Finding a Way...

As you may know, I am a HUGE Ohio State Buckeye fan and also a Bengals fan.  To many, the success of the Buckeyes is great...and the pain of the Bengals is tough to take.  Both, however, have had equal shares of triumph and heartbreak...but recently they have also Found A Way!

My message is about finding a way...finding a way to victory even when the times are tough, the competition seemingly insurmountable and the odds stacked against you.

The Buckeyes and the Bengals both came back from heartbreaking last second defeats from a week ago...both have been pinpointed by many awaiting an even bigger failure. However, they both circled the wagons, talked about the team spirit and rode the wave to victory...DESPITE the odds, the competition and the neysayers...they found a way!

The economy is tough for bankers right now...the budgets are slim for marketers and the demands of customers never bigger...but YOU CAN FIND A WAY to victory.  It just takes three words to be repeated as often as necessary.  This will sound VERY trite, but it is true and it works...ready?

The three words are...

YES I CAN!

Yes you can....

• Make an impact with the budget you have
• Overcome the competition
• Make it through the fall planning sessions
• Grow you loan base
• Positively impact your attrition rates...
• and MORE!

You can do it!!  We have faith in you....but you need to take the 1st step....Repeat after me...

YES I CAN...

If you need a daily re-affirmation...call me...I would be glad to help!  After all, a Bengal's fan is used to saying "tomorrow will be better!!"

Cheers!

Bruce

Carpe Diem

Is it possible?  Is there a light at the end of the recession tunnel?  

A slew of economic reports released last week may be hinting at some possible good news.  Out of 12 reports released last week, 7 were better than expected and 2 met expectations.  And investors responded by sending the stock market to a healthy gain last week.

Heck, I watched the news last night and hardly saw anything bad about bankers!!!

The point is that as the economy begins to turn a corner, so will the public eye and focus.  As your community's hometown financial institution, have you done everything you can to capitalize on the mistrust and negative perceptions of the larger banks?

Soon J-Lo or A-Rod or some other far too wealthy person who doesn't use their whole name will do something stupid and, as Americans, we'll focus on the next shiny object that comes along.  People will forget that big banks "are bad," and then the large banks with their enormous marketing budgets will begin to gobble up market share again.

Seize the day, fellow community bankers and credit unioners!  Don't wait.  Get your piece of the market share pie while we still have a competitive advantage!

Happy Trails,

Eric