Main Street Banking: A Podcast for Community Bankers

It's easy to get caught up in the "fun" stuff of strategy...but we have to remember that effective strategy embraces a mathematical approach as well. Sun Tzu uses the word "calculations" when discussing what we need to do before we strike. Also, we have to realize where we can be most effective and that...put simply...is being where they ain't. (Pardon the English here!) It's ok to come up with "crazy" ideas...provided that we've done the calculations ahead of time to know that they'll work! Surprise the competition! Be where they ain't! Do what they're not doing!!

I hope you're enjoying this series. Keep those emails coming in and letting me know what you're learning. Feel free to email me at [email protected]

Today, we'll talk about how to use those 5 Constant Factors (Culture, the Economy, the Market, Leadership, and Operations) to find our starting place...find where we need to start off the adventure in becoming a superhero banker!

1) Between you and your competitors (whomever they might be), who has the stronger culture?

2) Which has the strongest executive leadership?

3) Who has the advantages with the Macro-economy and Market conditions?

4) Who has the better internal communication?

5) Which is the stronger bank or company?

6) Who are you really up against?

7) Which bank is the more “go-getter”?

Next week, we’ll wrap up Chapter 1. We won’t take as much time in each chapter as we did with Chapter 1. There is just SO MUCH good stuff in here for community bankers to learn and implement and it forms the foundation for successful strategy. Also, don’t forget to email me at [email protected] or hit me up on social media. I’d love to hear from more of you about how you’re liking the series and if you are beginning to implement these in your bank strategy or in your own professional development.

In order to be a superhero, we need to learn how superheroes think and see the world. We need to start building our utility belts...sharpening our swords...getting our lightsabers together. We'll dive into what Sun Tzu calls the 5 Constant Factors and discuss what that means for community banks.

Also, I'd love for you to email me at [email protected] with your thoughts as well as any of Barret's social media pages. Feel free to leave your comments about this series.

What does it take to be a Superhero Community Banker? It takes a new way of thinking and perceiving our environment. Today, we're going to start a series on learning how to think like a superhero and save the world!!

Our longtime listeners will remember Brian Bauer and he is back with his new venture, Abaca. They have put together a comprehensive cannabis banking and financial platform that is quite impressive and directly addresses the concerns many community banks have in this area.

For more information: contact Brian at goabaca.com

Douglas Scarboro with the Memphis branch of the St. Louis Federal Reserve stops by to talk about the regional economic situation, actions the Fed has taken, and some of the great financial literacy content they put out.

Joe Ehrhardt, CEO of Teslar Software, came back on Main Street Banking to talk about Teslar the current community banking environment.

With the April payroll numbers just hitting the markets and Fed Funds Futures doing historic things...Jim Reber comes back to give us his community banking industry update. Whenever anything hits the markets during these times, we'll have Jim on to give us his insights.

Jim Reber, CEO of ICBA Securities, returns for his frequent Main Street Business Industry Update. As you know, we've gotten some economic numbers that hit the industry this week. Jim does his usual excellent job in showing our listeners how this impacts our industry.

To learn more about Jim and ICBA Securites, check out their website: https://www.icbasecurities.com/

For some of us, we have been experiencing remote working, trying to maintain regular productivity, stay sane...all of it...for over a month now. Justin Muscolino with GRC Solutions, a good friend of Barret, is on today with some really good advice for those remote working blues in addition to some thoughts on compliance needs we need to discuss as an industry.

Feel free to reach out to Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-muscolino/