Although he runs a network of community banks, Ernie Pinner says his company isn’t driving a Model T through a small town. In fact, he says
it’s more like driving a very modern car through a small town. Pinner, chairman, president and CEO of CenterState Banks of Florida Inc., says
the company’s goal is to give customers the satisfaction that comes from personal touches from a small-town bank. There’s nothing small
about the 330-employee company’s growth, however. CenterState posted 2004 revenue of $36 million, 2005 revenue of $46 million and 2006
revenue of $65 million.
Smart Business spoke with Pinner about why you should treat your customers like they are your grandmother.
Be honest. Whether you’re in the banking
business or selling shoes, reputation is
important. The product I sell is money,
and everybody deals with money. My
money is the same color as anybody
else’s, so it comes in the form of the way I
deliver the service.
It’s a very focused push on integrity and
honesty, dealt with a huge dose of humility. We tell people all the time, you can lie
once, but that’s it. If you’re dishonest
twice, you just can’t work in this business.
People are honest by nature, but you
have to encourage that honesty to be visible. It’s just doing what’s right. It seems
too simple, but we live in a world where
somebody takes advantage, or you charge
a little extra because you can get away
with it, or you cut back on service
because it’s not needed.
Treat customers like they’re your grandmother. You don’t ever lie to grandma, and
you do what she says, how she wants it,
and you do it with a great deal of enthusiasm. You do that, and the honor and
integrity will show itself.
Get out of the way. My talent is attracting talent. Everybody who works for me is
smarter than me. This whole company is
based on pushing responsibility to the
lowest level. It’s a decentralized banking
operation, so each bank stands on its
own. The local bank management runs
the bank. My job is basically just to keep
their powder dry.
They do all the work, they deserve all
the recognition. If there’s an obstacle in
their way, it’s my job to get it moved. And
if they call for help, I come running. Other
than that, I stay out of their way.
Don’t make it your way or the highway. Your
employees won’t always do it right, they
won’t always do it the way you want it
done. But if they get to the end result and
the customer’s happy, then let them do it
their way.
That’s part of our culture — push
responsibility down to the lowest level. I
may process your loan different than my
buddy two doors down or the next town over, but as long as it’s being done in a
manner that’s honest and the customer is
happy, we don’t have to be alike.
Sometimes a CEO will delegate but then
start telling them how to do it. You
empower people, you give them the
authority, you delegate, and you get out of
their way. I have a tendency to want to get
involved, and that won’t work.
Toss your employees in the deep end of the pool. You have to put people to the test before
they’re ready. A lot of times we say, ‘Well,
they’re not quite ready, they need more
training, it’s a little bit over their heads.’ Put
them out there.
Generally, people will learn in a crisis a
lot faster than they will when it’s on automatic pilot. If you put me in charge and I’m
over my head, I’m going to work a lot harder than if you put me in charge and it’s easy.
You empower people sooner than even
you think they’re ready. Now, stand ready
to bail them out, but get out of their way
and let them flounder a little bit. In this
business, until you’ve made a few bad
loans, you’re not really a good lender. You
don’t shoot somebody because they made a bad loan. It’s part of the experience.
So delegate and get out of the way, and
delegate sooner than what you think is necessarily right.
Keep your culture fun. The greatest challenge
is to keep young people coming into this
business and to keep them motivated and
enthused to keep it growing.
If we hire an employee from one of our
competitors, the culture here is refreshing
[for them]. We’re not Southwest Airlines,
but I do buy in to that concept that if we’re
not having fun, we are not doing our jobs.
There’s not a policy manual for that; it’s
more of a culture, that over a number of
years, the core of our team has developed.
You pass it down in a traditional manner.
Grandma always cut the last two inches
of ham off before she put it in the pan, and
now mama did it, and now my sister does
it, and now my sister is teaching my
nephew and niece how to do it. So now
four generations are cutting the end off
this ham, and they don’t know why — it
was just passed down that way.
The culture that’s here, the core of us
have acquired over a number of years. It
permeates the space. You either adjust to
this culture real quick, or you leave. It’s
not a question of us running you off, it’s a
question of, is this something you would
like to do?
Encourage hard work. Many of today’s
bankers, being in the age group of 45 to
60, they got in this business and learned it
through a generation of hard work. We’ve
lost some of that. It’s important that hard
work — whether it’s on the end of a hoe
handle or whether it’s pushing a pencil —
should be honored and should be expected and even demanded.
If I go to work for you, I’m going to give
you 40 hours without question. I want to
walk out of there with you thinking you
owe me for 45, even if I only worked 40.
It’s important to encourage the spirit of
work, especially with young people.
HOW TO REACH: CenterState Banks of Florida Inc., (863) 291-3900 or www.centerstatebank.com