Link to Book

Back to: Barret Library: Can’t Miss Books for Community Bankers

Ok, I have to admit that when anyone calls themselves a “futurist”…I get a little skeptical.  However, we heard Mike at ICBA Live in San Antonio and I was impressed enough with his approach to buy his book at the back of the room.  Now, if I buy merch in the back of the room from anyone, then I’m fairly impressed.  The main thrust of this book is one I believe is facing community banks today…”the greatest threat we face is not robots replacing us, but our reluctance to reinvent ourselves”.  That’s a powerful message to community banks in the throes of digital adoption into our business models.  It shifts the focus away from the tech back to us (individually and corporately).

His “10 principles that every leader needs to survive and thrive in the algorithmic age” are worth sharing here as well as I think you’ll see the tone of the book.

1. Work backward from the future

2. Aim for 10x, not 10%

3. Think computationally

4. Embrace uncertainty

5. Make culture your operating system (Byron’s note: there’s that word “culture” again!)

6. Don’t work, design work

7. Automate and deliver

8. If the answer is X, ask Y

9. When in doubt, ask a human

10. Solve for purpose, not just profit.

A word of warning…in the interest of disclosure…the book can get a little technical sometimes.  I don’t understand how algorithms work and how they do what they do.  In a way, that’s the point of the book…how we adapt in such a world…but the truths in this book are worth punching through the technical part.

–Byron