How 3 Days in Austin, TX Made Me A Better Banker

Have you ever had an experience that simultaneously rocked your world and provided clarity for the future? I have, and it happened last year at the Bank on Purpose (BoP) Conference hosted by Precision Lender. This conference is dedicated to the commercial banking industry with specific focus on the changes and challenges that banks serving entrepreneurs face. You can make all the jokes you want (no, this was not just 3 days of golf – because that is what bankers call a “conference”); but this was a legit nerd-fest of banking, and I loved it. I loved it because this conference allowed me to pick my head up and to see the foggy horizon of my chosen profession. That strategic view has led me to become a better banker and advocate for my clients.

Last week, Precision Lender hosted BoP19, and it was AMAZING! The 3 days were again full of insight, practical discussion, and networking that I hope will allow me to continue to serve my clients better. I am not going to bore you with some of the bank-nerd discussions, but I will share with you my top 4 take-aways.

Author Nick Craig discussed his book Leading from Purpose: Clarity and the Confidence to Act When it Matters Most (a future The Entrepreneur’s Bank Book Review selection). The greatest point that I received from what Nick shared was that Purpose Eats Uncertainty. This is not to say that as long as you have purpose you will magically have unlimited clairvoyance; but rather in times of uncertainty, your purpose will allow you to focus on the most important things and achieve the critical tasks.

I feel that I have walked through many exercises defining myself, my target clients, my brand, and my goals – but I don’t know if I have defined my purpose. I can’t wait to dig into the book and uncover it. I think it has something to do with teaching; so stay tuned as I share my defined purpose!

Curt Queyrouze, the President of TAB Bank challenged me in 4 ways and introduced me to Jobs-To-Be-Done theory.

• The first challenge was to find ways in my own business to increase the value to my entrepreneurs. Value is characterized by expectations, experience, ease of use, speed, transparency, certainty, and consistency. I strive to bring all of these to my entrepreneurs, and I believe which one provides the most value (ease of use), but I look forward to unpacking these characteristics and refining how I serve my clients. 
• Next, I was challenged to run my practice better, as powerful leaders do not need to be powerful decision makers. This makes me the bottleneck – which leads to my entrepreneurs not receiving the support they deserve.
• Third, I was challenged on where to focus my innovation on – specially, my entrepreneurs. If I focus on anything else (i.e. what my competition is doing), I have already lost. I believe I have my focus in the right place but it is good to be reminded on who deserves my attention.
• His final challenge, introduced me to Jobs-To-Be-Done Theory (JTBD). I am still learning about JTBD, but the greatest take away is that I need to do a better job of uncovering what my entrepreneurs want to accomplish (i.e. certainty of financial strength to support growth) and not focus on the mechanism (i.e. an increased line of credit).

Dr. Leda Glyptis, Chief of staff for 11:FS, dropped some very hard core statistical data about the transformational challenges that is facing banks; but I think that the key takeaway can be applied to any industry today (as we are all facing transformational change).

10 years ago, we did not fully comprehend the impact that the iPhone would have on our lives; and some of the most radical transformation in the last decade was brought about by technology that is less than 4 years old. That being said, we don’t know what is going to be the biggest game-changer to our business 10 years from now.

BUT THIS DOESN’T MATTER!

Instead, focus on the building blocks of change:

1. Connection – the world is more connected now than ever before
2. Secure and approved infrastructure – as we are more connected, it is imperative that we do not misplace the trust we have with our clients as they give us their personal data.
3. Data – it is apparent that one of the greatest resources that we have today is data. Find ways to use the data to uncover what customers really want (JTBD) and then focus your efforts to accomplish that.

BoP19 was closed out with a key-note address by World Series of Poker Champion, Annie Duke. Annie is also the author of Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts(another future The Entrepreneur’s Bank Book Review selection). What a perfect topic to energize us to go back to our entrepreneurs!

Annie used the famous Pete Carroll decision to throw the football at the end of Super Bowl 49 to drive home the point that we should not correlate the quality of the decision with the outcome of that decision. For this specific call (for those of you that don’t remember – this is the play where the New England Pats intercepted the ball on the 1-yard line and won the game), throwing the ball was statistically the best decision (I won’t go into the math here, but contact me directly and we walk through it together). The outcome of that decision (the interception and loss of the game) does not diminish the fact that the decision to throw the ball gave the Seahawks the best opportunity to win the game.

Annie also gave some criteria to help us determine in what situations we can make decisions quickly. This is not an all-inclusive list, but we should make fast decisions when:

• The cost of the decision is low
• The cost to reverse the decision is low
• There is not a significant disbursement in the options (all options will lead to a satisfactory outcome)
• The decision will not have a significant impact in the future

I thoroughly enjoyed BoP19 and I can’t wait to unpack all that I learned for the benefit of my entrepreneurs. If you are a commercial banker, you should plan on being in Austin, Texas May 6-8, 2020; it will rock your world and give you clarity.

Being an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult and demanding things you can do. The good news is that entrepreneurship today is a team sport. Hit the connect button on LinkedIn or Facebook NOW and together we will start maximizing your profit, strengthening your leadership skills, defining your strategic vision, and using your bank as a strategic advantage. When we connect, tell me about what you believe your purpose to be.

Greg Martin is an entrepreneur’s insider to the banking industry and passionately believes that every person was uniquely designed for a higher purpose and calling. Greg guides entrepreneurs in defining and achieving their purpose and calling. His deepest passion is living life with his wife and their wonderful son.