Leading for Growth: How Umpqua Bank Got Cool and Created a Culture of Greatness

"Ray Davis addresses many of the key issues we face in continuing to drive growth at Nike—staying connected with the consumer, leading change, building the brand, and cultivating a strong corporate culture. He offers clear solutions and creative leadership approaches for all business leaders, regardless of industry."

—Charlie Denson, president, Nike Brand

"Ray Davis is a leader for the 21st century. He understands that winning companies compete on ideas—ideas that shape the future of their industry and reshape the sense of what's possible among customers, employees, and investors."

—Polly LaBarre, coauthor, Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win

"Thanks to Ray Davis's leadership, Umpqua Bank is the premier experience-stager in the banking industry. The principles that he brought to bear to lead what once was a small, sleepy company into a dynamic, growing organization are yours for the taking in Leading for Growth. Read it, apply them, grow, repeat."

—B. Joseph Pine II, coauthor, The Experience Economy, and cofounder, Strategic Horizons LLP

"Growing a business demands basic disciplines that are often ignored. Leading for Growth provides a compelling look at what's required for companies to break out of the pack."

—James Champy, coauthor, Reengineering the Corporation, and chairman of consulting for Perot Systems

"Leading for Growth presents an inspiring and powerful set of lessons about growing a company from a leader who has 'been there and done that.' The book is relevant to anyone in a leadership position faced with the need to change a culture and/or grow successfully—essentially, all of us."

—Eric Flamholtz, president, Management Systems Consulting Corporation, and professor of management, Anderson School, UCLA

Leading for Growth tells how any business can use the same leadership discipline and creative thinking that made Umpqua Bank get bigger, better, more agile, and more customer focused, and turned it into a relentless competitor. This important book shows how to truly lead—as opposed to manage, plan, or strategize—through extreme growth. Ray Davis's insights will help you

• Discover what business you are really in and create your competitive advantage
• Build an organization with committed employees
• Connect marketing strategy and execution on the ground
• Create learning opportunities for all managers and staff
• Fight the syndrome that often pulls people back into old routines
• Rise above the day-to-day conflicts to achieve a strategic perspective on your company and where it is going
• Manage mergers and acquisitions in ways that support rather than dilute your culture

Leading for Growth is written for any leader who wants to create a competitive atmosphere for exceptional growth.

Alan Shrader is managing editor of Leader to Leader and an experienced writer and editor of business books.

PART ONE: PREREQUISITES FOR RELENTLESS GROWTH.

1. What Business Are You Really In?

2. Never-Ending Discipline.

3. Have Positive Passion.

4. Snap the Rubber Band Syndrome.

5. What’s Going On Behind Your Back?

PART TWO: ROLES OF A LEADER.

6. Support Your People—and Hold ’Em Accountable.

7. Give Them the Power.

8. Rise Above the Battlefield.

9. Explain Your Movie.

10. Be Real.

PART THREE: MASTER THE BASICS.

11. Sweat the Small Stuff.

12. Who Do You Want on Your Bus?

13. Keep Your Board Strong—and Informed.

14. Intangibles Matter Most.

PART FOUR: MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING.

15. Find the Revolution Before It Finds You.

16. Your Brand Is You.

17. Serve the Customer.

18. Put Design into Everything You Do.

PART FIVE: LEADING YOUR CULTURE.

19. Be There.

20. Keep Your Balance.

21. Remember Who You Are.

22. Mergers and Acquisitions Done Right.

Conclusion: Making Relentless Progress.

Acknowledgments.

The Authors.

Index.