Listen, I don’t know about you, but I think everyone’s pretty much tired of 2021. But what’s going to happen in 2022?

Well, first of all, what did we learn from 2021? 

2021 Lesson Number 1

As community bankers, we’ve learned we are tough and that we can withstand a lot of pressure from putting in PPP loans into the system at three o’clock in the morning and working around the clock through the weekends to make sure that it all happened. 

2021 Lesson Number 2

We learned that culture can actually improve during difficult times, and some banks had culture scores that went up—while some came apart at the seams during the Great Turnover Tsunami. So basically, we’ve learned that culture is a series of the right systems implemented correctly. And when you have that in place, the culture continues to work regardless of outside circumstances.

2021 Lesson Number 3

We have learned that when we are all about our community and making a difference for them, we earn the right to be their trusted advisor—not because we say the words trusted advisor, but because we bring sophistication to the solutions to help people rock their world. We make sure that they have stability and soundness to make the fights go away in their marriages because finances are handled. We’ve found that we can make a big difference and that the difference is more important than ever. 

Let’s never forget these lessons. But let’s remember the most important lesson of all:

2021 Lesson Number 4 

The lesson of RESILIENCE. 2022 will give us the opportunity to see more crazy things happening around us. But as it is happening, how are we in the eye of the storm going to make sure that we stay calm and move ahead strategically, undaunted by the fact that many banks will give up this year? Many banks will lose their independence, and many banks will lose their top-of-peer performance because they’re not keeping up with what’s next. We must be resilient and remember what we learned in 2021. 

But in 2022, we also have to bring forth an even better way of doing things. We need to evolve as trusted advisors beyond lip service to bring truly great sophistication to every customer. Because let’s face it: they’ve never been more vulnerable to your desperate competitors’ crazy pricing strategies. 

This is the time to shine. Tough times create great opportunities and 2022 will inevitably give us some challenges, but that’s okay. Bring it on. We’re ready for them as long as we keep growing. 

Congratulations on a great 2021. And let’s go see what you can make happen this year by bringing even more sophistication and awareness into your team to create a spectacular 2022.

– Roxanne Emmerich

I hope you’ll watch and share the video with my thanks and best wishes for your holiday.