Davis’ words of wisdom
U.S. Bancorp has had a good run under the leadership of Richard Davis, 58, who will step down as CEO on April 18, handing the reins to Andy Cecere. Davis, who will remain executive chairman, was named CEO of the company in December 2006 and chairman a year later. Having listened to him during the last decade, it is clear Davis understands people as well as he understands banking. Consider his comments at the recent Acquire or Be Acquired conference in Phoenix.
“We are in a moment of significant consequence.” The political and economic factors coming together at this time are “game changers,” Davis said. “Let’s agree that banks are a mirror to our customers. We don’t build anything, we don’t create anything…we just get behind people who do. If our customers are well off, we are well off.”
“Employee engagement is a game-changer.” Davis was advocating for bank employees, citing research that shows what motivates Gen Y and Millennial workers. “Employees want to be engaged in something that is bigger than they are,” Davis explained. It used to be that employees believed in senior management; then it was that they wanted to believe in the company vision. Now, Davis said, they want to see themselves in that vision. They want to know they have a career, not just a job; and they want to know they have a purpose.
“People want to be led by people who believe in a higher purpose.” And Davis said banking very easily represents a higher purpose. “If you are Delta Airlines, you fly people; if you are McDonalds, you feed people… But if you are a bank, you are changing the world through the dreams of people who need you,” he said. “Our companies have no purpose but for the people who work there to believe that they have one goal in life which is to come to work every day and change the world.”
“Banks have the opportunity to be the most influential industry in America.” Davis cited a survey that said most Americans believe they have a better life than their parents had, yet they worry their kids won’t have as good a life as they have. Davis called this “cowardly” thinking. He said bankers are in position to make things happen and should use their influence to make the world a better place for generations to come.
“This industry is the reason this country can be the greatest nation in the world,” Davis concluded. “Prove it.”