Winners

Working with straight shooters who want to do the best thing for our customers and the company makes work productive and fun.  When no one overtly seeks public credit everyone wins.  I've had the great fortune of working for an organization committed to helping our customers prosper.  With this goal in mind, we've all prospered.

Friends who deal daily with internal gamesmanship don't enjoy the same satisfaction.  When more effort is exerted in appeasing internal egos and deadlines than seeking to delight customers no one really wins.

Timing Connects Everything

Today, in San Antonio, my cab driver from the queue at the airport dropped me at a different spot at our luncheon venue than any other time I've arrived at this location.  As I exited the cab, I thought I heard someone calling my name, but also realized it could have been an attempt to connect with some Mam or a Sam rather than Pam.  In my "everything's connected" world, it was, of course, our terrific luncheon speaker, Jack Warkenthien, arriving at just that moment.  He was taking advantage of his very early arrival to visit with a colleague over coffee.  If I'd been dropped at my normal spot, I'd have missed the comforting early confirmation that my dynamite out-of-town speaker was on the premises.  A few paces forward, as I rounded a corner, I heard another personal greeting.  One of my treasured colleagues was arriving from my usual entry point at just that moment.

After our fabulous luncheon, I declined the gracious offers of my colleagues to take me to the airport.  My favorite airline, Southwest, keeps changing the San Antonio-Houston connections, and I had a long wait before my departure, so I decided to make a quick personal "retail therapy" stop before moving my mobile office to the San Antonio airport.   I opted to return calls on a bench outside a major retailer before ambling over to a hotel to hail a cab.  As I was making my final call, a friend (who is also a very close friend of our speaker) who'd attended our luncheon, and stayed to conclude a contract, drove by and spotted me.   Linda Elliott graciously offered to take me to the airport and we had the chance to consult about one of her pending engagements and our Women's Business Initiative.

I'm always amazed and delighted at how everything is beautifully connected.

Everything's Connected Even When Our Paths Diverge

It's been an emotional week as several of Sterling Bank's key contributors left today as a result of our merger with Comerica.  Though we've known their separation dates for a long time, it always seemed that our farewells and thank yous were distant.  Time flies and "then" became "now" far sooner than we hoped. 

Each of these special individuals approached their exits with optimism and appreciation for their opportunities.  "Good-byes" in banking and in life are far too limiting. We've said "so long" to each of them as we wish them continued success and as we positively  anticipate that our paths will be forever positively linked.

Divine Timing

This is the fifth year that Sterling Bank has been recognizing our 50+ hour community volunteers with the chance to designate a $500 grant in their honor to a non-profit organization.  One of our volunteers submitted a grant application for an ineligible organization two weeks ago.  Last week she resubmitted for an eligible organization, with a request to make the award in memory of her son.  I approved the request last Friday, but a printer issue prevented the notification letters to the recipient organization and the honored banker from being submitted until Monday.  The honored banker received her interoffice notification Tuesday, on the second anniversary of her son's death. 

Every day is difficult when grieving.  Significant calendar dates are often more difficult than others.  I was stunned that our timing delays caused notification to arrive on a date that was particularly meaningful to this special banker.

Helping Texans Prosper for 37 Years

Sterling Bank was founded in 1974 and has been helping Texans prosper for 37 years.  As the merger with Comerica progresses, I found 37 Sterling Bank lapel pins which will no longer be needed and used them to illustrate this chapter of our history.

Controlling the Controllables

As I've previously mentioned, Sterling Bank is being acquired by Comerica.  The merger is terrific for shareholders and customers.  Employees are understandably reacting to this major change in a variety of ways.  Many of us quickly embraced the change and others are struggling with the uncertainty. Even when there isn't a change as significant as this one, things are constantly changing in our personal and professional lives.  And there are always varying degrees of comfort in dealing with change.  Exercising higher degrees of flexibility and risk tolerance can smooth the transitions that change brings.  When we look beyond the comfort of our known environment we can begin to focus on controlling the controllables.

Things we can control include:

• attitude
• emotions
• approach
• reaction
• sense of humor
• patience
• productivity

It's reassuring to remember that there are many elements of change that are totally within our control.

Making 2011 Great - Recapped by a Friend and Colleague

I loved getting to present "Making 2011 Great" to our Sterling Bank Women's Business Initiative last week, and was delighted to have my friend and colleague, Christine Pechayco, provide her assessment of my presentation: 

On January 20, 2011 Sterling Bank WBI luncheon attendees were treated to another terrific presentation.  This time, Sterling’s own Pamela Lovett, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Community Affairs took the stage to share her thoughts on “Making 2011 Great.”

Pam shared with the audience some practical and wonderful tips for enriching personal and professional relationships, ways to be more productive, and achieving personal best. 

Developing good personal habits contribute to this end.  She encouraged the audience to seek ways to celebrate various achievements, be they one’s own large undertakings and small victories, or those of others. Pam shared her ideas on ways to be productive while waiting – catching up on reading, analyzing to-do lists, or making a new acquaintances are only some. She pointed out the value of being on time for appointments as a sign of respect for others. Starting and ending the day with a clean slate by forgiving yourself and others was another.

As one who writes about leadership, fellowship, and some of her adventures with her family through the blog Everything’s Connected, Pam has an appreciation for finding creative outlets, and encouraged others to create as well. Whether cooking a favorite recipe, completing a jewelry project, or writing, the result is the gained sense of satisfaction at the end.

Approach work with gusto and enthusiasm was another piece of advice shared by Pam, and to do so by keeping skills refreshed, through continuous learning, honing one’s communication skills, and anticipating.  Continuous learning keeps one interesting, interested, engaged and employable, according to Pam. Books, book summaries, blogs, on-line courses, and continuing education courses are all valuable means of enriching knowledge. Communicating is a two to one ratio, according to Pam.  Our two ears and one mouth underline the importance of listening before we speak, she said.  Anticipating is another important skill not to ignore, but cautioned the audience to appreciate the experience in the process. 

Attitude contributes to productivity.  Pam advised the group to shed procrastination tendencies and to act decisively, to appreciate and learn to live with the things we have, and evaluate goals.  “Be certain that what you think you want is what you really want and not what you think you should want, or what others want for you,” said Pam.

Being realistic with our self expectations is another important factor to having a successful year.  Pam said, “Give up perfectionism. Excellent is good enough,” admittedly suggesting an all-too-familiar notion.

“Best is best,” said Pam.  “My marathon may be your walk in the park.”

Lastly, she advised WBI members to cast aside unrealistic ideas of superwoman capabilities. 

Pam’s practical and timeless ideas are encapsulated in a rhyme she penned, Things I “Ate” That Make Life Great.

Look for things to celebrate

Be productive while you wait

Respect others – don’t be late

Every day clean your slate

Make something special you create

Be of value – earn your rate

Keep on learning – educate

Improve relations – communicate

Look forward – anticipate

Be decisive, don’t hesitate

Count your blessings – appreciate

Know yourself – evaluate

Best is best – calibrate

Fold your cape and liberate

Embrace Change

I've spent the past 5 years of my career with Sterling Bank.  It's an amazing organization with bright, dedicated associates who are all referred to as bankers.  We know that our goal is to help Texans prosper. 

Yesterday, we announced that Comerica is acquiring us.  There seems to be a terrific strategic, geographic and cultural fit in merging the organizations.  The deal still requires shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to close mid-year, with the transition to the new organization completed by late 2011.

There are always many unknowns when we face a major change, but embracing the possibilities is the best way I've found to help myself and others through the change process.  Though I don't know what I'll be doing professionally this time next year, I know the journey will be exciting. 

Help! My Networking is Not Working!

Here are highlights from my presentation for our Sterling Bank Women’s Business Initiative luncheon in San Antonio this week:

When we find that our networking is not working it’s almost always because we’re not working for our network!  When we work for our network, our network will be effective. We need to create long-term mutually supportive relationships.

We must give before we can expect to get.

We learned the fundamentals of networking in kindergarten:

“Make new friends and keep the old

Some are silver and others are gold.”

Effective networking is a game where everyone wins.  Though our gamesmanship improves from kindergarten through our lives, we learn from each game we play.

Four childhood and one adult game provide networking dos and don’ts:

1. Tag – It’s quick and brief with no meaningful interaction, but at least we’re in the game. Engagement is necessary.
2. Barrel of monkeys – Networking is fun! The links can become sizable, but they are quite fragile.  Bigger is just bigger, not necessarily stronger.
3. Twister - Interconnecting with others reminds us that networking is not an event, but the sum of all of our relationship building activities.
4. Lego – Building a solid foundation allows us to create a mutually supportive network. When we integrate all of the relationships in our lives we netconnect.
5. 21 - My Way (see my 12/2 blog) – Changed rules create unlimited winners.

The common theme of these games is that we increase the number of winners when we don’t keep score.  Before moving from kindergarten analogies, it’s helpful to remember that networking is a long-term process.  It’s like the 5-year old who asks in January how long it is until Christmas. She and we are encouraged to keep believing and be good.

And if we spell NETWORKING as a kindergartner might, we get NETWERKING.  Dissecting this word reveals a fun way to remember the mutuality of networking:

Net We R King (done right, we all win).

There are many ways to maintain, strengthen and grow our relationships including:

• Events
• Face-to-face one on one or small group meetings
• Phone
• Email
• Notes - Send thank you notes, recognition of accomplishments, congratulatory, sympathy
• Recommend books
• Offer time-savers – sending yourself an email with notes from a presentation eliminates the need to transcribe
• Teach someone else what you know
• Recurring appointments in outlook
• Compliment someone in front of others
• Speak
• Write
• Nominate
• Volunteer – active involvement – board development committee
• Recommend
• Ask for advice
• LinkedIn – easy way to follow-up with those you met during the day – Personalize your messages rather than using the standard ones provided.
• Blog
• Share great finds – sales, sites, courses, resources, restaurants, service providers
• When introducing others capture something meaningful about each party

Here’s my big girl expanded version of the friendship poem:

“Make new friends and keep the old

Some are silver and others are gold

Add new people to the fold

But don’t let relationships grow cold

Share the stories to be told

Let your listening be bold

Share advice when you’re polled

But be wary not to scold

We like to buy – not be sold

So put your sales pitch on hold.

Break the networking mold

Netconnect with young and old”

New Game of 21- Everyone Wins

Many adults are familiar with the "21" or Blackjack card game.  I concocted a new version of 21.  As the featured speaker for a Sterling Bank Women's Business Initiative luncheon, for one of my exercises, I provided a deck of cards for each table.  My only instructions were to deal all the cards and see how many winners each table could produce.  As I'd hoped, the players shared cards to ensure that everyone was a winner. One of our 10 tables had to overcome a 21 purist.  And we had over-achiever tables that ensured that they had a 21 hand for everyone present and created 21 for as many additional hands as they could muster.

We all have opportunities to change the rules to create more winners.

Making a Difference in Classrooms

Sterling Bank's annual Thanksgiving grants benefited 28 classroom projects in high poverty schools in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.  DonorsChoose.org makes it easy to find projects and quickly learn of the impact through the immediate grateful feedback from these classroom teachers.  This appreciative letter from one of our Houston projects beautifully illustrates the difference these classroom grants can make.

Dear Sterling Bank, Aunt Pat, Mrs Salinas and Anonymous Donor, 

My students CHOSE to skip recess so they could learn more math! I could not believe what I was hearing when my students actually decided they would rather play our new multiplication Bingo than go outside for recess - WOW! They loved it!
They were so thrilled when the boxes arrived! They have even started making suggestions for how we can use the materials in workstations. It is so nice as a teacher to see them get excited about and take ownership of their learning.
Thank you so much for your generous contributions to my students and me. It truly will help me be a better math teacher and help them be better math students! Thanks again! With gratitude,
Ms. W.

Giving Thanks

Sterling Bank just hosted our 5th Annual Thanksgiving reception to honor non-profit executives and our 50-hour volunteers.  It's one of my favorite events of the year.  Our hardworking non-profit friends spend their days thanking donors.  This is our chance to turn the tables and recognize the significant impact they make in our community.  In conjunction with the celebration, we also announced Thanksgiving Grant recipients.  This year we doubled our grant funding to complete 28 classroom projects in high poverty schools in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. 

I'm thankful that so many wonderful individuals share their talents to make an enormous difference in our community.

Charity Fundraising Ideas for Companies

Sterling Bank supports many deserving non-profits in our focus areas through direct contributions and volunteer hours.  Much of our employee fundraising involvement in Houston and Dallas is committed to March of Dimes.  In San Antonio, our bankers raise funds for United Way. 
Employee fundraising ideas that we've successfully implemented include:

• Meals and snacks of every variety
• Bake Sales
• Chocolate Sales
• Sending Singing Pink Flamingos Office-to-Office
• FunFests with Children's Activities, Camel Rides and Music
• Water Balloon Toss to Douse Your Favorite Managers
• Rent-a-Manager for a Day
• Rent-a-Team for a Half-Day
• Silent Auctions
• Children's Art Calendar
• Selling March of Dims Labeled Products including bears and bracelets
• Jeans for Babies
• Pumpkins or Booties for Babies
• Garage Sale
• Change Wars
• Cutest Pet Contest
• Extra Vacation Day Auction

We would love to know of other office friendly, low cost and easily executed charity fundraising ideas.

Mentors and Mentees

Sterling Bank recently hosted our 2nd annual Mentor/Mentee Celebration.  It was exciting to see the mentor's and mentee's eager anticipation as the pairings were announced.  The beauty of this program is that both parties benefit.  Mentors get to share their knowledge, experience, successes and advise with those who are anxious to learn what they have to impart.  Who doesn't like the opportunity to be a helpful expert?  And the mentees get to share their fresh perspectives and technological expertise with those who are appreciative of a different point of view. It's great to have innovative initiatives that yield personal and professional benefits to all who are involved.

Best Women's Business Initiative

My day, week and month were made when I googled "Best Women's Business Initiatives" and our Sterling Bank Women's Business Initiative was #1 among 15.3 million entries.  We've invested a lot of time, money and energy to create educational programs and networking opportunities for executive women and business owners. 

Thank you to the many, many of you who participate.  Please let us know what we can do to keep our program #1.

Wellbeing

Sterling Bank once again partnered with Houston Business Journal to present the fourth annual Celebrate!Enterprise, seven events during four days in May which provide educational, recognition and structured networking opportunities.  Dr. Jessica Tyler, Practice Manager, Employee Engagement and Wellbeing from Gallup Inc., the Healthcare Heroes event keynote speaker, addressed wellbeing, drawing from her colleagues' newly released book, Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements by Tom Rath and Jim Harter. 

The five essential elements of how we think about and experience our lives are:

• Career Wellbeing - Liking what we do every day
• Social Wellbeing - Relationships and love in our lives
• Financial Wellbeing - Managing economic matters to reduce stress and increase security
• Physical Wellbeing - Good health and enough energy to do the things we need to do
• Community Wellbeing - Sense of engagement and involvement in the area where we live

While 66% of people are doing well in at least one of these areas, just 7% are thriving in all five. As our individual wellbeing improves, we positively impact the wellbeing of those around us, yet another indication that everything's connected.

upGrading Texas Classrooms

Sterling Bank realizes how hard classroom teachers work to make a difference in the lives of their students. In appreciation for the impact teachers have on our area’s future, we are inviting Mainland Galveston County residents to help upgrade a Texas classroom by voting for their favorite teacher to receive one of ten $500 grants being given by Sterling Bank.

Voting will take place from Saturday, May 1 through Saturday, May 8 at Sterling’s new League City Banking Center at 1720 West FM 646 at the Gulf Freeway. Children and adults may cast one vote each for any K-12th grade teacher in the public or private schools in Mainland Galveston County. The ten teachers receiving the highest number of votes will receive upGrading Texas Classrooms grants. Grant recipients will be announced on May 13 at 4:30 p.m. at the Banking Center.


We’ve established an upGrading Texas Classrooms fan page on Facebook to encourage voting for the many deserving teachers.

Linking, Tweeting and Friending with the Pros

Three social media pros shared their advice for effectively using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter at Sterling Bank's April Women's Business Initiative luncheon:

Denise Patrick, Vice President, Marketing and Creative Services, Pierpont Communications
Steve Latham, Founder and CEO, Spur Interactive
Christine Pechayco, New Media Editor, Sterling Bank

This group of experts was quick to categorize social media as additional cost effective marketing tools to supplement what we are already doing to grow our businesses. 

Facebook was presented as a communication tool ideally suited for personal and business to consumer relationships.  LinkedIn was categorized as a business development tool.  And Twitter was described as a tool to amplify messages.

Denise, Steve and Christine agreed that social media communication must be relevant, educational and informative.  The goal is to increase awareness and ultimately move to a status as a preferred partner or vendor.

They cautioned that these tools were designed for customized two-way communication and won't work well if we try to use them to distribute press releases or overtly push products or services.  The tools will work well to spark interest, establish a reputation as a resource, enhance relationships and broaden reach.  When used effectively social media levels the playing field for small and large companies.

Though each panelist acknowledged the time investment necessary, estimates for effectiveness varied from 15 minutes to an hour per day.  Tips to minimize the time investment and maximize the impact included developing a production schedule, sharing content developed by others and using free tools like those available at HootSuite.com.

The experts were in broad agreement about the power of social media and each has a special way that they mutually benefit their networks.  Denise uses the business cards she collects during the day to extend invitations to continue the relationships through LinkedIn.  Steve provides a Monday Marketing Tip each week.  Christine is a prolific re-tweeter. 

This terrific trio helped a room full of enthusiastic business women to "Link, Tweet and Friend Like a Pro".

Sterling Community Impacts

Sterling Bank and our bankers recognized that 2009 was a most difficult year for many Texans. We were able to touch countless lives through corporate contributions and volunteer hours. More than 200 non-profits across the state were grateful beneficiaries of our corporate contributions. And we’ll never know how many lives were touched by the 214 dedicated bankers who invested 8,638 hours of volunteer service.

A record number of Sterling Bankers devoted 50 or more hours to community service in 2009. By giving our 50-hour volunteers the ability to direct $500 grants to organizations that are important to them, we allow additional non-profits to benefit from Sterling time, talent and treasure.

Sterling was once again awarded the Texas Banker’s Association Cornerstone Award for our community program. And one of our bankers, Steve Harker, received the coveted Making a Difference award from the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, acknowledging his 2,462 hours of service with the Red Cross from 2006 – 2008.

Our bankers didn’t let a challenging economy thwart their fundraising efforts. Sterling Bank posted an increase in March of Dimes contributions in 2009, rising 5 places to become the #7 Corporate Houston Fundraising Team. Shelley Cruz and Daran Landry emerged as the #9 and #10 Individual Fundraisers amidst a very competitive field.

By hosting blood drives at 8 week intervals, we’ve increased blood donations each year since 2005. Our 18.8% increase in 2009 donations over our previous record year in 2008, represents a significant number of additional lives saved.

We celebrate and thank, not only our volunteers, but all of our bankers and their family members, who are bravely serving in the U.S. military to protect the freedoms we hold dear.

Five Stone for Slaying Giants

Curt Tueffert energetically shared excerpts from his book, Five Stones for Slaying Giants, at our recent Sterling Bank officers meeting.  Just as David used a stone to defeat the giant, Goliath, Curt provided five stones for us to overcome our giants:

• Passion
• Excellence
• Vision
• Value
• Confidence

And he shared five characteristics that successful sales people demonstrate:

• Resiliency
• Personal accountability
• Self-management
• Goal achievement
• Continuous learning

By honestly assessing ourselves against these stones and characteristics, we have a path toward proficiency in slaying our personal giants.