10
Wisconsin Community Banker
January/February 2014
with a goodmix of backgrounds, experi-
ences, and perspectives, Reichert said.
They rotate talent on and off the board
and make sure all of the directors are
active and involved.
CBWhired David Saber, who’s also a
member of the practice’s senior manage-
ment team, to help design BOLT and
its activities. “We’ve come through a
tough four or five years but as we come
through these challenges, there’s a lot of
opportunities out there,” he noted. “Who
will take advantage [of those opportuni-
ties]?” “Who will emerge as leaders?”
Going forward, the key leadership
differentiators are human imagination,
innovation, and creativity. While banks
will remain in the risk business, “the
non-quantitative stuff ultimately is the
real driver of the bottom line profit-
ability,” Saber said. “The numbers are
not the plan.”
Saber pointed to six drivers affect-
ing the community banking industry:
1) A wave of consolidations is
expected to accelerate.
2) The core business model needs
to be examined to decide what strate-
gies will maximize shareholder value
and ensure ROI.
3) The ultimate challenge is identi-
fying the source of tomorrow’s profit-
able growth.
4) Regulatory reform has changed
the game.
5) The key to success is to ensure
focus and prioritization.
6) You must have a competitive
advantage.
Young bankers must work to stay
ahead of the curve. Profit will come
from your bank’s ability to grow
revenue.
Determine what delivery channels
are right for your banking model. Iden-
tify the expectations of the next genera-
tion who are raised on the Internet,
connected, and open to change.
Don’t be afraid to try new things,
Saber advised. New model thinking—
for example, evaluating delivery chan-
nels and strategic assumptions, defin-
ing differentiation, redefining service,
transforming staff to consultative
advisors, and knowing thy customer—
is not rocket science.
During the Summit’s afternoon
sessions, John Hand, vice president,
congressional relations for ICBA, pro-
vided an overview of the major legisla-
tive issues and explained how commu-
nity bankers can, and do, shape public
policy. “Community bankers will have
to make political action part of their
daily and weekly routine,” he said. “If
we’re to move the dial on [any] issue,
ICBA needs as much grassroots sup-
port as they can get.”
Later, Jim Klunick, a senior man-
ager in Wipfli’s Madison office,
reviewed the results of a leadership
tool that many participants had com-
pleted earlier. The Predictive Index
forecasts behavior based on four char-
acteristics: dominance, extroversion,
patience, and formality or the need
to be right and accurate. Knowing
where you and your employees stand
improves communication and leads to
better outcomes.
The event closed with a panel of
seasoned bankers. Stan Leedle, Choice
Bank; Paul Hoffmann, Monona
State Bank, and Jerry O’Connor, The
National Bank of Waupun, shared
leadership lessons learned and offered
advice to the future leaders.
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