Five Questions for Richard Davis

On the evening of October 11, the Citizens League will honor Richard Davis at its annual Civic Celebration at Minneapolis Event Centers. A few weeks before the gala, the former president, CEO, and executive chairman of U.S. Bank took time out of his wall-to-wall schedule to talk about serving the larger community.

Q. You’ve said that many bankers don’t start intending to make a career in the business. They fall into it and fall in love with it. What made you fall in love?

A. It happens early on. You start out as a teller cashing checks. Someone hands you a deposit slip and a check to change into money. Then, at some point, a customer looks up and says something like, “I’ve never had a car. How do I get a car?” Or, “I want to save money and I don’t know the first thing about how to go about it.” And you find out that you have an expertise that people need and value; that you’re actually helping people with something they need. It’s that simple. It’s mission-based.

Q. What role does a bank play in the wider community?

A. Back in the 1880s—the old Bonanza days—every little town in America had a saloon, a hotel, a little store, a jail, and a bank. There was always a bank. It was a place of trust where people would bring their money. And it was also a community place. Each bank had a community room, which would be open with a different access to the street. When the bank was closed people would have their PTA meetings, their city council meetings, and the bank became the center of information, before the internet or Starbucks.

Fast-forward to today’s bigger institutions, like U.S. Bank, which has three thousand branches. That’s three thousand communities. If you let three thousand managers feel empowered to be the person who convenes the chamber of commerce or sits on some other active board, and then give them the backing of your big bank—but don’t get in their way—the institution can play a huge role in the wider community’s social, political, and economic future.

Q. In the wake of the last financial crisis, the banking industry’s collective status took a hit. What will it take to fully restore that reputation?

A. Most people are OK with their bank, and they love their personal banker. But they don’t trust the bank across the street. That’s because there are still bad actors out there, and people hear bad things about the industry as a whole. As we move forward and heal, every bank needs to work on their one-to-one story and foster one-to-one relationships. And at the end of the long day, the industry will get back to a place where—because more and more people report positive experiences—their overall impression of the industry is positive. So, yes, it’s on its way back. But the hole is so deep following the recession that I think it’s going to take another generation to get there.

Q. When it comes to civic engagement, what differences do you see in the next generation of leaders?

A. In the old days, my parents gave to charities because I think they thought God would hurt them if they didn’t. My sister and I gave to charities because I thought my parents would hurt us if we didn’t. But my adult kids give to charity because they decide they want to give to charity. That’s a big difference. This generation gives on purpose. They give because they see the mission and they believe they can make a difference. But, wait for it . . .they absolutely need to get engaged with their time and their talent, and then the money follows. They are very handson. When they find something they like and they’re committed, they are very passionate. They’re more intentional. They’re deeper in their commitment and they’re more likely to sustain it, probably [more] than any generation before.

Q. Our politics are pretty fractured these days. What lessons would you share from your work as a corporate leader about building consensus?

A. A couple of years ago, after a rash of police shootings—including the Jamar Clark shooting in Minneapolis—I set up a phone call with banks in our 28 largest cities, and we agreed that every market would have a listening session with its most senior people, just to let everyone vent and talk about their concerns. I also let those who weren’t comfortable participating in a listening session know that they could email or call me privately. The idea was to create an environment where employees felt safe and felt heard and felt part of finding solutions. For change to happen, our political leaders have to be vulnerable and they have to prove that they don’t know everything. And we have to create environments where people can be heard. In the old days, we were supposed to come up with the solution. Now that solution is to create the environment for honest, open dialogue.