Dreaming big...

This post is about how to win in digital, but to make my point I'll first take a detour into my other passion.

Many of you know me for my work in banking, and a few of you know me for the running I do outside of work. This is me having completed 6 marathons in 6 days in the desert, 45 degrees heat, across sand dunes and mountains, carrying all my own food and clothes for the week, subsequently I have run a number of 100 mile races in a single day. However if you had asked me at the start of the last decade whether it was possible for me to run a 100 miles I would have told you that's a crazy question and the answer was obviously no. The final destination looks like too big a goal and only something that exceptional superhuman's can achieve, yet I am far from being superhuman. My learning point from this is that sometimes we limit our goals by what we think is achievable, but when we dare to Dream Big we can achieve the seemingly impossible.

So how do you deliver on big dreams. For example could you run a 100 miles? The answer is of course yes you can, and its possible by training yourself to be able to do it. Its starts with running round the block, then 1k, 3k, 5k, and so on. You never run a 100 miles in one go in training, the secret is to get to a point where you can run say 40 miles in over a weekend. Whilst I continue to run these distance runs my marathon time has deteriorated significantly, what I used to run in 3.5 hours, now takes over 4.5 hrs. The learning point is you get what you train for, and it often means discarding what you previously knew to be true.

I'm also generally asked if I do this alone, and the answer to that is no, I run with a team. On race day I have a very close friend, Tarne Westcott, who I've done most of my runs with. However prior to race day I've had support from my wife and family who have put up with me using every spare hour to get some training done. Friends that have helped me find the best race kit, helped with training plans or provided support during runs. My third learning point is that even what appears to be a solo act requires a team, so surrounding yourself with smart people that have knowledge that you don't or can provide support when you need it most is a key ingredient to achieving your big dreams.

So how does this apply to banking? I strongly believe that the real winners in digital banking are yet to emerge, they will be the ones that are not just improving banking, but those that seek to replace banking with new experiences in which banking is embedded. Fundamentally this is about real disruption and dreaming bigger than wanting to be a better bank. Instead thinking about solving real customer problems with banking embedded... aka experience driven banking.

So Happy New year, and I wish you all to dream big. To make this happen you will need to train and learn new skills and discard your legacy skill set and experiences, surround your self with people smarter than you to create a balanced high power team that share the big dream. And most all, however hard the journey, enjoy the ride !