Why Banks can learn from William the conqueror

  • Gary Wright, C.E.O. at B.I.S.S. Research

  • 09:00 am
  • Banking

As every school boy knows 1066 was the year that the battle of Hastings prelude William the conqueror as the King of England and what became known as the Norman conquest. Militarily this was building castles throughout the land to maintain power and ensure the riches were all in Norman hands. They stayed in Norman hands for Centuries even until today.

However where is the power today?

Apart from a few families the land ownership has since been spread around and the power has devolved to a democratic elected Government. The castles are nearly all ruins apart from a few eking out whatever they can from tourists.

The lesson for the Banks is that things change! Building a business like a castle can never be defended over time. The problem with castles was they were static and easily circumvented. Today we see Banks circumvented with some ease with Crowd Funding and other business initiatives.  Even the web forges the opportunity to bypass banking castles. 

The Normans reigned supreme for centuries but like all dynasties eventually fall. The answer to longevity is to adapt. The Normans did this replacing French with English as the home language became popular in society. They also integrated through marriage like all the dynastic civilization  through history. Like the banks today they need to talk the language of the population and integrate with society.

To achieve this though the Banks will need to realise that this is what they need to do as a future strategy. Sadly they look more like Normans building more castles.

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