Over the weekend, we watched the movie “A Complete Unknown”, a movie about Bob Dylan and his blossoming career.
There are lots of things one could take from the movie:
-
His relationships with Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie and other noted musicians.
-
His difficulty relating to others, including his girlfriend, made him a pain in the you know what.
-
His absolute musical genius.
What I found most interesting was his longing for something beyond what others expected of him and the limitations put on him. While Dylan respected the past, he knew that he and others needed to move into the future to be relevant.
Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Alan Lomax (the great American curator of folk music), and the record company wanted him to stick to traditional folk music. His initial recordings were completely controlled by the record company and were remakes of old standards. None of his original music was included.
This artificial limitation on Dylan and his creativity eventually led him to frustration and a point of confrontation – “going electric” at the Newport Folklife Festival. A seminal moment in the history of music, not just folk or rock and roll (suggest you look that up on Google).
The crowd at the festival wanted the “old Dylan” and booed and threw trash at Dylan as he performed. But Dylan heeded the words of his friend Johnny Cash and tramped some mud on their rugs. And he and the band moved forward with music from one of the greatest albums of all time (number 4 on Rolling Stones greatest albums of all time) – Highway 61 Revisited.
In banking and finance, some folks want us to hold onto traditional banking – hold on to the “old ways”.
But what is “traditional banking”?
In 1888, there was no night drop. No drive-ups. No computers. No ATMs. No debit cards. No online banking. No e-alerts. Should we go back to “1888 Traditional Banking”, give up these products and services, and work as our predecessors did in 1888?
I don’t think so.
Last week, the President signed an executive order doing away with all payments by check by the Federal Government. They also announced that the Federal Government would no longer accept checks for payments at the same time (September 2025).
What does this mean? What will the impact be on businesses and folks?
Well, for starters, it can be a great opportunity for PVB to promote our Treasury Management Services and help people venture into the “Complete Unknown” of banking in the 21st Century. After all, when traveling to a new place, it is nice to go with a guide who understands the lay of the land.
In 1888, 1988, and, I suspect, in 2088, banking products and services have and will keep changing. The key was and will be the consistency of the people in banking who cared for others and their financial needs. And realize the “Times, They Are (Always) Changing”!
Have a great week. – Leton
____________________________________________________________________
“Letters From Leton” is a blog series comprised of the weekly updates that Leton Harding – President, Chairman, and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank, shares with the Bank’s team members. These newsletters are full of uplifting anecdotes and intriguing insights that are applicable beyond the Bank, so we want to share them with you.
Image Attribution: By Jean-Luc Ourlin – originally posted to Flickr as Bob Dylan, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6699964
