Vacations provide an opportunity to get away from the ordinary and, sometimes, to look at old things with renewed eyes. In recent days I have had the opportunity to visit three very different sites in Arizona. All of them represent the creation and in some cases the genius of one man possessed with a vision, but two of them are flawed if not outright failures. Only one has stood the test of time. Of course, even on holiday I could not resist seeing parallels between these sites and the state of banking today.

First stop, Arcosanti, a village designed by Paolo Soleri (www.arcosanti.org). Construction on this mixed use community in the desert not far from Sedona began in 1970. Its website describes Arcosanti as a “an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri’s theory of compact city design, Arcology (architecture + ecology.)”

Meant to house 5,000, instead it now houses 50 dedicated souls who continue to work on construction; some have been there for 40 years while others for weeks. Rising out of the sands after a dusty drive it seems to have been placed here by aliens. My sons described it as resembling buildings seen in the Star Wars movies while I think Mad Max.

Arcosanti never reached its expansive goals to create a largely self-contained community in the desert. Funding became a problem and to this day at least some costs are covered by the sales of bells cast on site, a limited cash engine. What went wrong? Likely ahead of its time and lacking sufficient capital and ineffective project management, it sputters along never able to reach its potential. Brilliant idea perhaps but bad execution.

To say that Bedrock City in Valle, Arizona is in the middle of no place gives no place a bad name (www.messynessychic.com/2012/11/29/the-flintstones-are-living-in-a-ghostly-bedrock-amusement-park-in-arizona/). It sits on a plateau less than an hour from the western entrance to the Grand Canyon. Built in the 1970s as a theme amusement part, it now has the aura of a ghost town with few visitors, one-two workers, and the quietest atmosphere you have ever experienced at an amusement park. The 40+-year old worker operating the one ride (a 60 second train ride that goes through a short tunnel decorated in a prehistoric motif) told us that the only people who really care about the Flintstones are his age or older, not amusement park material. While a stanchion has been set up to corral the waiting crowds for the train ride, the operator ran the ride whenever someone wanted to go, saying “There’s no hurry” after removing a bull snake (bites but has no venom) from the waiting area.

Taliesin West (www.franklloydwright.org) served as Frank Lloyd Wrights’ s winter home and school from 1937 until his death in 1959. It is a national historic landmark and a do-not-miss stop for anyone who cares about seeing a piece of major American architecture created by, arguably, our greatest architect. Wright designed Taliesin West and his other buildings in light of the physical environment in which they were situated; each building is a customized creation reflecting a sensitivity to nature. He created buildings that seem to transcend time, being of the land rather than simply sitting on the land.

Has the Arizona sun finally caused me to lose it or is there some connection to banking here? Of course I think there is:

• The idea behind creating a specially designed community like Arcosanti seems achievable in this world of sub-sub segments. However, as brilliant and unique as Saleri’s concept was, for whatever reason he was unable to implement it. The parallel with banks seems strong here. Many bankers have great ideas and potentially winning strategies but are terrible at pulling the trigger on initiatives; implementation becomes tangled up in lack of willpower, management indecision, and employee pushback, often wasting time and opportunity. Too often, bankers who complain or who ignore management decisions cripple implementation and kill innovation. A big idea is insufficient for success.
• Rather than being ahead of its time like Arcosanti may have been, time seems to have passed Bedrock City by. Fred, Barney, Wilma, and even Dino no longer hold our attention. The younger generations just do not care. Sound familiar? Many banks are operating like Bedrock City, using traditional approaches and traditional messages while the Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennial customers have moved on. 1100 years of history may mean a lot to a bank, but increasingly customers are unimpressed. Banks need to be aware that the generational changes that are occurring do not turn their branches into Bedrock Cities.
• The Wright house combines form and function in a truly timeless manner. But without modern conveniences such as air conditioning, the Internet, and other digital capabilities we would not want to live there. It is a museum not an attractive home for the modern American. Some banks have done a brilliant job of creating a strategy that has defined them for decades. In most cases, however, the approach that has generated growth and high returns in the past may no longer succeed, given the current competitive and customer environment. Past success can be a barrier to future performance, creating a sense of self-satisfaction and a tendency to look in the rear view mirror rather than reexamine issues fundamentally. That is one reason why the non-bank alternative financing companies appear to be achieving inroads with traditional bank customers.

It was a bit sad to visit Bedrock City, once full of promise and activity and now largely deserted, a drive-by rather than a destination. But, studies have shown that pedestrians speed up when they pass banks too.