Like so many of the the fintech flock, I am about to make my annual Fall migration to Las Vegas for the Money20/20 conference. I am looking ahead to what I hope to see there, which is how fintech is becoming more and more embedded into customer experiences and customer expectations, and how financial institutions […]
Leadership
Rise of the AND-I’s
Make way for the And-I’s. And-I’s are my name for a new phenomenon I’ve noticed in financial services job titles. “And-I” stands for the words “and innovation” tacked on to the end of existing job titles. Your “Head of Digital Banking” is now “Head of Digital Banking and Innovation“. Boom. You’re now in the innovation game. […]
The Fintech Grief Cycle for Bankers
As a few fintech companies like Lending Club, Betterment, and others have run into some rough patches lately, it has been interesting to note some of the reactions, especially amongst bankers (that’s just shorthand, I’m looking at you too, credit union leaders). Some have taken this news as indication that fintech was just a bubble after all, and […]
Strategic Planning: Stacking the Odds in Your Favor
It’s midyear already. Halftime. Two quarters down and two to go for 2016. For many financial institutions, it’s also the start of the 2017 strategic planning season. That time when boards and senior leadership teams sit down to hash out next year’s budget; working together to set aside silo politics and internecine battles to focus on […]
The World I Want to Live In
Demographically, I am about as “mainstream majority” as they come. I am a Caucasian, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant male who worked most of his career in the banking industry. An upper-middle class suburbanite heterosexual American to boot. No one would use the word “activist” to describe me. I’m apolitical to a fault, and I don’t talk about […]
Your Fast Follower Strategy is Riskier Than You Realize
In my last post Leaders, Learners and Laggards I talked of banking leaders who describe their approach to innovation as being a “fast follower, and how my typical retort is that they are half-right— most of them are definitely followers, but there usually isn’t anything fast about their approach. This has spurred some great discussions […]
Leaders, Learners and Laggards
I talk with a lot of banking leaders who describe their approach to innovation as being a “fast follower. My typical retort is that they are half-right— most of them are definitely followers, but there usually isn’t anything fast about their approach. Pioneers are the ones who get hit with arrows, and it is only […]
The Four People Who Ruin Innovation
Innovation is fun. Except when these types are around. How many do you know? The Hypemaster The Hypemaster is, well… a master of hype. Everything they’re working on is amazing, and you must absolutely drop everything and check it out. Right now! “Hey we’re getting ready to launch Hypemaster.io, check it out and let me […]