If you don’t believe we live in an angry, cynical world, wade on over to Twitter for a half an hour and drill down on the discourse. Yikes. A person who shares an innocuous opinion can, within minutes, find dozens have hacked their ideas into bloody chunks. [Continue]
Comments from two bankers speaking at the annual Acquire or Be Acquired conference piqued my interest. Jim Ryan, CEO of the $20 billion Old National Bancorp, and Dave Provost, executive vice chairman of the $47 billion of TCF Financial Corporation, cast light on a couple of big industry deals. [Continue]
In “Bull by the Horns,” former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair notes morale at the agency increased dramatically under her leadership during the financial crisis, with it even being recognized as a “best place to work.” [Continue]
An entrepreneur is someone who surveys the landscape, looks for things that could be improved, and acts toward that improvement. Entrepreneurship, at its essence, is problem-solving. Sometimes an entrepreneur will start a company to solve that problem, and if the company is successful, that entrepreneur becomes famous. [Continue]
There’s a proverb that goes: A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. I connect this idea to community banking, where each day, bankers make investments in the form of loans, which is really about planting the seeds (and seedlings) for economic growth. [Continue]
“One of the most important features is people who flex to their team,” says Jessica Nollett, discussing effective leadership. Nollett, vice president, business banking team lead at the Overland Park, Kan., office of Clayton, Mo.-headquartered Enterprise Bank & Trust, feels strongly that leadership is about authenticity, pragmatism and helping team members discover their individual strengths, which will enhance the group as a whole. [Continue]
Some people may think that being a leader is an easy task and it’s not. They only focus on the outside, perceived benefits of leaders such as the big titles, having people reporting to them, making the big decisions for the companies they lead, and usually having a high salary. [Continue]
Writers looking for a book deal or agent representation learn rather quickly that success hinges on two things: Name recognition and a marketable platform. Most bankers don’t have name recognition outside of their communities or institutions, but a platform is clearly within reach and building one can be good for business. Not only can a platform position you as a thought leader, it can raise the visibility of your institution. [Continue]
Suzi Kalsow, PhD., of Bank Midwest outlines her approach to difficult conversations and the benefits that come from being able to navigate them.
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Many aspects of industry consolidation are lamentable: Reduced access to services in sparsely populated areas and the diseconomies of scale (i.e., lack of personal service) are two that come to mind quickly. But what should we make of a changing landscape where there are fewer and fewer family-owned institutions? I sure hope family banks aren’t going the way of the family farm. [Continue]