Today, I'm taking a different tack as I draft my next post about a performance scorecard we shared in our Q3 issue. While consistency, strong management, a deep understanding of one’s core market and careful risk characterized some of our most successful financial institutions, I can't miss this chance to post a more personal question:

What does it take to be great?  

Both personally and as part of an organization, I know the answer differs from person-to-person.  Still, what better time than New Year's Day to put that question out there as I formulate my next few posts.  If you're game, drop me a line and let me know what you think it really takes to make one great.

A lot has happened in the last year.  In addition to adding a new family member (a healthy little boy), I've seen Bank Director grow by leaps and bounds.  Already influential with members of the boards of financial institutions when I re-joined, our team has put into practice a number of ideas that bode well for the CEOs, CFOs, Chairmen and Directors that rely on us as their go-to information resource.  Let me share some of my favorites:

• We began to redesign the look and feel of the company's brand -- beginning with our efforts to prove one fish eating another really is a cool cover;
• We've taken social media tools like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and grown pretty impressive communities around each;
• Released new apps for your iPad, iPhone and Android-powered mobile devices so you can read our quarterly magazine wherever and whenever you please;
• Invested big time in our data sets to become a truly data-driven organization;
• Moved into the cloud to manage client relationships and communications of our dispersed work force;
• Put together new conferences for CEOs and their boards -- and had them sell out;
• Established new business relationships with a number of prominent service and advisory firms keen to reach bank executives online, in-print and in-person;
• Met with CEOs of banks whose asset size & market share make me shake my head in positive amazement;
• Built BankBusiness.com -- the most extensive directory of qualified companies currently serving the financial community;
• Produced three-to-five minute videos that feature some of the bigger banks in the U.S.; and
• Created a new Analyst Forum to share macro-level trends with directors & officers of publicly-held banks.

Next week, we will introduce even more to our digital arsenal -- beginning with a live webcast from NASDAQ's MarketSite.  We will quickly follow that up with something I'm personally excited to do: "ring" the NASDAQ Closing Bell on Tuesday, December 6th.  I'll be doing so with our chairman, Bill King, to close our one-day conference.  While that will be really cool, I do wish we could have the whole Bank Director team up with me... so many talented people are working really hard to make 2012, 2013 and beyond spectacular years!

Over the last few months, I've found myself thinking about how + why certain companies are so much better at innovating new products and services.  As technology flattens the field of competition, organizational revitalization and innovation are key to creating and maintaining a dominant position (and yes, I know that is a mouthful).  So for all you intrapreneurs out there -- think entrepreneurs within a larger/established organization -- take a look at this "Business Model Toolbox" for your iPad.  True, its pricier than most apps I've added ($40); nonetheless, as a systems and design thinker, a great tool to test new business ideas with.  I've been using it for the last few weeks while on paternity leave from Bank Director; I've found it a handy app to sketch, test and forecast a number of ideas at any hour of the day.  Worth a look if you're in the business of developing new ideas and relationships.

Last week, I tweeted out a request for a run-down of any + all words that stifle one's creative spirit.  The response -- both appreciated and at times humorous -- anchor today's post on idea sharing, "q-storming" and iterating to innovate.  For me, the word "obviously" at the start of a discussion is a killer; for others, "just," "only," "always," and "never" drained their appetites to design and dream.  And while its not a word per-se, a little piece of me dies whenever someone requires a powerpoint over a Prezi or Keynote presentation.  But that's just me...

A little evening reading reveals I'm not alone in this line of thinking; what follows are links to a three articles that might appeal to the entrepreneur / intrepreneur in all of us.

Six Secrets to Creating a Culture of Innovation

(c/o Harvard Business Review -- with thanks to @exilauren for sharing this with me)

The gist: IBM recently polled 1500 CEOs across 60 countries; they rated creativity as the most important leadership competency.  80% of the CEOs said the business environment is growing so complex that it literally demands new ways of thinking.  Less than 50% said they believed their organizations were equipped to deal effectively with this rising complexity.

Innovation Inside the Box

(c/o Eric Ries' Lessons Learned)

The gist: from cross-functional teams to co-workers working remotely, getting "in the sandbox" means sharing goals and ideas -- and than rapidly iterating to achieve success.  Take a look at a case study he posted on Monday to make the abstract real. 

Change This

(c/o Hugh MacLeod's How to be Creative)

The gist: This e-book opens with a zinger: "the more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you." My big takeaway: "doing anything worthwhile takes forever. 90% of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort, and stamina."

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If you're inspired by any or all of these, I'd love to hear.  Please feel free to comment below.  And if you're inclined to share the word(s) that keep your creative side bundled up, please do!  

I'll admit it: reading a business book over the holidays doesn't fire me up like the thought of college football bowl games or family movie nights out in California.  But this year, I might make an exception.  Nicholas Carr's "The Big Switch" has me eager to hop on my flight from Washington to Palm Springs with book in hand.  The book, new to me this week, came to my attention thanks to the remarks of the FCC's current chairman, Julius Genachowski, as he presented the Commission's plans to provide universal and affordable broadband.

That service, he argues, is not a luxury.  Instead, "high-speed Internet is nothing less than a 21st century utility that should be viewed as essential as power and water."  Now, I'm not the first to connect Carr's writing with Genachowski's focus; the Chairman himself cited the book at a recent conference on innovation.  So what's new to me?  Finding a paperback copy in Barnes & Noble!  Kidding aside, I'm pretty excited to read Carr's thoughts in advance of the FCC introducing its national broadband plan in February.