At a recent CEO Alliance Roundtable, participants discussed how their companies are focusing on what’s important and what it means to ignore some opportunities so they can better capitalize on the best opportunities. I am fascinated by this subject matter, as all too often business leaders get caught up in trying to be “all things to all customers.” Frankly, the best leaders create a culture of discipline and recognize they don’t need to appeal to the entire market. It’s been proven many times that concentration is a key to economic success.

The most successful leaders have figured this out. They find the discipline to focus on being the best at just “one thing.” This specialization enables them to achieve greater success and better

bottom lines. The real question is how to successfully identify the right focus and stay on target. In one of my favorite business books, Good to Great, Jim Collins explores the Hedgehog Concept. In order to be great, a company must be brutally honest about the answers to these three questions:

1.Whatarewepassionateaboutasacompany? 2.Whatcanwebebestintheworldat? 3.Whatisthemeasurementthatbestdrives anddefinesoureconomicengine?

Once you answer these questions and find the point of intersection, you have turned a complex world into a single organizing premise to help guide all future decisions. You have found your focus.

In September 2008, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to lead River City Bank, one of the best community banking franchises in the country – yes, I am biased! During my first few months, I worked with my executive team in pursuit of answering these three key questions. To add to our sense of urgency, our nation was going through the largest financial catastrophe since the Great Depression. In the midst of dealing with the public’s negative perception of banks, concerns about the safety of deposits in banks, and protecting the bank’s assets, we critically examined virtually everything that we do.

Here is what we learned on our quest for focus. We have a group of great employees who are passionate about providing exceptional customer service. The River City Bank brand is well known throughout the Sacramento region for its high level of service. Profitability is driven by ten percent of our customer base, and these customers are successful Sacramento region businesses and their owners and employees. The area for future focus became crystal clear to us. River City Bank will focus on providing exceptional service as a community business bank, serving Sacramento area businesses and their owners and employees. We believe this singular focus will take us from being a “good” company to making us a “great” company.

In the words of Jim Collins, “…good-to-great companies understand that doing what you are good at will only make you good; focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness.” And, I couldn’t agree more. n

American Cancer Society RCB Bankers4Life teammates: Michele Bushilla, Pat Lewis, Rita Beall, Jack Nevins, Jennifer Martin, Lauren Enos, Bryan Martin, Kayla Courchaine, and Hayley Mistler

River City Bank at an Easter Seals tour: Matthew Huber, Rita Beall, Gary Novak of Easter Seals, Nadine Choufani, Barbara Contreras and Stan SooHoo

KVIE Lunch: Sonja Spowart, KVIE & Yuliya Yevsyukova,

River City Bank

Golf & Guitars: Jim Davis, Delta Web Printing; Dan Franklin, River City Bank; Eric Johnson, Vital Networks; Jack Ingram, Country Music Artist; Kris Reilly,

Grubb & Ellis; and Bobby Jackson, Former Kings Player

River City Bank supported Sacramento Child Advocates

at Derby Days on May 7th

Pat Lewis, River City Bank and Doyle Headrick, Production Framing

River City Bank: A beverage sponsor at Golf for Charities

Assemblymember Roger Dickinson; 2011 Tree Hero, Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Sacramento Tree

Foundation Executive Director, Ray Tretheway

Robert Slobe, North Sacramento Land Company; Paul Witkay, Alliance of Chief Executives

Customers in the News

NAMI California has a New EDCongratulations Jessica Cruz, MPA/HS on your role as the new Executive Director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) California. NAMI California is a grassroots, family and consumer self-help support and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. To learn more about NAMI, please visit www.namicalifornia.org. Jessica, we appreciate the work you and your team are performing to assist individuals and families living with mental illness. n

Better Business Bureau Shreds 10 Tons for Charity The Better Business Bureau serving northeast California, in partnership with American Mobile Shredding, River City Bank and The Boys & Girls Club hosted a free shredding event in Sacramento last month. Over 10 tons of personal and financial information were shredded and over 260 cars drove out to the event. Donations went to the Boys and Girls Club of Sacramento County.

Miss the event? The BBB will be hosting more FREE shredding events in October 2011. For more information about the Better Business Bureau or the next shredding event, please visit www.bbb.org. n

May was bike month, but the riding continues! The North Natomas Transportation Management Association (NNTMA) encouraged our region to peddle our way to 2 million miles. Riders participated in friendly competition, won some prizes, got some exercise and helped the environment. The NNTMA is a nonprofit organization with the mission to foster transportation behaviors that benefit the community through advocacy, programs, education and services. To learn more about the organization visit www.northnatomastma.org. n

Take an Exotic Trip with Dolphin Scuba CenterEver dreamed of visiting exotic places and swimming in the deep blue sea? Our

friends at Dolphin Scuba Center can make this your reality. Mike and Michele Johnson will not only take you on the trip, but will train you as well. Dolphin is considered one of the largest scuba retail outlets in the western hemisphere and they coordinate trips to the Caribbean, Papua New Guinea, the Red Sea, the Solomon Islands, and the Palau Islands. For more information, please visit www.swim.dolphinscuba.com. n

The Annuity Store Welcomes New VPThe Annuity Store, a subsidiary of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, welcomes Barbara Burgat as their new VP of Market Development. The Annuity Store is one of the nation’s leading field marketing organizations for independent life insurance agents and financial advisors. Over the last twenty years they have been recognized as an industry leader in pioneering the training, marketing and development of fixed index annuities. To learn more, please visit www.theannuitystore.com. Welcome aboard Barbara! n

Picture of Sea Turtle taken in Tubbataha, a World Heritage Dive site in the Philippines

Helping Heroes Save LivesLife-Assist is one of the nation’s largest distributors of emergency medical supplies and equipment. Founded in 1977 by the late Stanley Davis, the company continues to specialize in customer service. Ramona Davis is the current CEO of Life-Assist and enforces the standards she learned from her father. Life-Assist prides itself on responding to the ever-changing needs of the EMS professional, and constantly strives to stay informed about the current procedures and equipment used in the pre-hospital environment. n

Non-Profit Customer Profile:Sacramento Region Community FoundationFounded in1983, The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is an advocate for quality of life, dedicated to connecting people who care with charitable causes. The Foundation’s mission is to serve as a leader and trusted partner in expanding philanthropy and enhancing its impact in our community. From charitable funds established by individuals, families, businesses and organizations, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation awards grants and engages in leadership activities to address a wide variety of current and long term community issues.

Celebrating 28 years of giving, The Foundation now manages over 440 funds, many of them permanent endowments, with total assets in excess of $100 million. Grants and scholarships awarded to nonprofit organizations and other recipients from the Foundation’s charitable funds since inception exceed $82 million. To learn more about the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, please visit www.sacregcf.org. n

Employee Highlight:Randy BhungalMeet Randy Bhungal. Despite having worked for River City Bank for just over two years, Randy has made a distinctive mark on his customers and coworkers alike. At the root of his success is his desire to provide exceptional customer service while helping both existing and new customers with their banking and financing needs. His recent promotion to Vice President, Portfolio Manager is evidence of his excellent service standards and effectiveness in analyzing and recommending appropriate financing solutions for his customers.

After serving more than three years at another bank performing financial, industry, and economic analysis on mid to large size company financing requests, Randy joined River City Bank in 2009. He brought with him an eagerness to apply his varied knowledge and assist our customers with their banking needs efficiently and effectively.

Randy has a B.A. degree in Economics from CSU Sacramento and attended the Graduate Business School at San Francisco State University. He is inspired by selfless acts and people who impact the world in a positive way. Randy is a long time resident of Yuba City, is married and became a first time father just last month. n

Front Row: Tina Bryce, Grants Manager; Jim McCallum, Chief Financial Officer; Ruth Blank, Chief Executive Officer; Shirlee Tully, Chief Marketing

and Development Officer; Priscilla Enriquez, Chief Giving Officer; Winston Hom, Controller. Back Row: Fran Baxter-Guigli, Donor Services Officer; Kate

Godwin, Accountant; Alexis Kahn, Program and Development Associate; Jeannie Howell, Administrative Coordinator

VP Portfolio ManagerRandy Bhungal

Dolphin Scuba Center Details Inside