Straight Talk — Your circle of influence

Bankers face tremendous distraction these days. Calls from reporters and uncertain customers, heightened scrutiny from regulators, and uneasiness from shareholders all tend to pull bankers from primary tasks such as making loans, gathering deposits, identifying investment opportunities and otherwise growing the franchise. Think about where you have been directing your energy lately. Are you reacting to things you can't control, or are you proactively directing your business toward your goals?. Like me, you probably read Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" several years ago; I encourage you to pick it up again because his counsel is appropriate for challenging times. Particularly compelling is his discussion about the difference between proactive people and reactive people.. Covey writes that all people have a "circle of concern." We are all concerned about a lot of things in our family, work and civic arenas. Within that circle, we each have a "circle of influence." This circle depicts the things we can actually change within the larger circle of concern. For example, while a stagnant real estate market might fall within our circle of concern, it falls out of our circle of influence. There is not much any of us can do about the sinking value of homes. Good customer service at your bank, however, also falls within your circle of concern. Unlike the housing situation, service quality is clearly within your circle of influence.. "Proactive people focus their efforts in the circle of influence," Covey writes. "They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their circle of influence to increase.. "Reactive people, on the other hand, focus their efforts in the circle of concern. They focus on the weakness of other people, the problems in the environment, and circumstances over which they have no control. Their focus results in blaming and accusing attitudes, reactive language, and increased feelings of victimization. The negative energy generated by that focus, combined with neglect in areas they could do something about, causes their circle of influence to shrink.". It is very easy to point fingers, assign blame and grow angry in the current economic environment. Certainly, that is the route many reporters and pundits, in addition to politicians, are taking. But that is a destructive route. Bankers reading this editorial — most of whom had nothing to do with creating the troubles and uncertainty that plague our economy — will get through these times by focusing on the things they can control. Those who continue to provide great service will actually emerge from the dust a lot stronger, with an even larger circle of influence.