“We struggle with “smaller” because we attach so much emotion to growth. We celebrate revenue milestones and employee counts. No one gets excited about a deliberate downsize.”

“Just as I don’t want too much of our business depending on one lender, I don’t want too much of our future depending on too few producers. The problem is that it takes time to find the right people.”

“The acquisition closed, the keys changed hands, and everyone moved on. The problem is that it doesn’t have enough cash to buy inventory.”

“Borrowers in financial distress follow predictable stages of denial. The details change, but the pattern is consistent.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about culture. Last week reminded me that it doesn’t come from values hung on a wall.”

“The analysis has already influenced how we will spend more time evaluating our business. We’ll spend more time evaluating referral relationships. We’ll pay closer attention to performance trends.”