Welcome to Tony de Bree’s “Diary of a banker”.
Welcome to my new blog, ‘diary of a banker’. I am glad you are here. Just look around, read the posts, discover the links and watch the videos.
My objective is to enter posts and articles on a regular basis, sometimes in the form of a diary, sometimes by reacting on articles or shows and sometimes by including videos on certain topics like the newly started video-series on “Investment Banking 4 Dummies” (don’t miss out, they are really instructive AND fun).
All aimed at learning from the mistakes we all made in the last 15 years and using that experience to build “the bank of the future”.
Finally, how can I open my new blog “diary of a banker” in a better way than with “Diary” by Alicia Keys! With a fantastic “Tony” in the background between the two ladies…..enjoy!
Regards,
Tony de Bree
Tony de Bree’s Diary Of A Banker Blog
p.s.
If you want to leave a comment, please do. If you want to share something, but if you do not want me to publish your name, then click herehere and forward your comments to me personally: “I won’t tell”.
p.p.s.
If you want to read what others are saying about me and/or if you want to link-up, click here:
New: free articles and video’s on Twitter.
Free articles and video's on Twitter
Morning,
a few days rest before tomorrow the hectic and stress starts again at ABN AMRO due to the upcoming split of RBS away from the “Bosbank”.
What has really impressed me this week was the incredible role social media like Twitter and Youtube play and have played during the events in Iran and around the death of Michael Jackson.
Especially the impact of Twitter as a new medium to inform the World about what is going on has been impressive.
Now, as any people especially in Banking do not know much about Twitter yet, I have included a link to one of my sites with free articles and free video’s on Twitter.
Click here to read those free articles and to watch the free video’s on Twitter.
Yep, for free….as we are still in a crisis…….
Regards,
Tony de Bree
www.diaryofabanker.com
“Customer Intelligence and CRM” (Efma, Paris, Day 1).
Customer Intelligence, EFMA, Paris, June 10-11
Good afternoon from rainy Paris.
Just finished the first day of the Efma Conference on “Customer Intelligence and CRM”. I did not have time to go the masterclasses as I had work to do.
As usual, good program (Philippe!). The first presentation was by Jane Nolan from AIB Bank in Ireland. Very interesting.
I also liked the contribution of The Deutsche Bank (Andres Stoffers) on their strategy regardign activating dormant clients (not to be confused with “dead”) and the one from Anne Kyhl Hauskou from Nykredit in Denmark.
The interesting thing is still that it is clear that new banks from Eastern Europe but also banks like Nykredit can start all-over quickly without making all the mistakes the “dinosaur” banks have made.
To be fair to the dinosaurs: of course the birds, the crocodiles and the turtles did survive!
Something else was interesting also and that is as we already concluded in 2001, there still is a big difference between pronounced strategy and the reality: cost cutting comes first and the clients ……..
Although we all know this is deadly as is brings us in de downward cost-cutting spiral, it still seems to be the norm.
The other issue coming up with larger banks is still the attitude of the internal IT-departments. Unfortunately nothing new.
In general, it apparently still is “computer says no” (Little Britain) in banking instead of users and business first:
This one is for Michael Mischker from SAP (from Paul Iske): NT + OO = VEOO:
New Technology + Old Organisation = Very Expensive Old Organisation.
And finally: long live “creative destruction”: 45-52% cost reductions comparing to 25 by process improvement.
Shower first, then some “chilling” and then dinner in Paris.
Speak to you soon.
Tony de Bree
www.diaryofabanker.com
Happy Easter! Let´s change the world…
Morning, everybody is still sleeping. Except me. It is Easter. I am getting really tired of all the pessimistic stories and gloomy people. Don´t you? And that is why I dedicate this great song by Eric Clapton (´change the world´) to everybody around the world that feels like doing something positive instead of ´yes, but…´.
Happy Easter!
Tony de Bree
www.tonydebree.com
Subprime Explained (Investment Banking 4 Dummies, lesson 1)
John Bird and John Fortune (the Long Johns) explain how the crisis begun and along the way give a great insight into the world of investment banking.
They also explain terms as “Sentiment”, “Volatility”, “Subprime Mortgages” and “Structured Investment Vehicles” in a few seconds.
This is really “Investment banking for dummies” lesson 1.
Great stuff!
Tony de Bree
www.tonydebree.com
p.s
Make sure not to miss any of the next lessons of “Investment banking for dummies” by subscribing to the RSS-feed.
Creative thinking and mind mapping
Morning,
just before going to work, I just wanted to share with you some ideas about how you can use mind mapping to promote your innovative and creative thinking.
Because innovative thinking can benefit greatly from mind mapping because it is able to consume all the common skills found in imagination, creativity, flexibility, and organization of ideas. There are some fundamental elements that you need to know if you want to improve your creative thinking. According to psychological research, these elements include using shapes, colors, unusual elements, and dimensions. Aside from that, it also involves the adjustment of the conceptual positions and it also considers the response to emotionally pleasing objects.
According to further studies, mind maps are the best tools in nurturing creative thinking. If you try to apply mind mapping in any of your activities, you will be able to create lots of innovative ideas than what you’ve expected.
In creative thinking, there are different stages. In the first stage, you can start by drawing a central image to represent a general topic. Make sure that the image is drawn at the center of the paper or blank page. Try to focus in the image and take note of the ideas that come into your mind. Welcome all ideas that enter your mind and indicate it on paper. You don’t have to write a lot of text; in fact, it will be a lot better if you use graphics or drawings instead. Take note of all the ideas no matter how absurd they may seem.
After that, you need to take a break so that your brain can also rest. Look at the ideas that you’ve generated. Get another blank paper and create a new mind map. Use the same central image but this time you need to identify the categories and major branches. You need to build up the hierarchies and look for new associations from the preliminary ideas. If you see repetitions of ideas in different branches, disregard them and don’t try to remove them because they might be important later on.
Your mind map will reflect your current thoughts. Study it carefully and you will be able to explore intellectually, making room for growth. When your mind is at rest, for example when you’re sleeping, you must take note of creative realizations. These are sudden bursts of ideas and you should immediately indicate it in your mind map. You need to reconstruct your mind maps and integrate all the ideas into one map.
The goal in creating the mind map is to look for decisions, realizations, or solutions. Examine your mind map again and look for breakthroughs or new insights. Soon you will realize that all the ideas are connected with each other and you will be able to find the answer that you’re looking for through the mind maps.
In creating mind maps, you will go through the different stages. If you find difficulty in one stage, don’t give up and try to continue making the maps. Follow the step above and soon, you will have a mind map of your own. When you’re in the process of creating the maps, you will notice that you’re creative thinking is already at a high level.
Making mind maps is one way of enhancing an individual’s creative thinking. Adults find it hard to use creative thinking because they are more rational thinkers but you shouldn’t be discouraged in exploring this portion of your mind. You will soon realize that it will be the key in solving your problems and in achieving your goals.
If you want to read more articles on mind mapping and watch some free videos, just click on this link:
Free articles and videos on mind mapping
Have a nice day,
Tony de Bree
www.tonydebree.com
New “Dagboek van een bankier”, my blog in Dutch (WIP).
Hi.
Just a small post to tell you I am working on getting my new blog “Dagboek van een bankier” in Dutch up and running.
Here is the link: www.dagboekvaneenbankier.nl
I am working on the Dutch translation of the theme used.
Kind regards,
Tony de Bree
www.tonyde bree.com
p.s.
Currently a bug in the template….working on it.
Free Checklist “Stress Management For Bankers” direct download by Tony de Bree.
Hi.
It is Sunday morning and I am working on my new books and presentations.
This morning, I also finished the new updated free checklist on “Stress Management For Bankers”. I called it “What Is Causing Stress In YOUR Life?”. It is an 8-pager with checklists covering your job, your personal relationships and driving in your car…..
Stress Management For Bankers: Free Checklist by Tony de Bree
You can get a free copy at “Stress Management For Bankers” by clicking here (NO REGISTRATION). If you want to receive the checklist and get new free updates, you should register yourself here. And by the way, you can give the checklist away to friends.
The writing with some friends of mine and ghostwriters of the “Stress Management For Bankers”, special reports and eBooks go according to schedule so in time for the first quarter of 2009.
So be sure not to miss that announcement be either joining my generic list on this site or by downloading this free “Stress Management For Bankers” checklist here.
Tony de Bree
www.tonydebree.com
‘Must read’s for any governement owning banks and for change managers.
Morning,
did some very nice workshops and presentations regarding the ‘Death of the dinosaurs’ theme. New ones coming up. In the next weeks and months both in The Netherlands and abroad.
Many people ask me about what to read. Well, I think that the following books are ‘must read’s for any government or change manager within or outside the banking industry. And on top of that they are fun to read also….especially the first two…. Click on the image of the book to get more info or to purchase it…
Again looking at the dates of publication, it shows that there is indeed nothing new as I wrote in my book in 2001. The only thing I did was apply what I saw around me (being that the large Banks were actually becoming extinct) using the observations in these types of books as a framework, I then constructed my own dynamic strategic framework for dynamic positioning of companies within and outside the industry.
Kind regards,
Tony
www.tonydebree.com
The Inconvenient Truth Behind The Financial Crisis….(1)
Morning,
first I wanted to thank all of the colleagues and other people from inside and outside the Financial Services industry for their encouragement and support. That the message is starting to come across, also becomes clear as the requests for articles, presentations and workshops are streaming in (including the Skype sessions).
Now one thing really bothers me though today. Most of the people contacting me are scared to say what they really want to say. One of the reasons might be that in most Financial Services companies there is no formal and independent ´whistle blowing´ Policy in place. And we are in the middle of a Financial Crisis with massive layoffs ahead.
But it is disturbing that in a number of countries like The Netherlands there seems to be a kind of common agreement in the Press and in Politics that the crisis is solved best by excluding all `bankers´ from any discussions and only give room to people that are either ´false experts´ or can be used to make the point that ´all bankers are arrogant b….´, that all of us were greedy and not looking after our clients.
Which is completely beside the point……as we all know. 99% of the people in Banking have always cared for their clients and have given the best years of their life to the respective companies.
The result is that hardly any of the letters. articles or comments are published….of any of the Financial Services ´untouchables´ concerned that I get letters from.
The Inconvenient Truth Behind The Financial Crisis….?
Now why would the Press and the Governments in a number of countries take that stance? Well, I am not really sure but there might be two reasons:
1. It suits everyone much better if the blame can be put on a small number of top executives in the companies concerned as is the stance taken in `de prooi´, ´the prey´on the history of the hostile take-over by the Consortium of the ABN AMRO Group).
2. The press and the Governments are ´advised´ by the same ´false experts´ (inside and outside the Industry) that were activally involved in all the things that went wrong since the beginning of the Nineties in and around the Industry. So they are actually ´asking the Christmas Turkey what will be for dinner at Christmas´.
This might be the inconvenient truth behind the Financial Crisis….but I might be completely wrong of course…
What do you think?
Kind regards,
Tony de Bree
www.tonydebree.com