The Question You Can’t Answer

At some point, every community bank CEO gets asked a question that stops them cold:

“Should we be thinking about our strategic options?”

It might come from a board member.
 A shareholder.
 A spouse.
 Or from your own internal voice late at night.

And if you don’t have a framework — you deflect.

You reach for phrases like:
 “Multiples aren’t there.”
 “We’re not for sale.”
 “We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”

They end the conversation… but the question doesn’t go away.

In this episode, Kurt gives you language that allows you to lead the most important conversations about your bank’s future — without sounding dismissive, evasive, or alarmist. This isn’t about selling. It’s about leadership under strategic pressure.

What You’ll Learn

• Why these questions are coming (and why they’re legitimate)
• The hidden cost of deflection: it preserves comfort, not control
• Why “multiples” is a tempting answer — and why it’s often the wrong one
• The isolation of leadership: why CEOs can’t workshop this language openly
• A better response framework that leads without signaling intent
• The “Clarity Chain” that connects understanding to value:
  • Understanding → Clarity → Confidence → Control → Value
• Why the barrier isn’t information — it’s belief
• How to move from defensive language to strategic leadership language

Key Takeaways

• The problem isn’t the question. The problem is not having language you trust.
• Deflection stops the conversation, but it doesn’t build credibility — and it doesn’t build optionality.
• Leaders don’t avoid these conversations. They learn to lead them without triggering fear.

Next Episode

Many CEOs don’t stay stuck because they lack intelligence — they stay stuck because of beliefs that quietly destroy value.

Next episode: Episode 014 — Why Smart Bank CEOs Stay Stuck: The Three Beliefs That Destroy Value

Resource Mentioned

📘 New Listener Resource Guide
An overview of the first fifteen foundational episodes, links to free resources, and the best ways to engage — all in one place.
👉 Linked here: Guide

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.

Transcript

In Episode One, I asked you a question:

If a buyer called tomorrow, could you run a competitive process with confidence?

If the answer was no — or even “probably not” — you weren’t in Strategic Command.

Now you’ve spent twelve episodes with me.

The eight value drivers.

Timing.

The strategic window.

Valuation.

Buyer psychology.

Talent.

Structure.

Advisors.

Legacy.

So let me ask you a different question — one that’s closer to home.

When a board member pulls you aside and asks,

“Should we be thinking about our strategic options?”

What do you say?

When a major shareholder asks,

“Is it time to consider a sale?”

Do you have an answer that doesn’t sound dismissive… or alarming?

When your spouse asks,

“What would happen if someone made us an offer?”

Can you respond with clarity?

Or does your stomach tighten?

This episode isn’t about preparing to sell.

It’s about being able to lead the most important conversations about your bank’s future — without feeling defensive, evasive, or unprepared.

I’m Kurt Knutson.

I founded and led a community bank as CEO and chairman.

I’ve been in your seat through every phase of a bank’s lifecycle.

That perspective is what you’ll hear every episode.

Here’s what you need to understand:

These questions are coming — whether you’re ready or not.

Your board has a fiduciary duty to ask.

Your shareholders are thinking about liquidity, even if they don’t say it out loud.

Your spouse sees the pressure and eventually asks, “What’s the plan?”

And then there’s the quiet question you ask yourself:

Do I actually know what this is worth?

If something happened tomorrow, would my family be protected?

The problem isn’t the questions.

The problem is that most CEOs don’t have a framework to answer them.

So they deflect.

A board member asks,

“Should we be thinking about our strategic options?”

And you hear yourself say:

“Multiples aren’t where they need to be right now.”

And the conversation ends.

But here’s what you’re really thinking:

End this conversation now.

You hid behind an industry rule-of-thumb — and it worked.

For the moment.

But remember Episode Six.

Multiples are backward-looking.

They’re driven by capital policy, not value.

Two banks can sell for the same price with very different multiples — based on nothing more than how their boards handled capital.

You know that now.

So you just used something you know isn’t true…

to avoid a conversation you don’t know how to have.

Maybe your version is different.

“We’re not for sale.”

“We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”

“That’s not something we need to worry about right now.”

Different words. Same result.

The conversation stops.

But the question doesn’t go away.

And afterward — you feel it.

You sounded defensive.

Or evasive.

Or unprepared.

Not because you lack intelligence.

Not because you lack experience.

But because no one ever gave you language that leads without announcing a sale.

Before developing this framework, I deflected too.

“Is this a good time to sell the bank?”

Because of our timing around the financial crisis, I could say,

“There’s really no market right now.”

That answer bought time.

And I used that time to build the framework you’re hearing now.

Here’s what makes this harder:

You can’t call a peer CEO and ask how they handle board conversations about selling.

You can’t raise it at a bankers association meeting without starting a rumor.

You can’t discuss it openly with your management team — because the moment you do, your best people start updating their resumes.

So you sit with it alone.

And the silence compounds.

This is why so many CEOs think they’re in Strategic Command — until they’re tested.

And when the test comes, the gap isn’t exposed to the world.

It’s exposed to you.

Now imagine a different version of that conversation.

A board member asks,

“Should we be thinking about our strategic options?”

And instead of deflecting, you say:

“We’re focused on the eight value drivers that create optionality for us — whether we remain independent for twenty years or evaluate an opportunity someday. Let me walk you through where we stand.”

That’s not defensive.

That’s leadership.

A shareholder asks about liquidity.

And you say:

“We’ve been building the Foundation — financial performance, growth potential, diversification, recurring revenue — and the Differentiators that create premium value. When the time is right, we’ll be positioned to maximize value for everyone.”

Your spouse asks what would happen if someone made an offer.

And you say:

“We’d evaluate it from a position of strength. I know exactly what drives our value. I’m not hoping for the best — I’ve done the work. And that means we have options.”

The difference isn’t circumstances.

It’s clarity.

Understanding creates clarity.

Clarity creates confidence.

Confidence creates control.

And control creates value.

You’ve just seen two versions of the same conversation.

One deflects.

One leads.

Which one sounds like you today?

If you’re still deflecting, that’s okay.

That’s where most CEOs are.

But at this point, the gap isn’t information anymore.

It’s belief.

“We’re too small.”

“Our board would never align.”

“We just raised capital.”

Every CEO has a version.

Now you have the language.

The question is whether you’ll use it.

When we started today, I asked whether your stomach tightens when strategic questions come up.

What you got was language that turns deflection into leadership — with your board, your shareholders, and your family.

Understanding creates clarity.

Clarity creates confidence.

Confidence creates control.

And control creates value.

The question is whether you’ll lead with it.

Next episode, we’ll address the beliefs that keep smart CEOs stuck.

Episode 14:

Why Smart Bank CEOs Stay Stuck: The Three Beliefs That Destroy Value.

If you’re new to the Community Bank Value™ Playbook, I’ve created a New Listener Resource Guide to help you get oriented.

You’ll find it linked in the show notes.

And remember —

the best decisions come from knowing all your options.