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This Land of Strangers

"..the most important book of the decade." — Richard Boyatzis, co-author of best seller Primal Leadership

Relationships, in all their varied forms, have been the lifetime study of Robert Hall. He brings a rare combination of experience as a researcher, consultant, writer, teacher and CEO in dealing with the real-world relationship challenges of modern organizations. When coupled with a decade of hands-on experience in the gritty world of inner-city homeless families it translates into a tapestry of vivid stories, well-researched and oft startling facts, and strategic insights that weave together the yet untold narrative of society's gravest risk and most stellar opportunity.

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Robert has published more than 150 columns, articles, white papers, and research studies on relationship. In addition to being a regular contributor at Huffington Post, his work has been published and discussed in Forbes, American Banker, Sales & Marketing Management magazine, The CEO Magazine, ABA Bank Marketing magazine, Computerworld, The Daily Beast, Business Week, The Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, The Detroit News, The Indianapolis Star and in international publications including Sydney Morning News (Australia), European Financial Management Association (London) and Relational Thinking Network (Cambridge, UK).

Banking with the Enemy

Nov 15

“… deposits are flooding in the door … the result of a favorable macro environment, not the strength of their brands or their own marketing pizzazz. – Tom Brown, bankstocks.com

• • •

The word most associated with the word “predatory” – in a Google search – is “lenders.”

For bank marketers a funny thing happened on the way to building our brand. While we were working to positively position and frame our industry and our individual organizations – the […]

Built for Human Scale

Oct 15

“All organizations are perfectly aligned to get the results they get.” – Organizational design expert Arthur W. Jones

• • •

He stopped loving her today … So wailed George Jones in mournful country-western lyrics about the end of a life-long love-affair that could never be reconciled. I can relate. After nearly three decades, I just left my bank. It was my first break-up with a bank other than when I moved to a new city. The reason was not service, convenience, price […]

Relationships Built: Even in War, Relationships Are Everything

Sep 15

Early in both Iraq and Afghanistan our troops did body counts, à la Vietnam. But the big change came when the officers running these wars understood that R.B.’s (“relationships built”) actually matter more than K.I.A.’s. One relationship built with an Iraqi or Afghan mayor or imam or insurgent was worth so much more than one K.I.A. Relationships bring intelligence; they bring cooperation. One good relationship can save the lives of dozens of soldiers and civilians. – Thomas L. Friedman, The […]

Relationship: Absolutely, Positively, Under No Circumstances

Jul 15

Me: Is there any way I could call you tomorrow?

Him: No. You can contact the call center here, but there is no way to ensure that you get me.

Me: Is there any way you could call me?

Him: No. We are not allowed to make outbound calls.

Me: Well now surely in this age of electronic communication there is some way to do this. Is there a set time when I could call-in tomorrow, like when your shift first starts so we could talk?

Him: No.

Me: Could you email me […]

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Article

Structural Shift: Cheese on the Move Again

Jun 15

I am like the mouse in the trap. I have pretty much given up on the cheese and am just trying to get my head out of the trap. – Weary owner of a major league baseball team after announcing its sale.

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In the midst of the current economic meltdown it is hard to get a handle on what is short-term trauma resulting from the shock of the current crisis and what is the longer term structural shift that represents […]

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Article

The Curse and the Opportunity of Living in Interesting Times

May 15

May you live in interesting times. May you come to the attention of those in authority. May you find what you are looking for.- According to Chinese legend, three ancient curses of increasing severity.

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Oh, the curse of living in interesting times. Business in general is challenging these days and the questions about marketing strategies and budgets are particularly tricky. In the banking industry a number of organizations have gotten adverse publicity for spending marketing dollars on high profile ads, […]

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Article

Troubled Times: Sound Advice From the Frog Pond

Apr 15

“Chorusing, the frogs appear as one cohesive unit to such a predator.” – The Effect of Low-level Jet Overflights on the Natural Soundscape, Bernie Krause.

• • •

If you work in a bank these days you are probably getting it from all sides. The President and the Congress are standing in line to beat you up both for making too many bad mortgages and not making enough credit available. Groups from afar are interested in executive compensation, reward programs and trips for […]

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Article

Doing Business With Those You Know

Mar 15

Scott Ballum … started the Consumer Reconnection Project: a yearlong effort to only make purchases if he could make a personal connection with someone along an item’s production chain. – Rebecca Sheir, NPR, 1/19/09

• • •

Bloody Monday is the name given to a day – January 26 to be exact – when 71,400 jobs are lost. Blue chip companies like Caterpillar, Starbucks, Pfizer, Google, and Microsoft bleed jobs and whole companies disappear at an alarming rate. Economists keep bidding up […]

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Article

Too Large to Manage, Too Big to Fail – Too Much

Jan 15

Who knew Iceland was just a hedge fund with glaciers? – Thomas Friedman

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The victims of our financial services meltdown are everywhere, including Iceland. While many culprits have been fingered – greed, incompetence, lack of proper oversight – I believe there is one underlying cause that warrants further discussion: Too large to manage and too big to fail. Our remedy for organizations that have become oversized and often dysfunctional is to merge them into ever larger, more unmanageable and […]

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Article

Organic Customer Relationships: Old McDonald Had a Bank

Dec 15

People today are involved “in a kind of lostness,” in which we destroy the sources of our own lives without knowing what we’re doing. [What’s needed is] an ethic that places paramount importance on the cultivation of love and care for one’s particular place, its people and its traditions … – Wendell Berry

• • •

The signs were already emerging. Customers, employees and even shareholders were beginning to view institutions with greater distrust and even contempt. The recent economic meltdown, the […]

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Article

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