- Key insight: In the age of artificial intelligence and digitization, banks run the risk of looking homogenous. The differentiator will always be the willingness of bankers to work to engage with customers and communities.
- Expert quote: "Here's how I'm going to beat you. I'm going to outwork you. That's it. That's all there is to it." —Pat Summitt, former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach
- Forward look: Brand preference is earned over time by remaining engaged and consistently behaving in ways that make existing customers want to stay and potential customers increasingly interested in coming aboard.
Over the course of a few decades of giving live presentations to bankers, I've probably created, used, tweaked and eventually retired thousands of slides. A banker contacted me out of the blue to ask about one of my older slides.
This particular one had a picture of former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt.
I hadn't used it in quite some time. I shared it with him and then figured I'd put it back into circulation to see if it still resonated.
And while the chatter in the business world has become more
That quote is, "Here's how I'm going to beat you. I'm going to outwork you. That's it. That's all there is to it."
When sharing it with groups, I explain that if you compete at a high level in anything, from sports to entertainment to business, talent is table stakes. Everyone is good. Everyone has a solid game plan. Everyone has the same (and sometimes better) tools that you do.
What I've found over the years is that people like being reminded that
And lately, amid the drumbeat of AI's pending transformation of companies and its potential to replace everyone from frontline employees to back-office support teams to multiple levels of middle management, that message of personal agency seems to resonate more than ever.
Yet I have watched organizations forget that fact, again and again. The next campaign will be a game changer. The new logo will make us stand out. The remodeled branches will give us an edge. The new core will make everything easier.
Some of that may be true. But after a few decades of working with bank teams, I know that few of those moves are unique or differentiating. In other words, the people who make an organization go remain the driving force behind its success.
I frequently remind leaders that good people are not worn down by hard, meaningful work. What wears them down is feeling that work is unnoticed or taken for granted. Summitt's line still inspires because it makes the work personal.
Read more:
What comes next for banks in a post-CLARITY Congress Warsh: Rising bond yields a sign of strong U.S. economy Borrowing from Federal Home Loan banks jumped 20% in 2Q State bank examiners get a playbook for inspecting AI
I find that message especially motivating to folks who may not work for the biggest or best-known competitor in a market. Yes, size and familiarity can provide certain advantages.
But in a hypercompetitive industry, where technology tends to level the playing field more than tilt it, the actions of individuals differentiate more, not less.
Outworking the competition may mean showing up at more civic events. It may mean dropping in to visit more new businesses. It may mean volunteering for more charities and being more involved with local schools and youth activities.
Outworking the competition also, and I'd say just as importantly, means being more consistent and resilient than the competition.
The fact is that most businesses and individuals have banking relationships right now that they are more or less OK with. Most are not going to switch on the spot just because you ask them to.
But consideration and brand preference are earned over time by remaining engaged and consistently behaving in ways that make existing customers want to stay and potential customers increasingly interested in coming aboard.
Outworking the competition, especially for people in business development roles, means not quitting at the first excusable opportunity to do so. You outwork the competition by talking to more people than they do, learning more than they will, and following up on what you learn when they won't.
Sustained resilience is one of the most powerful work traits anyone can develop.
In other areas, outworking the competition can mean answering email faster, preparing more thoroughly for meetings, making sure each customer interaction conveys appreciation, helping a coworker when it isn't technically your responsibility, or following through even when nobody is holding you to it.
At a time when people are being told how much of their working lives technology may change, replace or control, there is something reassuring about being reminded of the things it can't.
And there is power in remembering how many of those things remain ours to control.
