- Key insight: Rather than replacing bankers, artificial intelligence is likely to amplify their impact: strengths as well as weaknesses. This makes investing in employee development more important than ever.
- Expert quote: "AI seems to scale both positive outcomes ... and mistakes ... with equal speed and efficiency." —Dave Martin
- Forward look: The leaders who will pull ahead won't simply be the ones who adopt AI the fastest. They'll be the ones who treat it as a force multiplier for the judgment, creativity and relationships only their people can provide.
One of my recurring suggestions to younger bankers I work with is that many of the best, or at least the most interesting, parts of our career journeys are happy accidents. And when I say that, I'm not implying that we don't have tremendous influence over those paths.
It's just that, when most of us look back, we realize something had to happen, or not happen, for something else to happen ... or not happen.
Sometimes it's the customer you couldn't close, the boss you just couldn't work for anymore, the promotion you were passed over for, or the change in your job duties that led to what came next.
If things had worked out exactly as you hoped, it's likely that many of the personal growth opportunities, experiences and successes you've enjoyed would never have happened.
And yes, I know that sounds Pollyannaish. And no, I don't mind.
In fact, I believe the arrival of
I often joke that I have a habit of accidentally finding myself on the opposing side of some pretty
For example, for years, I've been pulled into debates about the future of physical branches. Time and again, I've been asked to speak about why branches still matter.
One of my main points has always been that branches = bankers. Claiming physical branches have lost their importance suggests that personal access to bankers has become less important. I just don't buy it.
This isn't a new phenomenon. I've been called a Luddite (and worse) by more than a few influencers and tech evangelists who portrayed physical bank branches as albatrosses.
Now I've accidentally found myself on the other side of yet another debate. While "dealing with change" has always been a much-requested speaking topic, AI has become the new must-have subject.
There is a lot I know about AI. There is far more I don't know. Unlike many pundits, I'm perfectly willing to admit it.
After I spoke at a recent conference, a bank executive in the back of the ballroom told me that the AI expert who followed me left the room during my presentation to rewrite part of his own.
I thought he was kidding. He wasn't.
When the AI guru took the stage, he joked that he'd had a panic attack listening to the AI skeptic who preceded him.
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The only problem was, I hadn't argued against AI. I simply suggested that it is a remarkable tool. But it's not magic.
It's not a substitute for judgment. If anything, it makes personal judgment more important than ever. AI seems to scale both positive outcomes ... and mistakes ... with equal speed and efficiency.
OK, my comment that my confidence in the predictions of AI experts is inversely proportional to the certainty with which they make them may have contributed to that impression.
Well, that and my borrowing the old saying, "Never ask a barber if you need a haircut."
But the point wasn't to minimize AI. It was to remind leaders that remarkable new tools can easily distract us from the things that have always mattered most.
My concern is that too many leaders unintentionally take their eyes off the one differentiator competitors can't easily duplicate: their people.
And when I tell them this, I'm not suggesting they've begun investing any less in their people. But the overwhelming majority of the conversation surrounding the (apparently inevitable) AI wave sweeping through banking focuses on how much more efficient, accurate, dependable, and scalable AI-powered systems can make our organizations.
Why, it's a wonder banks have been able to operate at all up to this point! Yes, that's heavy sarcasm ... but there's more than a thread of truth to it.
Hype and fear sell. That's just a fact. And, to paraphrase an old saying, I'm not hating the players ... just acknowledging the game.
Heck, when I use the "never ask a barber" line, I always point out that you may actually need a haircut. The barber may be exactly right. But you'd still be wise to recognize the incentive behind the advice.
The better team you build, the more AI can amplify their strengths. Conversely, the weaker the team, the faster AI can amplify their mistakes.
Yes, these remarkable new tools will absolutely change the way we work ... just as new technology always has.
The leaders who will pull ahead won't simply be the ones who adopt AI the fastest.
They'll be the ones who treat it as a force multiplier for the judgment, creativity and relationships only their people can provide.
