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SPEAKER:
Lawrence K. Fish
Chairman and CEO, Citizens Financial Group
Member, MIT Corporation
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ABOUT THE LECTURE:
The gods of commerce must have blessed Lawrence Fish, for not only has he transformed a small Rhode Island bank into the third most profitable company in New England, but he has done so while religiously pursuing policies of decency and fairness. Fish looks to his own credo of “customers, colleagues and community” as primary explanation for Citizens’ success. Forget a “focus on technology or finance or strategy,” he says – “we focus on people.” As a service business, there’s little else on which to achieve “a sustainable competitive advantage.” This means, for instance, that all 27,000 Citizens employees should treat customers as “we would like to be treated, and all the time.” This means returning phone calls and emails within 24 hours. Because you “cannot have happy customers and unhappy employees,” Fish labors mightily to make Citizens “the best place to work in the world.” The company subsidizes workers’ pet insurance; provides $1500 tax free in case of any calamity; help with down payments on a first home; and bridge pay for military reservists. These benefits “touch people’s hearts” and also help boost the bank’s image. To further cement the tie between business and community, all Citizens employees volunteer in the place where they live or work. They must also abide by a strict system of ethics. Fish believes that if you make your company a “joyful place to work,” do right by your customers and community, “the profits come back.”
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Fish's banking career began in 1972 at Bank of Boston, where he ran operations in Brazil and Japan, headed the Asia Pacific Region, and New England Banking.
Fish is a Director of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Textron Inc., and a member of the Board of Trustees of The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. A 1966 graduate of Drake, Fish earned an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1968. He was the recipient of Harvard's Frank Knox Fellowship, which included graduate study at the London School of Economics and travel in India.
Citizens leadership page
NOTES ON THE VIDEO (Time Index):
Video length is 53:54.
Dave Weber, Director, Corporate Relations, MIT Sloan, introduces Dana Mead, Chairman, MIT Corporation, and previews upcoming events in the series.
At 2:26, Mead introduces Lawrence K. Fish.
At 6:45, Fish begins.
At 31:28, Fish takes questions.
At 52:33, Alex D’Arbeloff, former Chair of the MIT Corporation, founder of Teradyne, Inc., and Professor of the Practice, MIT Sloan, thanks Fish and presents a gift.
The information on this page was accurate as of the day the video was added to MIT World. This video was added to MIT World on 2006-04-26.
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