It’s no secret that reading is one of the most influential components of leading.
At INB, reading books and industry news is a large part of the lives of our experienced leaders. For members of the commercial lending department, reading both personally and professionally has had a tremendous impact on career development.
Through a leadership program hosted by O’Shea Builders, Evan Westlake and Mark Donovan have just completed John Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
“This book successfully broke down the broad topic of leadership into actionable pieces and offered practical tactics applicable to my career path,” Evan said. “Reading it within the group setting was even more helpful than the book itself because it allowed each of us to learn from the perspective and experiences of 18 professionals in various industries in the Springfield area.”
Evan also enjoys reading at home with his wife Courtney, and he has recently finished Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose and Dad is Fat by comedian Jim Gaffigan. The Killing series by Bill O’Reilly has also been a favorite.
“I have recently read Hitler’s Last Days, Killing Patton, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Lincoln. Killing Reagan and Killing Jesus are the next two on the list in that series,” Westlake said.
One of Mark recent personal reads is How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. According to the New York Times, How Children Succeed “illuminates the extremes of American childhood: for rich kids, a safety net drawn so tight it’s a harness; for poor kids, almost nothing to break their fall.”
“The book challenges conventional thought on educating our children as well developing them, so it encapsulates the approach to education, but more importantly for me, how that integrates with parenting,” Donovan said.
Rick Schramm recently finished The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, which tells the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright – two average men from Ohio who owned and operated a bicycle shop but ultimately wanted to fly.
“While their mechanical ability was limited, they had a resilience and tenacity that was unwavering,” Schramm said. “They began by studying the flight of birds. They realized Dayton, Ohio, wasn’t the best location to test their flying machine, so they looked for a location that met their needs – the sand dunes of North Carolina. Like everything they did, it took great effort to pack up their flying machine and make an annual trip to Kitty Hawk. Almost every trip to Kitty Hawk led them closer to their ultimate goal of flying.”
Rick enjoyed the narration of the day when two brothers from Ohio who wouldn’t stop believing they could fly finally took to the skies on Dec. 17, 1903.
“This is the first book I’ve read by David McCullough,” he said. “McCullough is a great writer of history – lives of presidents, construction of major projects such as the Panama Canal and Brooklyn Bridge. I really enjoyed his writing style. I didn’t feel like I was reading a book on history, but instead reading about the lives of a family that played a prominent role in world history.”
In addition to reading for leisure, Evan also makes an effort to keep on top of financial and banking news by reading Pacific Coast Bankers Bank’s daily email newsletter “Banc Investment Daily” every morning.
“It offers a story or anecdote that applies to the current state of banking, and it discusses an innovation piece or regulatory suggestion or best practices that other banks are employing,” he said. “It also gives a recap of rates and reasons for those trends. It’s hugely beneficial to remain educated and aware of what other banks are experiencing outside of our area.”
Lender NMLS#:
Evan Westlake # 662918
Mark Donovan # 662887 (not pictured)
Rick Schramm # 662906