Every business has a story to tell.
Those are the words that first pop up on our agency’s website because at our very core that’s what we believe. Not only does every business have a story to tell but every business has the opportunity to be remarkable. But this isn’t always easy. How many of us have read a Seth Godin book or an inspiring blog post about telling your businesses’ remarkable story to the world only to be told by those we answer to “that’s all good and well but the [INSERT PERCEIVED BORING INDUSTRY HERE] business isn’t like that. We aren’t Nike or Apple or Starbucks …”?
Case in point – many falsely think that banking or the finance industry is sterile and unremarkable. More so now given the sobering news of the day. In fact, many are using the marketplace’s need for stability as a reason for sanding out any pointed edges of creativity. (How many big bank CEO’s have we seen on TV reassuring recently?) And yet there are those who persevere and tell their story. And sometimes it gets picked up.
Yesterday as I was listening to NPR’s Morning Edition, one of their short 0:30-second point-of-interest stories struck me. It briefly told the story of First State Bank in rural Norton, Kansas — a bank with a seemingly unremarkable name that has a wealth of remarkability. You see, First State Bank has a one-of-a-kind portrait collection of all of the losers from every presidential election from Thomas Jefferson to Kansas’ own Bob Dole. And how did the bank celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday? By adding his opponent John McCain to their collection.
That’s it. That’s all I know about First State Bank in Norton. But if I were told that I had to be a resident of Norton, I might learn over time that there was an older or more prestigious bank in town but I wouldn’t have bothered to look because I know the folks at First care about being fun and remarkable with their work. And in times like these especially, it’s nice to be around people who care and enjoy their work.
Every business has a story to tell. Every business has the opportunity to be remarkable. But like all opportunities, it only comes to life when someone steps up and takes action on an idea. And that is a very brave thing to do.
