Connection and relatedness

I was thinking about the financial crises and how the size of the institutions and the lack of relationships contributed to the problem.

When I was growing up, we lived in a small town. My parents knew and were friends with the branch manager of the local bank. I remember going into the bank with my dad many times. We would always go go over to talk to Merle, the bank manager. He and his wife Elaine had become friends of my mom and dad. Even after Merle retired, and they moved out of the area, my parents stayed in contact with them.

The relationship between my dad and Merle, was critical to their successful transactions over decades. Based on a long history of interaction, they knew each other. They knew each other's character, family circumstances, hopes, dreams. So, when my dad decided to ask for a loan to purchase land and build a house, Merle knew he was trustworthy. He knew dad's history, his commitment to place and that he could be counted on to repay the loan.

My parents relationship with the Browns was not unusual. At that time, it was the norm that there were relationships and a connection between people who did business together. The relationships were a key part of knowing that you could rely on each other; and that you were supporting each others successful endeavors.

This almost sounds quaint in the context of today's big corporations. Big multinational institution rarely have a deep relationship to people or place. Because these institutions are doing business in so many places and dealing with such a high volume of customers, customer service is not a relationship but often an impersonal application of policies and scripts for interaction. The organization is designed for institutional expediency and self-protection, not relationship or connection.

Think of the last time you got stuck for hours in a plane on the tarmac; or when your flight got cancelled and you had to call customer service somewhere around the world. You will know exactly what I mean. There is little mutuality in the exchange. It is aggravatingly impersonal, and frustratingly ineffective.

I know it doesn't sound like a very 'sophisticated' explanation, but at a very fundamental level, this loss of connection, loss of a direct relationship with the customer, is at the root of the financial crises.