In this episode of Hard Calls, CSI’s Senior Vice President of Product Management, Daniel Haisley, and host Trisha Price explore the hard calls that define product leadership, not just the ones on a product roadmap, but the ones about people. They then dig into how banks are deepening customer relationships through digital banking services. Here’s a hint: It has everything to do with data.

Here's what you'll discover:

The hardest call isn't about features - it's about people. When reviewing a team structure, one must decide who's ready for the next level and who deserves honesty about their next move. Daniel walks through how to make those decisions with both clarity and compassion, and why delivering hard news can be a gift.

The evolution of community banking: From branches to digital. For decades, local banks differentiated themselves by the in-person relationships they had with customers. Then digital happened. Daniel reveals how to sustain customer loyalty by knowing customers as deeply online as a teller knew them in person.

The data opportunity: Why banks are sitting on gold they can't use. Most banks sit on goldmines of customer insights - transaction history, spending patterns, life events - but they encounter issues that prevent them from acting on those insights. Daniel shares the issues he sees most often, and more importantly, how to break through each one.

The experimentation barrier: Why banks still fear testing. With technology and AI, teams can build and iterate on new ideas in minutes, not days, yet many banks still hesitate to test new ideas. Daniel exposes the perfectionism mindset that kills experimentation and shows how to shift from "get it right" to "get it learning" - even in risk-averse industries.

Giving tools to banks: Differentiation without complexity. Community and regional banks can't hire massive data science teams or compete on R&D budgets. But they can compete on personalization if you give them the right tools. Daniel reveals the product strategy that lets traditional institutions differentiate and actually serve their customers better in a digital-first world.

Episode Chapters

• (00:00) Introduction: From SaaS Builder to CSI Leadership
• (03:36) The Hard Call: Making People Decisions in Acquisition
• (06:11) When High Performance Becomes a Problem
• (07:34) Why Honest Feedback Can Be the Best Gift
• (09:05) The Evolution of Community Banking: From Branches to Digital
• (10:48) What Gets Lost When Banking Goes Digital
• (12:31) Data as the New Relationship Currency
• (14:02) The Five Whys: Getting to Root Problems
• (15:20) Customer Research That Actually Informs Strategy
• (16:32) The Data Opportunity: Why Banks Are Sitting on Gold They Can't Use
• (19:07) The Maturity Gap: Financial Institutions Aren't Ready
• (20:42) The Ownership Problem: When Everyone Has a Veto
• (22:41) Finding Best Practices Across the Institution
• (23:29) The Experimentation Barrier: Why Banks Still Fear Testing
• (24:34) How Technology Made Iteration Accessible
• (25:33) Beyond Vanity Metrics: Measuring Real Outcomes
• (27:29) Personalization Isn't About Messages—It's About Outcomes
• (28:01) Why One-Size-Fits-All Doesn't Work Anymore
• (29:36) Giving Tools to Community Banks: Differentiation Without Complexity
• (31:13) The Partnership That Changes Everything

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Presented by Pendo. Discover more insights at Pendo.io or connect with Trisha Price on LinkedIn.