Losing the War for Deposits

Bankers would do well to read The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene. The war for deposits is not warfare in the literal sense however there is still a war going on in the fight to gain and keep deposits. It’s really no different than fighting to gain territory. It is all in the strategy.

Published in 2007, Robert Greene outlines various tactics and principles derived from military strategy that can be applied to various forms of competition. As I read this, what bankers keep embracing as a deposit strategy is exactly how they will be defeated.

What I find most interesting about this book is Greene’s definition of strategy and where to begin:?

“Think of strategy as a series of lines and arrows aimed at a goal: at getting you to a certain point in the world, at helping you to attack a problem in your path, at figuring out how to encircle and destroy your enemy. Before directing these arrows at your enemies, however, you must first direct them at yourself.”

That last part, the directing of arrows at yourself first, is the most unheeded part of any action. Bankers that are unable to take the most obvious of feedback where their failing deposit strategy is concerned are already out of the game. They just don’t know how much their lack of engagement for deposits contributes to the unnecessary demise of community banks.

“Never take it for granted that your past successes will continue into the future. Actually, your past successes are your biggest obstacle: every battle, every war, is different, and you cannot assume that what worked before will work today. You must cut yourself loose from the past and open your eyes to the present. Your tendency to fight the last war may lead to your final war.”

Ego more than anything stands in the way of deposit victory because bankers just can’t stand the thought of examining themselves and doing anything different. Therefore, they continue to blame economic conditions, financial circumstances, and market situations for their deposit warfare matters. The truth is opportunity awaits inside those very conditions, circumstances, and situations for those aware enough to exploit them.

“The Greek thinker Aristotle thought that life was defined by movement. What does not move is dead. What has speed and mobility has more possibilities, more life.”