Pub. 16 2019 Issue 1

2 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Technology accelerators. As I wrote in my last article technology has always been critical in banking and has accelerated at an ever- increasing rate. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JOHN S. GULAS NMBA PRESIDENT What Is Leadership? Two of my favorite quotes are “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were and ask why not?” by George Bernard Shaw and “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.” By Robert Francis Kennedy. For me this is about vision. A good leader will help their organization see what can be and help guide the organization to be their best. When you speak about strategic planning and teams, one is drawn to what Jim Collins calls “level 5 leadership”. In “Good to Great,” Jim Collins defines level 5 leadership in six steps: First who, then what, confront the brutal facts, hedgehog concept, culture of discipline and technology accelerators. He wrote an entire book on this process and I will only focus on a few of my experiences. First: who. It is critically important to under- stand who you have on your team and what they do best. It may be necessary to modify your team if you do not have the right mix of individuals to do what is necessary. This is very critical if you T he race for customers is at an all-time high. And financial institutions face an unprecedented list of competitors, with increased pressure coming not just from other banks, but also from retail and technology giants like Amazon, Apple and Google— al l looking to throw their hats into the f inancial ring.