You've seen the Home Depot ad: "More Doing," and we agree. We think it's time for more doing, or in Plansmith parlance, execution. But what exactly do we mean?
Education. It’s different when you’re young – you have to go through it. You keep moving up another step until graduation, and then one day, it’s all over. Then you have a choice: stop education all together, or continue education and further enhance your career.
Before we get into our own thoughts (or, what you might do to take advantage of the situation), we thought it would be helpful to include some other thoughts around the industry. The Financial Brand, if you have never landed on their site, is always a good first source. Their “3 Problems with the Wells Fargo Cross-Selling Scandal” by Ron Shevlin of Cornerstone Advisors, talks about the inequities created for the honest people in this story: 1) the employees who did not cheat and 2) the consumers who were harmed, neither of which stands to see compensation. But it’s Shevlin’s fourth problem (yes the title is 3, but he added a 4th) that helped us decide to give our readers some suggestions.
An excerpt from the text:
There is a lot of buzz surrounding millennials and their unique psychographics and behaviors, especially with regard to buying habits. But it's not just millennials that are exhibiting fascinating (and at times, frustrating) preferences. As Jim Perry of Market Insights and #BANKSOCIAL discusses in his article, Modern Demographic Cohorts, Defined By Expectations, Want The Same Things From FIs, other generations, including baby boomers, are stepping outside of their perceived demographic[s] and assimilating with attitudes, beliefs and even behaviors of diverse age groups.
Most say strategic plans end up on the shelf!
Plansmith Corp. recently conducted a survey of CEOs and CFOs on the role of community bank strategic planning within their organization. It was not surprising to learn that 90% said they have a strategic plan, but a closer look revealed some interesting statistics on the implementation of their plans.
Compliance
The cost of regulatory compliance, declining product prices, and technological threats from new entrants all narrow the path to future profits. Even if the yield curve improves, these threats will force community banks to search harder to improve earnings. It can’t be done on the fly; only strategic thinking and careful planning in the context of your market and the opportunities available will be successful. Would you coach a Super Bowl team without a playbook? Probably not.
Thank you to everyone who attended the March 2016 Financial Compass Roundtable!
We are pleased to announce Ireland Bank - Malad City, ID as our fourth and final April 2016 Community Banking Month winner!
We are pleased to announce Oxford Bank & Trust - Addison, IL as our third Community Banking Month winner!
We are pleased to announce Hastings City Bank - Hastings, MI as our second Community Banking Month winner!