Greetings...
Today is Columbus Day and most of you are hopefully spending time with your kids, doing some early shopping for Christmas, or just enjoying the bank being closed!
I am taking today off...and enjoying every moment of it, too!
However, this past weekend was a little rough. You see my son is a 9th grader and starts on offense and defense for his High School freshman football team. On Thursday night, they had the biggest game of the year...the annual battle with our rival Centerville! He was so excited for the game...he could hardly stand it. And now he hardly remembers it...
On the 1st defensive series, he got hit in the head with a knee...and he saw stars! He didn't tell anyone and stayed in the game. Later in the 1st quarter, he hit helmet to helmet with a running back (great tackle) but rung his bell again! Watching him in the stands, I could tell he looked a little woozy, but I thought the trainers are right there...they will say something is he is too bad!
Well...after the game (we lost 48-30) he walked off the field and I met him at the gate...he walked with a tilt and had glassy eyes! No one ever said anything...and he was obviously not thinking clearly! He played the whole game with a severe concussion!
He is on the track to clearing the cobwebs and is in on "brain rest"....(sounds like what I need!) and will be OK. It just will take some time to get back to his baseline, which we know because the school tested all athletes before the season...just in case of such a situation. He will be fine and is looking forward to baseball season now...he will miss his last 2 football games, but in the long run...that is a very small price to pay to make sure he is OK. He took a biology chapter test today...much to my amazement that he could think clearly enough...and got a 100%! He's going to be fine!
Now the dramatic connection to banking....
We ALL feel a little woozy, walking with a tilt, and seeing a little fuzzy right now with the battering the industry has been taking over the last several weeks....actually last several months! However, now is the time to remember that we will ALL be OK. Its time to stay aggressive...stay in the game, and know that it will all be worth the effort. We need to all go back to our "baseline" results and share them with our staff. We are still strong. We are still capable of getting a 100% on tests...those tests are just different now.
Our tests now come with comforting our customers, informing our staff's, working with the local media, and ensuring stockholders that we are, indeed, a strong industry. Just like Casey stepping up and getting a 100% on his biology test when I did not think he could, you, TOO, can step up and hit a home run for your organization.
Now is the time for marketers to be front stage and leading the bank forward. We need to be visible, communicative, and leading the charge to ensure we EXCEED the customer experience that our customer's expect. Now is the time to step up and excel...when no one thinks we can. Now is the time to make the points of difference in your market. Now is the time to runs ads and educating staff and customers alike. Now is the time to go for it...
You can be a difference maker and the extra focus and effort now will pay double dividends once the economy and market realities turn around...
Now...let's get out there and play hard!!!
Cheers!
Bruce
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