/smallbizcyberguy

Pull up a chair. I've got a question for you, and I promise you won't like the answer.

What's the most expensive, cost-saving decision you can make?

Here's the answer: Firing your hotel doorman and replacing him with an automatic door.

Saves you £35,000 a year in salary. Costs you £200,000 in lost revenue because your hotel just became ordinary.

This Isn't About Hotels

It's about every IT budget cut I've seen in the last 40 years. Cutting training because it's "just slides." Ditching cyber insurance because "we haven't claimed." Removing MFA because it "adds friction." And my personal favourite: automating away the one person who actually knows how anything works.

In today's episode, we explore the Doorman Fallacy.

The concept comes from Rory Sutherland's book Alchemy, and once you understand it, you'll see it everywhere. You'll recognise your own business in at least three of the five examples we cover.

What You'll Learn

We're walking through five catastrophic examples of the doorman fallacy in action:

  1. Security training cuts (because it's just slides, right?)

  2. MFA removal (because convenience matters more than credentials)

  3. Cyber insurance cancellation (because we haven't been breached yet)

  4. IT staff replacement (because Dave just resets passwords)

  5. Vendor relationship cuts (because we can get it cheaper elsewhere)

Each example shows how businesses define roles too narrowly, optimise for efficiency, and accidentally destroy far more value than the cost they're trying to save.

The Real Cost

The doorman's notional function was opening doors. His actual value came from dozens of other things you couldn't easily measure or quantify: hailing taxis, recognising regulars, providing security, carrying bags, signalling that this is a proper establishment worth paying premium rates for.

Your security training isn't just slides. Your MFA isn't just friction. Your cyber insurance isn't just an unused policy. Dave from IT doesn't just reset passwords. Your vendor relationship isn't just a line item.

And you won't realise what they actually did until they're gone.

Why This Matters Now

With the 2025 Cyber Security Breaches Survey showing 43% of UK businesses experiencing breaches, and average costs hitting £1,600 per incident (£3,550 when you exclude zero-cost responses), the pressure to cut security spending has never been higher.

This makes understanding the doorman fallacy more critical than ever.

Are businesses cutting security costs right now? They're about to learn some costly lessons about invisible value.

Listen Now

Episode 24: The Doorman Fallacy is available now on all major podcast platforms.

This episode will make you uncomfortably aware of past efficiency decisions. Good. Uncomfortable awareness beats comfortable ignorance.

If you're currently considering cutting security costs, ask yourself: Am I optimising based on a complete understanding? Or am I replacing doormen with automatic doors whilst missing everything else they do?

Listen on:

  • Apple Podcasts

  • Spotify

  • Google Podcasts

  • Or wherever you get your podcasts

Subscribe & Share

Hit that subscribe button so you don't miss next week's episode on backup security in the age of ransomware. Because apparently, saving copies of your data isn't enough anymore.

Share this episode with that one colleague who keeps suggesting cost-cutting measures without understanding the full implications. Or your CFO if you're feeling brave. Or your board if you're feeling suicidal.

The doorman does more than open doors. And your security measures serve a purpose beyond their obvious function.


Noel Bradford

Noel Bradford – Head of Technology at Equate Group, Professional Bullshit Detector, and Full-Time IT Cynic

As Head of Technology at Equate Group, my job description is technically “keeping the lights on,” but in reality, it’s more like “stopping people from setting their own house on fire.” With over 40 years in tech, I’ve seen every IT horror story imaginable—most of them self-inflicted by people who think cybersecurity is just installing antivirus and praying to Saint Norton.

I specialise in cybersecurity for UK businesses, which usually means explaining the difference between ‘MFA’ and ‘WTF’ to directors who still write their passwords on Post-it notes. On Tuesdays, I also help further education colleges navigate Cyber Essentials certification, a process so unnecessarily painful it makes root canal surgery look fun.

My natural habitat? Server rooms held together with zip ties and misplaced optimism, where every cable run is a “temporary fix” from 2012. My mortal enemies? Unmanaged switches, backups that only exist in someone’s imagination, and users who think clicking “Enable Macros” is just fine because it makes the spreadsheet work.

I’m blunt, sarcastic, and genuinely allergic to bullshit. If you want gentle hand-holding and reassuring corporate waffle, you’re in the wrong place. If you want someone who’ll fix your IT, tell you exactly why it broke, and throw in some unsolicited life advice, I’m your man.

Technology isn’t hard. People make it hard. And they make me drink.

https://noelbradford.com
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