Guest Speaker Report

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Guest Speaker Report

Dan O’Neill started out his career in business as an advertiser for the Gateway that provided him with exposure to the business world. During his senior year at college, he sought clients in the banking industry who would be interested in advertising within the Gateway. He had a negative opinion about banks and the banking industry as a whole. He associated banking with formality and serious businesses. His approach to the potential clients (banks) largely focused in the potential of the client market that was largely made up of students. These group f students would eventually graduate and seek avenues to fund their further studies, capital for businesses, capital to purchase homes and other financial needs.

He notes that his arrival into the banks was marked by nervous given that he was intimated by the conduct of professionals in the banking hallways. Banks have increasingly become friendly towards their clientele as a means of enhancing competitive advantage over other players in the same field. Additionally he persuaded the president at the First National Bank of Omaha on the need to target students as they provided an integral target market that would enhance profitability of the bank. He gained a sale and was able to understand his future by gaining insight into the banking industry.

From the lecture, O’Neill emphasizes the need to focus on education as a primary ticket towards excellence. Education, especially higher education, provides numerous professional and 9ndvidual opportunities towards wealth and success. Additionally, a majority of students largely focus on the outcome of their education and what they will do when they achieve an undergraduate degree or post-graduate degree rather than focusing on excelling and evaluating the various opportunities that may be provided to them after completion of education. Such opportunities provide one with avenues to achieve growth in terms of employment, experience and professionalism.

He notes that working in different organizations such as Sears, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provided him with significant exposure towards becoming an excellent professional banker. Additionally, he notes that banks are a lifeline for communities given that they are owned by people. People rely on banks to keep their wealth, take up funding for business, education, mortgages and homeownership, and health concerns. When he was invited for an interview for a position at the First National Bank of Omaha, he felt intimidated similar to the first invitation to an interview after completing college.

Furthermore, he notes that his interaction with the bank president was largely based on the need to evaluate his individual character as opposed to evaluation f his academic and educational qualifications. The bank president was interested in the values held by O’Neill and how such values would reflect onto the organization if he were selected for a position. His integrity and adherence to regulations while working at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) influenced his great sense of integrity and respect for rues, regulations and order in the banking industry.

He learnt an important lesson in managing the banks. He learnt of the need to take responsibility for all activities that he managed. An illustration of individual character, motivation, aggression and integrity enabled him to achieve excellence. He also notes of the need to undertake extra effort for his clients as a means of creating excellent customer service. Observing such traits provides avenues towards excellence in careers and providing exceptional services to clients irrespective of the field of business. Personalized services for customers are evidently essential for banks as it provides a means to achieve service satisfaction by the clients.

The author emphasized on the need to ensure perfection in execution of duties by assuming a personalized approach in execution of tasks. He notes that tasks, duties and responsibilities that were delegated to him by the bank president could only be executed successfully through a dedicated approach. In addition, understanding the needs, wants, preferences of the customers is integral to achieve business success. In the conclusion remarks, he notes of the minimal regulation in the banking industry as well as the financial markets that was the primary cause of the Financial Crisis of 2008.

The unsecured loans were responsible for the loss of significant shareholder investments and the collapse of corporations that had provided numerous employment opportunities for American citizens. Protecting shareholder investments, providing solutions to common social problems among the clients and enhancing profitability should be the primary priorities of banking institutions. However, the failure of the financial markets towards regulation of business conducted resulted in significant loss of shareholder investments and collapse of some of the biggest financial institutions in the United States.

Realizing individual potential amounts to taking risks and maintaining a high level of individual integrity and discipline. It is evident that success is impossible to achieve in a short period but is rather attained in a gradual approach similar to O’Neill’s success as the bank president of First National Bank of Omaha. Additionally, there are numerous opportunities in the world in terms of career and business options provided if one is able to identify individual skills, strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, motivation forms an integral role towards success, which can be achieved by understanding individual goals, and objectives.