How a pair of red sneakers became the symbol of digital transformation at U.S. Bank — Part 1

An interesting thing happened on the way to helping the fifth largest bank with their digital transformation, Vice Chairmen Tim Welsh and John Elmore, wore red sneakers on stage at our all-employee event wearing red sneakers and spoke about how their shoes were a symbol of our newfound spirit to be bold and different.

That’s when I realized, how the simple act of wearing red sneakers has become a symbol of our organizational shift. But, like other trends, its beginning was much more modest.

The origins

In late 2017, a large team of folks from all corners of the enterprise were thrown in a training room, told to self organize using an agile mindset and given the goal of aggressively growing mobile deposits. To say this was a departure from the status quo would be an understatement.

The team assembled was smart, its members were motivated, but to have a chance at achieving the goal, I knew we would have to not only be creative in our approach, but we would have to experiment continuously with what was considered crazy ideas and we would have to question how quickly work got done. In other words, I needed the rebel in all of them to come out.

Like all rebellions, it started with a small gesture. Having never been one to adhere to workplace uniforms, whether at an agency or at the bank, I quickly landed on a pair of bright red sneakers. For me that signaled to the rest of the team, that they were free to experiment, they were free to express their own culture and at the very minimum, I wanted to take some of the focus away from them.

Spreading like wildfire

Since the Agile Experience Update event in May 2018 where the first eight pairs of red sneakers were offered to change agents to today, there have been close to 100 pairs given out, with many more to come.

When I do give them out, I always attach the following saying in print or in the spoken word to the recipient to make sure they understand what these stand for:

On behalf of the Experience Studio & Central Committee, I’d like to present the red sneakers to you. They are more than just a pair of shoes…

The red signifies that we must be bold, courageous and creative as ambassadors of change…

They are sneakers because change means logging many miles and is almost always a team sport…

And lastly, they represent that change often comes from unexpected sources, even from the person wearing the red sneakers…