Tonight, the Class of 2012 graduates from the ABA School of Bank Marketing and Management.
Last night, many of us gathered together for one final happy hour (before the official 'final happy hour') as our class.
Most people were feeling bittersweet about the experience. Glad to be done with presentations, papers and "school," but sad to be leaving a great network of friends and colleagues. Not that, in the age of social media, we won't stay connected to each other, but most of us will not have the opportunity to see each other every day.
Yes, we are [insert your own cliche here].
Part of the ongoing value of the school is the network you leave with. I'm happy to have a group of people with wide varieties of experience who I can reach out to with my questions. And, I'm happy to be that resource to my fellow classmates.
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Mission: Accomplished
I'm ready for my t-shirt: "I Survived BankExec."
And, our bank (for now) will not be taken over by the FDIC. We ended with some liquidity issues, but...what's a funding issue between friends?
The simulation required our class to be divided into teams: 7 banks competing against each other. We spent a lot of time meeting just as our team, so I can only speak to our team's dynamics. However, based on the success of each bank in our class, I'm sure the experience was similar for everyone.
Our team was made up of people with a variety of complementary backgrounds, from non-competing areas. While we had about a month to pour over the initial set of financial statements, once we began making decisions for the simulation, we had less than 2 hours to review and decide our next move. This is where having everyone's diverse background was beneficial. In our team, one person would make a recommendation for a decision. Another person would bring up some considerations. All of us discussed, contributed, and arrived at a consensus. We even had time for people who might be unfamiliar with a particular area of the bank (ie maybe they didn't handle deposits, loans or investments) to ask questions and get them answered by other teammates more familiar with those particular areas.
Personally, I find I learn more from this informal type of learning.
The biggest challenge with the game, and our biggest points of discussion, is that the simulation is not the real world. So, some people in our team made suggestions that were very valid in the real world and their real markets, but not in the game. Again, it was a great opportunity to discuss how things happen in the real world and how they differ significantly (on some items) from the simulation.
I'm not going to reveal all of our winning strategy here (as the child of educators, I would hate to deny you your own learning experience!), but I will say that we had two ground rules that helped keep things moving for our team:
1) It's just a game. (This was repeated multiple times a decision period, especially as time drew closer to meals or end of day)
2) No arguing over pricing decisions that were 5 basis points (bp) or less apart (ie should our rate be 7.99 or 8.00?).
Also, it's important to remember that the simulation is designed to help you think like your finance department, not your marketing department. You only make two marketing decisions: how much to spend on marketing and what priority you place on each of your products to receive those marketing dollars.
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
And, our bank (for now) will not be taken over by the FDIC. We ended with some liquidity issues, but...what's a funding issue between friends?
The simulation required our class to be divided into teams: 7 banks competing against each other. We spent a lot of time meeting just as our team, so I can only speak to our team's dynamics. However, based on the success of each bank in our class, I'm sure the experience was similar for everyone.
Our team was made up of people with a variety of complementary backgrounds, from non-competing areas. While we had about a month to pour over the initial set of financial statements, once we began making decisions for the simulation, we had less than 2 hours to review and decide our next move. This is where having everyone's diverse background was beneficial. In our team, one person would make a recommendation for a decision. Another person would bring up some considerations. All of us discussed, contributed, and arrived at a consensus. We even had time for people who might be unfamiliar with a particular area of the bank (ie maybe they didn't handle deposits, loans or investments) to ask questions and get them answered by other teammates more familiar with those particular areas.
Personally, I find I learn more from this informal type of learning.
The biggest challenge with the game, and our biggest points of discussion, is that the simulation is not the real world. So, some people in our team made suggestions that were very valid in the real world and their real markets, but not in the game. Again, it was a great opportunity to discuss how things happen in the real world and how they differ significantly (on some items) from the simulation.
I'm not going to reveal all of our winning strategy here (as the child of educators, I would hate to deny you your own learning experience!), but I will say that we had two ground rules that helped keep things moving for our team:
1) It's just a game. (This was repeated multiple times a decision period, especially as time drew closer to meals or end of day)
2) No arguing over pricing decisions that were 5 basis points (bp) or less apart (ie should our rate be 7.99 or 8.00?).
Also, it's important to remember that the simulation is designed to help you think like your finance department, not your marketing department. You only make two marketing decisions: how much to spend on marketing and what priority you place on each of your products to receive those marketing dollars.
 |
| Ok, maybe 3 marketing decisions: how to position your bank to sell it to your classmates so you can hang out by the pool on a beautiful afternoon. We had no takers because we priced too high. My strategic advice to you: Sell your bank as "free to a good home." |
Seeing the bank from this other perspective helps you understand how you can justify your marketing budget in terms of overall bank profitability, and helps you understand why your bank may be making certain decisions about products/sectors to pursue.
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
School Begins Again
Last night, we had orientation meetings for our respective classes.
During the networking/check in session prior to orientation, it was great to see everyone from my year and meet the new students who I reached out to prior to this week.
Glancing through my binder, however the reality of being back hit. 8 AM start today. A full day of class.
Year 1 is a lot of information - the foundation for Year 2, which is a lot of practical application. My schedule this year appears to be a lot of group discussion and practical application. As one of our advisers explained, "This is the time to make mistakes. To try things out without messing anything up in the real world."
As a "Year 2" now, I'm coming into class with a different perspective. One of my classmates said it best of her Year 1 orientation experience: "I didn't know what was going on."
If you are looking at the School of Bank Marketing and Management, I encourage you not to be intimidated by "not knowing anyone." Many friendships are formed over flight times. Ninety percent of the class will come in the same way -- not knowing anyone.
The week's activities are a great way to get to know classmates. This week, we have a variety of happy hours planned. Tomorrow evening is a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum. Saturday is a real Texas rodeo. Next year's school, in Atlanta, will surely boast just as impressive a list of activities.
By Year 2, you know the ropes. Understanding and being able to manage the stress and expectations of the school is half the battle (the other half being actually accomplishing the work and networking). And, as I found out tonight, your binder is about half the size of the Year 1 binder. (which, unfortunately, is also a bit of an intimidating reminder that we aren't learning through presentation this year. We are learning through practical application.)
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
During the networking/check in session prior to orientation, it was great to see everyone from my year and meet the new students who I reached out to prior to this week.
Glancing through my binder, however the reality of being back hit. 8 AM start today. A full day of class.
Year 1 is a lot of information - the foundation for Year 2, which is a lot of practical application. My schedule this year appears to be a lot of group discussion and practical application. As one of our advisers explained, "This is the time to make mistakes. To try things out without messing anything up in the real world."
As a "Year 2" now, I'm coming into class with a different perspective. One of my classmates said it best of her Year 1 orientation experience: "I didn't know what was going on."
If you are looking at the School of Bank Marketing and Management, I encourage you not to be intimidated by "not knowing anyone." Many friendships are formed over flight times. Ninety percent of the class will come in the same way -- not knowing anyone.
The week's activities are a great way to get to know classmates. This week, we have a variety of happy hours planned. Tomorrow evening is a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum. Saturday is a real Texas rodeo. Next year's school, in Atlanta, will surely boast just as impressive a list of activities.
By Year 2, you know the ropes. Understanding and being able to manage the stress and expectations of the school is half the battle (the other half being actually accomplishing the work and networking). And, as I found out tonight, your binder is about half the size of the Year 1 binder. (which, unfortunately, is also a bit of an intimidating reminder that we aren't learning through presentation this year. We are learning through practical application.)
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
So This is BankExec
There are two major projects in Year 2 of SBMM: the presentation, which I wrote about in my last entry, and BankExec, the bank simulation software that show you the decisions that are made to run a successful bank.
I'm spending the wee hours of my Cinco de Mayo reading the instruction manual because:
1) It's recommended; and
2) I love reading instruction manuals.
As someone who spent the 1980s dorking out on text-based video games, I love a good "thinking man's game." After reading a 50+ page manual, however, I'm longing a bit for Adventure (and others) where all of my decisions needed to be succinctly captured in a two-word phrase, and, when I got in trouble, I just had to type "XYZZY!" ("Nothing happens.")
My challenge for my team with BankExec is to be the first marketing-based executive team to run a successful bank. If other blog entries are to be believed, this is a nearly impossible goal. (Also, for the record, creating a successful bank is not the goal of the exercise. The simulation helps you understand all of the decisions that go on in the bank by putting you, as part of a team, into a position where you need to make every decision. Whether or not your bank is seized by the FDIC before the end of school week is just the cherry on that Sundae of Learning.)
Full disclosure, I have an MBA. I'm part of my bank's ALCO committee and am a member of our management team. This simulation is what I participate in on a monthly basis in my job. And, right now, it's overwhelming to me.
In real life, I don't have every decision thrown at me at once. In real life, I don't have to think about every decision. Some decisions/recommendations are intuitive (or perhaps just feel more intuitive than they are, since I'm not required to submit them to HAL in table format). And, for me, sometimes when problems are presented as "financial" problems (ie accounting/finance/CPA type stuff), I second guess my thinking.
But, ultimately, BankExec appears to be 75% sales/marketing decisions to position your bank against the competition to obtain loans and deposits. Then it's just a matter of "running the numbers," which is just like household budgeting: How will I pay for this? What interest am I earning on my accounts? Am I breaking any rules by doing this?
I also can't discount the benefit of the collective experience of my team. The recommendation from the manual is to break the simulation down into 5 parts - one for each team member. Each of us will run through thought process for one area, then make group decisions based on these individual recommendations.
But, I'd have to turn in my "Highly Competitive" card if I didn't set my bar just a bit higher. I'm not looking to be the best bank, just one that survives Year 2!
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
I'm spending the wee hours of my Cinco de Mayo reading the instruction manual because:
1) It's recommended; and
2) I love reading instruction manuals.
As someone who spent the 1980s dorking out on text-based video games, I love a good "thinking man's game." After reading a 50+ page manual, however, I'm longing a bit for Adventure (and others) where all of my decisions needed to be succinctly captured in a two-word phrase, and, when I got in trouble, I just had to type "XYZZY!" ("Nothing happens.")
My challenge for my team with BankExec is to be the first marketing-based executive team to run a successful bank. If other blog entries are to be believed, this is a nearly impossible goal. (Also, for the record, creating a successful bank is not the goal of the exercise. The simulation helps you understand all of the decisions that go on in the bank by putting you, as part of a team, into a position where you need to make every decision. Whether or not your bank is seized by the FDIC before the end of school week is just the cherry on that Sundae of Learning.)
Full disclosure, I have an MBA. I'm part of my bank's ALCO committee and am a member of our management team. This simulation is what I participate in on a monthly basis in my job. And, right now, it's overwhelming to me.
In real life, I don't have every decision thrown at me at once. In real life, I don't have to think about every decision. Some decisions/recommendations are intuitive (or perhaps just feel more intuitive than they are, since I'm not required to submit them to HAL in table format). And, for me, sometimes when problems are presented as "financial" problems (ie accounting/finance/CPA type stuff), I second guess my thinking.
But, ultimately, BankExec appears to be 75% sales/marketing decisions to position your bank against the competition to obtain loans and deposits. Then it's just a matter of "running the numbers," which is just like household budgeting: How will I pay for this? What interest am I earning on my accounts? Am I breaking any rules by doing this?
I also can't discount the benefit of the collective experience of my team. The recommendation from the manual is to break the simulation down into 5 parts - one for each team member. Each of us will run through thought process for one area, then make group decisions based on these individual recommendations.
But, I'd have to turn in my "Highly Competitive" card if I didn't set my bar just a bit higher. I'm not looking to be the best bank, just one that survives Year 2!
Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.
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