引领成长--How Umpqua Bank Got
Cool and Created a Culture
of Greatness
作者Ray Davis with Alan Shrader

Contents
Introduction: There Is No Door Number Three 1
The pursuit of relentless growth has one underlying
premise: You get better or you get worse. You can’t stay
the same. This book is for all companies that are tired
of treading water.
PART ONE: PREREQUISITES FOR RELENTLESS GROWTH 7
1. What Business Are You Really In? 9
Umpqua started to take off when we decided we
were really in the retail business, not just the banking
business, and started learning from successful retailers
like Nordstrom. This chapter offers advice to help you
discover what business you are really in.
2. Never-Ending Discipline 23
Leaders need to realize that growth is not a project,
not a quick fix. You must have the discipline to realize
you never have it made.
3. Have Positive Passion 30
Be relentless about your vision. Know what you stand for.
We call ourselves The World’s Greatest Bank. It helps
us stand out with our customers, but more than that,
it creates positive passion within the company.
4. Snap the Rubber Band Syndrome 40
Each of us has a rubber band attached to our backside,
connected to tradition. This chapter offers strategies to
help people overcome the pull of comfortable routines.
5. What’s Going On Behind Your Back? 49
Having the right strategy is meaningless unless you can
execute it flawlessly on the ground. This chapter explains
how to put systems in place to inspect the execution of
strategy at the lowest level.
PART TWO: ROLES OF A LEADER 57
6. Support Your People—and Hold ’Em Accountable 59
Leaders have many roles, but support and accountability
are critical—and they go hand in hand.
7. Give Them the Power 69
In the past, the leader was the guy with the answers.
Today, you have to empower the people closest to the
action to come up with their own answers.
8. Rise Above the Battlefield 79
Leaders need to rise above the battlefield to achieve a
strategic perspective on the company. I explain the tactics
I use to get above the fray and—just as important—how I
help the people on my executive team do this as well.
9. Explain Your Movie 87
Leaders cannot delegate the job of explaining their vision
for the company—what I call “this movie that’s playing in
my head.”
10. Be Real 94
If you can’t be yourself, you can’t lead. It’s as simple
as that.
PART THREE: MASTER THE BASICS 101
11. Sweat the Small Stuff 103
Every great company sweats the details. In this chapter,
I talk about how great companies such as Disney sweat
the small stuff.
12. Who Do You Want on Your Bus? 109
In Good to Great, Jim Collins says that you’ve got to get the
right people on the bus. I think that is exactly right. But
who are the right people?
13. Keep Your Board Strong—and Informed 118
Companies can’t move fast if the executive team has to
drag the board of directors along with it. This chapter
viii CONTENTS
describes how I work with my board to keep us all aligned
and on track.
14. Intangibles Matter Most 128
In a service business like ours, the most important
metrics measure things that are intangible.
PART FOUR: MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING 139
15. Find the Revolution Before It Finds You 141
Revolutions are going on all the time in consumer
preferences, in technology, in marketing, and in other
areas. We do a number of things at Umpqua to find
these revolutions before they overwhelm us.
16. Your Brand Is You 150
People don’t like faceless bureaucracies. They like real
people, real personalities. We’ve achieved remarkable
success by staying true to ourselves. Some people say
we’re corny, but it’s who we are—and people respond.
17. Serve the Customer 158
This chapter details our Universal Associates program:
every associate in our stores is trained to be able to
handle any task a customer requires. This sharply sets
us apart from our competition. What are you doing to
set yourself apart?
18. Put Design into Everything You Do 165
Design encompasses much more than just the physical
layout of stores or products. When design is used effectively,
it brings every aspect of your business into alignment so
that everything reinforces and supports everything else.
PART FIVE: LEADING YOUR CULTURE 173
19. Be There 175
Maintaining a culture is like raising a teenager. You’re
constantly checking in. “What are you doing? Where are
you going? Who are you hanging out with?”
20. Keep Your Balance 184
Leading for growth is a high-wire act—and there are
many dimensions to keeping your balance.
CONTENTS ix
21. Remember Who You Are 193
The biggest danger of relentless growth is that your very
growth will undermine the qualities that produced that
growth in the first place. You’ve also got to know what not
to change—what to maintain if you want to stay on track.
22. Mergers and Acquisitions Done Right 201
A lot of Umpqua’s growth has come from acquisitions,
which have the potential to disrupt or dilute the acquiring
company’s culture. We have not allowed that to happen.
Conclusion: Making Relentless Progress 211
The key to growth is making progress every single day.
Acknowledgments 215
The Authors 217
Index 219