I have been sailing since I was 10 years old. My dad was an avid sailor, and I joined him on many trips throughout my teen years.  I was with him when we shipwrecked in the Bahamas and had to walk away from our sailboat, Alacrity, on an un-named cay at the northern end of the Bahama Island chain. It was an adventure that I will never forget, and I frequently use the lessons learned from that event in my keynote speeches and feature articles.

In my late 40’s, I returned to sailing, getting certifications to sail monohulls up to 74’ and catamarans up to 54’.  In the last decade, I started organizing sailing trips.  This usually starts with someone hearing me talk about sailing, then they say they have always wanted to do a Caribbean sailing trip but didn’t want to sign up with people they didn’t know.  I let them know that if they get a group together I will take them sailing for a week on a 42-50 foot catamaran. It is so rewarding to see people enjoy a bespoke sailing trip who have never experienced being on the water, in and around beautiful islands, snorkeling the reefs, or catching a mahi that becomes dinner that evening.

How does my fun side hustle relate to financial services? In thinking about this article, I was cross referencing what typically happens on a sailing trip with operating a financial institution.

Strategic Planning – I do a great bit of planning for each trip.  I generally sail in the British Virgin Islands, especially for never ever sailors. It has lots of islands in a relatively small area. You can spend an amazing week and never lose sight of land.  Yet even though I am very familiar with sailing in the BVI, things always change.  What was a great snorkeling area three years ago is suddenly no longer great due to a storm.  That secluded beach that few knew about now has become the equivalent of Miami Beach.  Application – We should meticulously plan but be aware that future conditions may warrant changes to the plan. We should be nimble and able to adapt accordingly.

Disaster Remediation – Perhaps because I have been in a shipwreck, I am hyper aware of safety while sailing.  There are many things that can occur that would represent a “disaster.” A passenger who is unsure of their footing might fall overboard.  Someone who is not a confident swimmer might panic while snorkeling. A storm might suddenly form where we may need to divert off course to avoid danger. Thus, I provide instruction before we begin our trip and during the trip to ensure that everyone is ready if an “all hands-on deck” situation presents itself. Application – Preparing your team for a potential emergency situation is mission critical.  While we prepare disaster preparedness documents and might even conduct a tabletop exercise, nothing truly prepares people to experience a disaster. It is important to make sure everyone knows the plan, continues to practice which should lead to people not panicking if and when a disaster occurs.  When I teach on planning for a disaster, I encourage bankers to take staff to escape rooms to simulate the combination of dealing with problem solving and time pressure.

Conflict Resolution – Each person who books a trip with me is someone I already know, yet I may not know their invited family and friends. While I do my best to meet each person before sailing, I often meet some of my crew for the first time boarding the sailboat. Even though the catamarans I sail are spacious, if there are 7 or 8 of us on board, there is always the chance of some type of conflict. I let people know the fun things planned for the trip and also provide instructions of what they should expect onboard and what is expected of them. Multiple people with multiple different personalities in one space can result in friction, but we must work together and communicate effectively in order to not capsize the boat or the trip. Each person has to do their part. Application – Being a respectful responsible team player is the key to your institution not capsizing. It can sometimes be difficult to work with so many different people, but this is what creates your culture. The people. The people are what make up a financial institution, so provide clear expectations about how you will manage the journey together, keep open communications and make sure everyone has fun.

Sailing and financial services are alike in many other ways. The need for cross-functional expertise in the crew (i.e.: across your organization). The ability to focus on priorities for when technology is an appropriate and beneficial investment (there is a new shackle that will make attaching a sailboat to a mooring ball a one-person job instead of requiring three. That’s worth a $225 investment …). The importance of incorporating fun into work.  The benefit of exploration of new skills and experiences on the overall satisfaction of those who work for you and on and on.  What I would like for you to take away from this article is that operating a bank can seem like it’s all on autopilot.  What we do day in and day out is virtually the same as the previous day, month, and year, but there are many issues that could be described as headwinds for financial institutions. Issues like neobanks aggressively going after our best customers, how to effectively harness AI to our benefit and how to attract and keep younger customers. These and other issues will require us to think differently about what it means to be a community banker in the coming years.  Innovation and innovative thinking will be needed, and we should be doing everything within reason to foster innovation at our institutions.

We have time to address how services will transform in the coming years and at the same time, remediate potential “disasters”, but you need to begin the transformation process now.  If you need assistance in figuring out what the future course for your institution may be, reach out to me at dpeterson@bankers-bank.com and let’s start a conversation.  Perhaps one of our innovation workshops would be a good starting point.

The views expressed in this blog are for informational purposes. All information shared should be independently evaluated as to its applicability or efficacy.  FNBB does not endorse, recommend or promote any specific service or company that may be named or implied in any blog post.