The Banking Revolution

"This new world for America's bankers will necessitate several changes: changes in attitude, changes in behavior, changes in the very way they serve their customers."

"It is an attitude that says, "Today and every day, I will do whatever I have to do to exceed the expectations of my customers.""

"America's bankers must examine their expense bases, asking the questions, Why are we incurring this cost? How does it add value to serving our customers? Is there a better way?"

"The fundamental premise is that eliminating the activities that result in the cost of poor quality means providing service that will meet the expectations of customers, will bring them back, and will attract new relationships."

"Deficiencies in service delivery, where the bank is not meeting the expectations of customers, are a function of its culture, which consists of the attitudes and opinions that the workforce brings through the front door every morning."

"The prevailing leadership style has to change. Command-and-control, like the pyramid structure, does not fit today's fast-paced banking environment."

"The first step in the journey toward a horizontal organization is the identification of the bank's vital value chains. Why do we want the organization to be horizontal in the first place?"

"If done correctly and with discipline, everyone in the bank will understand what the company stands for, the spirit that drives it, and the things that have to be done for it to succeed."

"But watch out. If the senior leadership group is named the "quality council," its members have to demonstrate their commitment to the concept all the time. The rest of the bank is watching."

"The company has to decide which one of the three it should work through to provide excellence, and thus gain the advantage, but it cannot completely forget the other two."

"The people in the value chains need to see that they are dependent upon one another to provide the customer with value, and that whatever they can do to prevent problems, the should and must do."

" The objective is to stay focused on meeting or exceeding their expectations, doing little more, doing no less. To achieve that objective, the bank has to identify any behavior that is causing it to fall short."

"It makes a lot of sense to eliminate those things in the banks that add no value. Question the way that service is delivered. What do our customers want? How do they want it? That's at the very heart of the revolution."