As we celebrate the Fourth of July, it occurs to me that one of the beautiful things about this country is the wisdom that was brought to us by our founding fathers and the degree to which they stood by those principles, and how those principles mattered to them; how they could see what didn’t work in other countries, and wanted to bring something forward into a new country that they knew would work.

Video: Reevaluating Values: What Stands the Test of Time

What a great time for us to reflect on the values that we stand for in community banking and also within your own community bank.

Because you stand for something, great things happen. What I love about community banks is that we stand for our communities. Without us, the businesses wouldn’t thrive, and the individuals would not have the backing. There is something unique that we bring to the world that just doesn’t get done without the existence of community banks.

That said, there’s always the next level. And so I ask you this as you’re approaching the next half of 2020, what will be the values that you stand for? And when I say stand for I mean that it is in your bones and you do not compromise on those. What will be the aspirational values that you feel you need to bring into your organization to take your organization to the next level and emerge even stronger at the end of COVID and all the other craziness that we’re going through?

So take some time off, restore, enjoy yourself and think about who you want to be next, and what values will guide you to make sure that you have a solid institution that withstands centuries.

– Roxanne Emmerich

Please watch the video above and share it with your exec team and board.