Jim McKenna

The new year inspires many of us to take stock, reflect and commit to achieving new goals that will better our lives. We all love a fresh start, and the new year offers us a definitive starting point.

In the spirit of new year’s resolutions, I ask everyone at North Shore Bank to join me in a bankwide resolution to take a fresh look at our daily work routines.

So often in our busy lives we go into “autopilot mode” when performing very familiar, routine tasks. We may mindlessly write checks in January using the previous year’s date, or attempt to give someone directions only to realize we cannot provide the street details because we drive there on pure reflex. When looking up the directions, we may discover that our old, familiar route is actually not the quickest one! Behaviors that once made sense no longer do.

While much of our work at North Shore Bank requires great focus and thought, there are tasks in our daily routines that we perform automatically because we’ve been doing them for so long. It is in these areas that we may miss opportunities for continuous improvement.

Our bank charter brings certain statutory and regulatory constraints by which we must abide. That said, there are so many aspects of our jobs that we can control in order to work more efficiently, productively and effectively.

Starting today, let’s take a fresh look at our daily work and ask, “Why is this task part of my routine? Do I even need to complete this step to reach the desired endpoint? Could I combine steps to be more efficient? Is there a better way to do this?”

Sometimes the smallest changes in the way we do business can lead to big improvements that benefit our customers, our bank and our own professional success.

I encourage each department to boost motivation and put the spotlight on those taking active steps to make continuous improvements at North Shore Bank. We all love success stories. Please share them!

Thank you for joining me in this bankwide new year’s resolution. Here’s to a bright, productive and prosperous 2013.