Case Study: Libertyville Savings Bank

In this issue of Extraordinary Banker, we’re all about accountability—what it is, why you want it, and how to get it. I knew right away that I wanted to interview you for this issue because you’ve done a spectacular job of getting your employees to a place of extreme efficiency. I know you’ve also really worked on the culture, which is always at the center of our message. So I’d like to start by asking this: There was a time that your bank’s ROA was down for the count. You took control of the situation by getting your team focused on those few things that matter most, and now your ROA is just monumental. How did you achieve that focus to get such an incredible result?

That’s a great approach. Of course you can have a really great plan and still not have any execution. We all know how that works. Many businesses including banks have perfected the technique of creating a great plan that nobody completes—a world of excuses, excuses, and more excuses. But you made it happen by doing a really good job in two particular areas. One is building the system to make sure that things happen. The other is making sure there’s no space for the excuses. Let’s start with the system first. You already mentioned that you are doing the quarterly meetings and that all the employees are seeing the quarterly plan in those meetings. I know your employees have MTOs (“Minimum, Target, Optimal” goals). Have you found that to be a good system for keeping people focused?

Great! Tell me your numbers. You’ve done amazing things with your efficiency ratios and ROA. You’re really a community banking rock star in those areas.

Great. So what is your efficiency ratio now?

Nice! And what else is looking good?

Jill, those are such excellent numbers. So, how do you get your team understanding the game? A lot of people who work in banks don’t understand the product of the product. They’re just saying, “I’m taking in sheets of paper and I give sheets of paper back.” They don’t understand that the goal is to own the entire relationship with every customer so that price becomes irrelevant. You’re bringing wisdom to that customer and making them feel like they can’t live without you. Clearly you’re doing a far better job of that than most banks. How are you doing it?

Tell me a little about how you onboard a new employee, especially if they come from a different bank. A lot of people pick up bad habits from banks that lack your focus. When they come into a bank that has numbers like yours, they don’t understand how to be effective and efficient at the right things. How do you get into their heads and transform them so they understand they’re playing in the big leagues now?

One of the things you’ve done a great job of is that not only do your employees love being there and love the bank, your people really love the customers and it shows. They understand that that’s what matters the most. How do you get your people to bring out that part of their emotional intelligence, to say, “Listen, we’re not just here for customer satisfaction. We’re here for customer success.”

You’ve done a good job at making sure that your customers understand that you add more value and you’re worth the price. What are some of the best things you’ve done to make sure that your customers know that they’re not just buying a loan or a deposit, but they’re buying wisdom?

So the present is bright. Tell me about the future. You and your team impress me as people who aren’t just here for a job. You’re really here to play the game and play it well, which means making a difference. Last week, at the Elite CEO Mastermind, I saw you light up about the idea of adopting a village in Africa and have our own “village” adopt a village eventually too. When your team gets together and says, “Boy, are we proud to be community bankers,” what are the things that drive you, and what is the difference you want to make for the businesses, the farms, and the individuals in your community?

There is something that I learned from you at Strategic Planning Think Tank™ when I looked at the values you listed for your organization. I saw that part of that values process was defining the type of customers you wanted to bring on. You were getting clear about who the right people are for you. Who is in your tribe? Because there are certain people that will resonate with your bank and say, “I can’t live without them. They’re my people. They get me. I get them. They transform my life every time I interact with them, and I can’t live without them.” And then there are other people who just want a checking account. You’re really clear about the values your customers share and the values that you share. Tell me a little bit about those values.

And that is where the connection between your approach and your tremendous success and ROA become crystal clear. There’s something about how people resonate with you when you have those values—you hire to those values and you fire to those values and you promote to those values and you incentivize to those values and you attract customers to those values. That gives a congruence to your business that is unstoppable. It takes all the struggles that other banks in communities like yours have and makes them non-issues because you know who your people are, and you know you’re joining with them to play a different game. You’re helping them thrive in their businesses, not just offering them banking services. I really love how you’ve done all that.

You are welcome, and you so deserve it. I am so impressed every day by who you are, what you’ve done, and what your team has done. It’s just amazing. I know you’ve got big plans for the future, so let’s talk about those. When you’re dreaming big about the difference you want to make by taking your bank to an even higher level and an even better culture, even better accountability, even better clientele, what’s in the dream?

Well, I’ve got to say, one of the most deeply satisfying experiences is to have people come in under your wing and to have them go home every day better human beings who are more accountable, more mentally tough, more unstoppable, taking results seriously and themselves lightly, more outwardly focused on other people, more understanding that being positive is a choice…None of those things rely on perfect circumstances, and it’s a good thing because that perfect little world doesn’t exist. One of the best things that I think we do in business today is have the ability to transform people by the fact that they come to work every day. And for them to get better results, they’ve got to become better human beings.

And the impact goes beyond the workplace, into their marriages and children and schools and churches, because it’s a ripple effect in the community. There’s nothing more fun than that.

But we always learn from our mistakes. Assuming there’s something you would have done differently over the years, what would you say to any CEO about the traps to avoid falling into?

Funny you bring that up, because we just had that I.C.E. conference where banks sent their top entrepreneur clients, and we asked every entrepreneur what they considered the biggest challenge. Every one of them said, “Oh, that would be the employees.” Every one of them said the biggest mistake they’ve ever made is hanging on to somebody too long. And so it seems to be a problem for every CEO. That’s a good lesson, and you’ve learned the lesson and reaped the huge rewards for it.