Letters From Leton: If I Don’t Do It Somebody Else Will!

So after five years and a few cracks, I am getting a new cell phone.

In preparation for its arrival this week (in Covid times, new phones come in the mail), I went through my phone and my Cloud information. You know – contacts, saved files, pictures.

I hadn’t cleaned out the phone “closet” for a while, and slimming it down would make it easier to move data to the new phone.

As I thumbed through the phone, getting rid of some documents was easy. Deleting duplicate photos wasn’t so bad. Then it came to contacts… contacts no longer with me. That was tough.

In looking back, some were expected. My wife’s grandparents who all lived to nearly 100 years of age. Others a surprise – two roommates from college. Others even more sad – young folks who succumbed to cancer or Covid.

Not that I had an epiphany, but I was reminded this weekend how technology – especially the phone – has changed everything – including banking.

As an example, we offer not just one, but two apps for managing your finances. In addition to our mobile banking app, we offer a second app specifically for your debit card. This app allows you to do basic things such as transfer money from savings to checking, check your balance, and freeze your card.

Times have changed. We need to know as much about our apps as we do about running a teller machine. We need to know as much about how to download our apps as we know about how to get to our physical offices. 

My question is – do we?

Dr. John in his song, “Such a Night,” reminds the listener, “if I don’t do it somebody else will.”

In the Banking business – in any business – if you and your folks aren’t “telling” your customers, somebody else will. In order to tell, you must know and understand.

What is our Commitment to Tell? Our Commitment to Know?

Photos on a phone don’t fade away, but they can disappear.

So can a bank disappear if it is not prepared to be in the 21st Century.

Stay Safe and Get Your Vaccine.

– Leton

 

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“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.