When I started this blog series, the first
fox I focused on was “compliance.” We are keeping that blog, and future “foxes“
blogs, on earlyandco.com for a while, so
you will have the complete set for review. While I have not received any
negative responses re: the compliance blog, I’m sure there are some. I believe
this to be true: anytime you present a thought to any significant size group,
some will probably agree with it, some probably will not. As I go through my
list of “foxes“, I would expect the same to be true with each one. Never the
less, uncovering the foxes, and briefly discussing them, is an important and
helpful thing to do, so we move forward in our discussion.
The second Fox is something I love
very much: Marketing. I was a senior
officer and the director of the Marketing, Marketing Planning, and Training and
Staff Development divisions of a large local community bank for several years.
Doing effective, productive bank marketing was, and is, a personal passion for
me.
Continuing under the heading of
improving a bank’s overall Performance and Perception, here goes: All marketing
efforts, from the efforts of the lowest paid staffer in the Marketing
department, to the division head, to the bank CEO, MUST be focused on the
bank’s “goal”, NOT on any Marketing Director or CEO’s personal “role”. From here I could spend page after page
amplifying this, but I don’t have the time available to write it, and you don’t
have the time to read it. So, I am going to relate a recent personal experience
that illustrates that “survival”, particularly “ keeping your job” survival, is
real and very much alive.
When I first started Early & Co (
E&C ), I spent days, weeks, months and years on the road calling on banks
to develop bank clients. While most of our new clients today come from
referrals from other E&C clients, I still make an occasional sales call on
a bank CEO to keep my "feel"alive. Recently I sat down with the CEO of an excellent
community bank to discuss ways we could help it perform even better. As we
talked, he got excited, and since he was excited, I was excited! Then he
dropped the "role"shoe: He wanted to
have his Marketing Director call me to discuss it, and he would take her pro or
con recommendation on using, or not using, our company. I shuddered. Been there
done that. When she called, me, we discussed all the different things we do for
our bank clients, and she dropped the "role"comment: “It sounds to me like you
want to take my job!” Bingo… realistically it was over. She was into hen house survival
“don’t possibly endanger my job" role playing, and she never focused on how
she, working with E&C to make her marketing efforts even more effective,
could help the bank hit and surpass it’s goal…AND in the process, help her
career!
Was she wrong to 100% focus her on
her “role” over the bank’s “goal”. I think so, but you decide that. She was the
Marketing ”Fox”, watching over her bank’s “Hen House”, protecting her job! The
REAL problem , however, was not with her. That problem rested with the CEO…who,
while he should do all the due diligence he wanted to do on E&C, and talk
with any and all of his department heads related to the areas where we provide
assistance…SHOULD be a CEO who looks at the bank’s problems and opportunities
openly and honestly, and then takes whatever legal, ethical , and affordable
actions he can take to help his bank hit his bank’s goal!
In recent weeks I have met with two
of our client bank CEO’s, each of whom leads the best earnings bank on assets
in their state, both being CEO’s who focus on goal before they focus on role.
Making hard decisions to protect the hen house is what leaders in all levels of
the bank do. It’s not always easy, but it is always very effective!
Installment three of “Hen
House”coming soon.
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