Outside the Box: 2007’s National Conference for Community Bankers

I just returned from Palm Desert, California - where I participated as a speaker and exhibitor at the American Bankers Association’s National Conference for Community Bankers. While I have attended this conference many times in the past, this year’s theme was more interesting to me than most:

“Not Business as Usual: Community Banking Beyond the Box”

We have all heard the term: thinking outside the box – but what does that really mean to you and your financial institution?

I will tell you the same thing here that I said during my presentations at the conference: there are NO magic bullets when it comes to outside the box thinking. There is not one great universal idea that can be applied at any institution, and there are no easy buttons. Too many institutions fall into the trap of trying to copy other institutions’ successful outside the box initiatives, but just because another institution has achieved success from a certain initiative doesn’t mean that your institution can expect the same success as a result of implementing similar initiatives.

Furthermore, the industry is constantly changing to meet the demands of customers - and that which is considered outside the box today, will not be outside the box tomorrow. This constant change demands continuous attention and a commitment constant innovation. I spoke with several people who attended my presentation about my innovation committee idea. During my presentation, I suggested that some institutions could consider creating an innovation committee, composed of three energetic, young and creative individuals – with the responsibility of generating innovative ideas and encouraging other staff members to do the same. This is just one easy idea that could be considered outside the box at many institutions.

I would like to challenge you to do things differently – truly differently; because today’s most successful institutions are not those that continue to do business as usual. I bring you back to my examples of Starbucks, Whole Foods, Clif Bar and Trader Joes - these successful businesses have a story, their leaders have a story, and you can bet that they won’t let up in their quests for continual improvement – and neither should you.

I asked you for your questions during my presentations at the conference, and I intend to post my answers to those questions right here early next week. Please email me with any additional questions and feel free to share your comments about the conference.