THE YEAR IN THE LIFE'S JANUARY 2016 MENTOR VISIT
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Photos courtesy Nick Floyd and Emily Walsh
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In late January, as "The Year in the Life" project moved into its final months, we once again paid a visit to First Green Bank. This time we invited along two mentors who are leading thinkers and doers in the Regenerative Economy space—author, business advisor, and educator Carol Sanford; and Vincent Stanley, author, poet, and Director, Patagonia Philosophy.
Over two days, Carol and Vincent each met with Ken and also with his staff. They looked back over the past years since the bank's founding in 2009, when it was operating under strict regulatory scrutiny and with constraints on growth during its de novo period. They then explored the tensions along the path the bank will take going forward as those regulatory constraints are loosened and it will have the ability to grow at a much faster pace, at the intersection of the old and new economies. Each staff member was asked to think about how he or she might contribute his or her "singular" talents and passions to support and deepen the bank's regenerative business practice in the coming years. Capital Institute's Founder & President John Fullerton also explored this question over lunch with Ken and board member Randy Strode. Later, joined by fellow board member Dr. Robert Prudon, we videotaped their frank discussion about holistic values and the diversity of ways investors can express them. (We will be releasing a short film about "The Year in the Life" project this spring.) On the evening of January 27 we convened a discussion with Ken, Carol, Vincent, and John Fullerton at Rollins College in Winter Park, where each reflected on what "regeneration" means to them. During the interactive session, the receptive audience responded with questions and their own affirmations. |
One of the highlights of our visit was meeting members of the bank staff, each of whom have been on their own regenerative journey. They are both supporting Ken's vision and challenging him to go deeper with it. See some of their excerpted comments at the end of this photo essay about our visit:
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First Green Bank's Mt. Dora's branch is LEED Platinum. (Above) The living wall that greets customers in the branch lobby.
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Carol and Ken speaking after their one-on-one morning discussion on January 27 at the flagship Mt. Dora branch. "I think that the level of intention you have and the aspiration is amazing." Carol reflected. " You can see it everywhere physically in the building and how dedicated the people are. What I heard you describing about how you grow this business it's not just about growing in scale, but how you take your story and use it to grow. You won’t do it as other people do, it will be about deeply embedding the values you have in how you grow."
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On Wednesday afternoon, Carol and First Green Bank staff explored together the role reactivity, ego, and purpose play in their interactions with one another and the importance of being aware of how one's own and others' reactivity and ego can sometimes constrain, but sometimes also advance, regenerative purpose.
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Staff lunching with Carol Sanford in the boardroom around the repurposed common table.
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Staff members dug deep at Carol's Wednesday afternoon workshop, sharing their ideas about how they could better tap into their personal sense of purpose to contribute to the bank's regenerative practice. (From left to right: Boardmember Dr. Robert Prudon; Assistant Controller Kim Melanson, CFO Melissa Atkins, and Compliance Officer Jessica Stephenson.
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Later that evening at a reception outside the Bush Auditorium at Rollins College, the conversation was animated!
""Being a values-based business is really hard and anyone who tells you differently isn't being authentic. Is it working? I don't know yet." —Ken LaRoe, CEO FIrst Green Bank frankly admitted to the audience.
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Close to 200 people packed the Bush Auditorium and participation was enthusiastic during the interactive session. By a show of hands, at least half the members of the audience identified themselves as entrepreneurs.
An audience member spoke about how she contributes to Central Florida's regenerative economy by helping to nurture the local organic food network.
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"Regeneration is key to our future prosperity. We need it to recreate life at the individual, company & global level." —John Fullerton, President & Founder, Capital Institute
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Vincent Stanley, meeting with FGB staff, on the afternoon of January 28, noted that “people are starting to come out of the fog” and to recognize that “cognitive dissonance” is not an adequate response to the environmental crises we face.
Vincent's view of what lies ahead, he said, might be considered by some to be overly optimistic. But, he maintained: “Working for a Patagonia or a First Green Bank you have agency to respond,” to the crises of our times. “These are businesses," he believes, "where we bring our whole selves.”
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Vincent Stanley visited Ken at his lakeside home where together they reflected on the past year. They also looked ahead as Ken seeks to balance his commitment to broaden and deepen the bank's values-based impact on the Central Florida economy while at the same time setting it on a rapid growth trajectory. They pondered the questions: "Can he do both?"
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On a tour of rural Lake County, where Ken's roots go deep, Vincent snapped this photo of Ken father's machine shop, which Ken worked hard to get placed on the National Register of Historic Places. That's Ken's Tesla parked outside, linking his past to his present.
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Meeting members of the bank staff—who are both supporting Ken's vision for the bank and challenging him to go deeper with it—was one of the highlights of our visit.
Kelly Krusoe, Management Associate
"My generation is looking for a different way to do business. It’s not just a narrow focus on making money any more. When I started with the bank I was looking for something that would combine my passion for finance and sustainability and for the green world. Working with First Green Bank has been eye-opening. I'm seeing the benefits of working in a community-focused business. We have identified that many of our clients and customers are maybe not as far along on the "regenerative curve" as they may want to be. So we see that as a great opportunity for us to help them take the first small steps." |
Kasey Litvany, Credit Analyst
"What exactly does a regenerative bank do? It is an abstract thing so it is hard to explain. But living through it you understand it on a deeper level. It starts with each individual at this bank, each understanding and accepting the mission of the bank as his or her own. Most people would agree that credit analysis is not the most glamorous job. But I know I am not just crunching these numbers just to see another building go up, just to see another high-rise. I know that my work is directly contributing to the establishment of these green energy resources like PV solar loans and it gives me this increased drive and boost. My work is to be sure the bank helps fund those dreams." |
Annette Snedaker, Director of Marketing & Strategy
"A couple years ago I was a United Methodist minister. a church planter, developing a church from scratch. You talk to people about a vision of a different kind of church. You offer that mission to people and try to get them to come and live in it and be part of that new way of doing a church. At a certain point, people don't just come to the church, they start believing it and incorporating it not just into their life on Sunday morning, but their daily grind is affected by something bigger. There is a point in their lives where these two worlds start to blend, and there is no longer a separation between 'what I do on Sunday and how I talk, act, and function at work.' I think that is where we are trying to go here in the bank, driving a mission of regenerative practice." |
Meredith Pagan, Senior Customer Service Representative
"For ten years I worked at one of the largest banks in the nation. I was a top performer. I loved my clients and the employees, but a life event happened that changed me. During my leave I was awakened to a deeper level of health and wellness, to spirituality and compassion, and the environmental crisis. From there my life was ever changed and I knew there was something bigger and better out there. I resigned from my position believing I could make a difference. A month and a half after that I got a call from Ken Laroe. I am now an advocate for First Green Bank. When I meet with clients I try to go deeper than their cash flow, and get to know them and their needs and passions, so that I can effectively be their trusted advisor. When they hear the passion I have for the bank and what we have to offer, everything flows naturally." |
