For folks who know Leonardo DiCaprio or Robert Redford, you are likely aware of the movie they starred in—The Great Gatsby. Redford starred in the original movie in 1974, and DiCaprio starred in the 2013 remake. Both were based on the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, known in some circles as the “Great American Novel.”
But it didn’t start out that way. When the novel was published, it only sold 23,000 copies. Much less than Fitzgerald’s earlier books (This Side of Paradise, 1920, and The Beautiful and the Dammed, 1922). When Fitzgerald died in 1940, he considered himself a failure for not writing a book that captured America.
What changed the poor-selling book by a deflated author into the Great American Novel? During World War II, the Council on Books in Wartime distributed free books to American soldiers. One of their favorite books was The Great Gatsby! The rest is history.
In life, business, and banking, we may struggle as we think about success, just like Fitzgerald did. Even to the point of letting others convince us we’re not successful because we’re just a little bank in the far reaches of our respective states. That is not who we are, nor what we are becoming!
Recently, my wife’s cousin got up at 5:30 AM to drive to Asheville from Wise to present a certified power of attorney (POA) to the Bank of the person she was helping out. The big bank once had offices throughout SWVA and East Tennessee, and it was at the bank’s local office in Norton that they had originally opened their accounts. That bank, however, no longer has locations in our region, and they would not accept a scanned or faxed copy of the POA. It had to be presented in person at an office almost 150 miles away!
I once asked this person (my wife’s cousin) why they kept their accounts at the large Bank? They shared that “no one” before me had asked them that question, and with electronic banking, using a local bank just didn’t seem important. After their difficulties with the POA, they now see the value of a local bank. They moved most of their business to PVB, and love our electronic banking services, balanced with our in-person service.
As you read this, some individuals and businesses are banking with entities that are no longer in or will be in their communities. Entities that provide no personal service, have outlandish fees, and have no local expertise to support services like ACH, Positive Pay, and Treasury Management.
Unless banks like PVB communicate our message and services effectively, we could be like Fitzgerald, and folks will only appreciate what a bank like PVB is all about after we are gone.
It is PVB’s hope that we make our customers appreciate us in the here and now, and stick around for a very long time!
Have a great week. – 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.
