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. […]
Strategy
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 […]
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 […]
Traditionalists vs. Trailblazers in Innovation
Late last year I was asked by my good friend Jim Marous of The Financial Brand to contribute to his crowdsourced list of 2015 Digital Banking Trends and Predictions. My prediction was that we would see an increase in the current trend of banks investing in innovation. More newly-minted Chief Innovation Officers, and more establishments of new […]
5 Ways to Kill Your Innovation Initiative
I often write and speak about the “Business Prevention Department” that lurks inside banks. Devoted to sniffing out and stamping out anything that looks “risky”, the Business Prevention Department is staffed with members committed to “protecting” their banks from those scary people who want to try unproven ideas. As banks worldwide hurriedly launch accelerator programs, […]
Reimagining Bank Product Design in the Experience Economy
When B. Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore wrote a book called “The Experience Economy,” they built on the work of Alvin Toffler (“Future Shock”) and others on the value of creating experiences. They cited Disney, Starbucks, Nordstrom and other leading brands as examples. Pine and Gilmore argue– and I agree– that our economy has […]