How to Find Your Bank’s Blind Spots (Before It’s Too Late)

If you’ve stayed through fourteen episodes, you understand the big ideas:

• The Leverage Matrix
• The eight value drivers
• Timing, valuation, structure, talent, legacy

But most CEOs hit the same wall right here:

“Where do I start?”

This episode is the bridge from understanding to action.

Kurt shows how everything in Season One collapses into two questions:

1. Where do you stand?
2. How much time do you really have?

When you can answer those, you stop guessing, stop trying to fix everything, and start focusing on what actually matters.

This isn’t about preparing to sell.
It’s about clarity.

What You’ll Learn

• The two questions that simplify everything: position + time
• How to use the Leverage Matrix to locate where you truly stand
• How the Strategic Window defines your real-world timeline
• A quick pass through the 8 value drivers to surface blind spots
• Why blind spots are hard to see from inside the bank
• Common blind spots CEOs normalize (dependency, concentration, contract traps)
• Why you don’t fix everything — you prioritize
• How small improvements compound into strategic command over time
• Why this show exists: a place to ask what can’t be said out loud

Key Takeaways

• You don’t need perfection — you need awareness.
• Blind spots aren’t about intelligence; they’re about proximity.
• Progress comes from prioritization, not breadth.
• This isn’t a project — it’s a posture.

Season One Wrap

That’s Season One.

You now know where value comes from.
How timing works.
What you can protect — and what you can’t.
And how to move forward intentionally.

Resource Mentioned

📊 Community Bank Value™ Strategic Readiness Score
Eight questions. High-level. Discreet.
A clear way to assess how positioned your bank is today.
👉 Linked here: Strategic Readiness Score

About the Show

The Community Bank Value™ Playbook is a weekly video and audio series for community bank CEOs who want clarity, control, and optionality — whether they remain independent or explore opportunities someday.

About Kurt Knutson

Kurt Knutson is a founder, former CEO, and chairman of a community bank. He has lived through every phase of a bank’s lifecycle and shares practical, experience-based insight to help CEOs lead with confidence.