- It's lunchtime, and this is Brad Anderson's Lunch Break.
Here in Redmond, we're visited by
some of the smartest people on the planet,
Pretty much everyday. Every chance I get,
I meet up with them for lunch.
(upbeat music)
In today's episode, I meet up with Anil Cheriyan,
the CIO of SunTrust Banks.
(light piano music)
Alright, so people who don't live in the Eastern United States,
well, SunTrust, you guys are a huge bank.
- We're about 220 billion in assets.
So you got the top four banks, guys like B of A
and JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citi.
And then you got the six of us who are like the next set,
and we're one of the next set of banks.
- Yeah, you're spread across 11 states,
1,400 different locations if I remember right.
24,000 employees, I mean you guys are big.
So, one of the things that I recently learned
about SunTrust, is that your name
is on the new stadium in Atlanta.
- That is true.
- But you also have a long-term relationship with Coca-Cola.
- Yup, yup.
- In 1919, the president of the bank bought Coca-Cola
for 25 million dollars.
So the original secret formula of Coca-Cola
was kept in SunTrust vaults from 1925 to 2011.
What did you think when you realized
that the formula was gone?
(laughs)
- So great organizations have become great
because they have found ways to get the best ideas
out of their people.
So, how do you use creativity at SunTrust
to really get the best out of your workforce?
- It's a really a big culture change
that we have to go through.
- When I first got there,
it was about five or six years ago.
Everyone worked in their silos and they did their jobs.
They did them pretty well, in fact, one had a lot
of these town hall meetings and lunch and learns
and conversations with teammates.
And they'd say,
hey, can you help us with that other team,
'cause they're not doing what we're supposed to be doing.
- Yeah, I've never had this conversation at Microsoft.
- But do you realize guys, you guys are on the same floor,
and you literally can just walk across the floor
and have those conversations.
- As Satya has driven kind of the same exact culture change
that you're describing.
Breaking down the silos, everybody working together.
This growth mindset, one of the biggest challenges we had
was our review model had basically made people
nervous to ever fail.
And in a growth mindset, you want to be able
to identify a hypothesis, test it quickly,
and if you're doing it right,
70% or 80% of your hypothesis
are not gonna be right or correct.
And so, getting the cultural change to understand
that it's okay to not be right,
but we're on this learning journey.
That was actually one of the biggest changes
that we had to do at Microsoft.
- I really like that.
Moving from, what's it, know-it-all to learn-it-all.
That's just a phenomenal, that's just a great idea.
- Okay, I'm gonna give you three product ideas,
and you're gonna tell me if you would want
to invest in them, if you want to compete against them,
or sue because it's too close to something
you're already working on.
- Okay.
- Alright, first, a mobile banking app that bricks
your phone for three hours if you go over that day's budget.
- I would...
invest.
(bell dings)
While that's interesting,
that whole premise is interesting,
the very fact that they are looking at budget and planning
- Is a good thing
- That is a good thing.
Now, I wouldn't shut down the phone
But I'd certainly use that--
- That is a little harsh.
- But I'd certainly use that as--
- Maybe shock 'em a little bit.
- A little buzz.
(laughs)
- Alright, next one.
An ATM that saves users embarrassment
by making it sound like money is coming out,
even if there's insufficient funds.
- No that's not
(laughs)
I wouldn't invest in that one either.
(buzzer sound)
- An app that monitors your checking account,
and only suggests restaurants that are in your price range.
- That's a good one.
That's budgeting and planning.
- That'd be an investment.
- That's an investment.
(bell dings)
- As a banker, what's your stance on the two dollar bill?
(laughs)
- Another fraudulent thing.
- Next time on Brad Anderson's Lunch Break,
- You're part of the change, and if you can't articulate
where that change is gonna mean,
what that change is gonna mean from a business standpoint,
you really don't belong on it, on the team.
- You have three degrees from Imperial College in London.
- I know I have spent a long time in college.
- So one of those is in philosophy.
So, here's my question for you.
Why are we all here?
- I have no idea.
(laughs)