To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends

• We haven’t been involved in too many start-ups this year, but one where we helped write their Strategic Plan was Bay Equity.  This San Francisco lender just finished its third month of operations and closed over $17 million in August.  Way to go, all you McGovern brothers.
• We’re always telling clients that they absolutely need a three year I.T. Plan.  But you can’t just have general goals.  As an example, you can’t just say in your plan that you want to be paperless in 2009.   The Plan has to have specific time frames and specific benchmarks, such as: (1) decide on possible vendors by January 2009, (2) Review and interview all vendors by April 209, (3) Have demos by May 2009, (4) make final selection of vendor by June 2009, (5) negotiate contract and initiate implementation by August 2009, (6) Go live in all branches by September 2009.  Without specific dates, nothing will ever happen.

• Ever hear of Tightwad Bank?  It was formerly Reading S