Headliners, authors draw banker crowds.

Patrick Lencioni has made a name for himself in business writing with a novelist's approach to common problems, typically capsulized in titles involving an odd number. So the author of The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Three Signs of a Miserable Job spoke on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,

* "If you wait for consensus, you'll have a decision that's too late and equally dissatisfying to all the people around the table."

* People don't actually always have to get their way for them to go along. Often they merely need to see that their ideas were heard and considered.

* "The primary source of accountability on a team should be your peers, not your leader."

* Avoidance of accountability is the most common dysfunction of a team.

* Many leaders hesitate to call subordinates on the carpet until they have conclusive proof of something. Lencioni believes leaders, if they are doing their jobs, must make these kinds of calls without always having the body of proof. Lencioni suggested an opening gambit such as, "I could be wrong about this, Frank, but ..."

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Three questions shape retirement

Lee Eisenberg, author of The Number, a bestseller about rethinking retirement, wrapped up his presentation with three thought-provoking questions to ask. He credited these to George Kinder, head of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. They are:

1. "You have all the money that you need. What would you do with it? How would you live?"

2. "You have an incurable disease. You have five-to-ten years left. How would you live them? What would you do?"

3. "What did you miss in life? Who did you not get to be?"

Eisenberg says the common answers to these questions are:

* Regarding having enough money, many said they would take the opportunity to do something creative--art or music.

* Regarding limited time, many would spend that time "giving back."

* Regarding missed opportunities, many expressed the wish to fix past broken relationships, with parents, friends, and others.

Only one of these questions deals with money, directly, but Eisenberg told listeners that until a client knows the answers, they and their financial planner of choice will never be able to come up with a meaningful financial plan.

Tony Snow's take on "the race"

Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, gave a wide-ranging presentation about presidential election politics and more, and along the way gave banker nuggets of advice and inside-baseball-type observations.

Overall, Snow thinks both political parties are out of sync with Americans. Citing hundreds of judgeships standing unfilled because the Democratic Congress won't work with the Republican administration, he declared, "This is not what we elect people to do. It has become silly, insular, and childish, and it is not good for the country."

Other quick points from Snow:

* Regarding political participation: "This is not a time to hold your silence. There are too many important things going on around the world."

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* Regarding Hillary Clinton and the end of her "sure thing": "Can you imagine being married to that guy all these years, and then having this happen?"

* Regarding John McCain: "John McCain is a maverick. He doesn't stab you in the back, he stabs you in the front. That's because he wants you to know who's holding the knife."

* Regarding Barack Obama: "My six-year-old son could recite his speeches. They don't say anything." Many Obama ideas come from the 1932 Democratic party playbook, Snow claimed. "The ideas are old and stale."

* Regarding the Republican Party: It seems to be locked into Reagan mode; while Snow loved Reagan, he said, Reagan was in office 19 years ago-things have changed.

* Regarding the Iraq War: Both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton say they will get the U.S. out of Iraq. "It will not happen," said Snow. While every would-be president calls the incumbent President an "idiot" on foreign policy, said Snow, "foreign policy is driven by fact, by the security briefings you get every day."

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What it takes for banking to win

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Strength in unity and numbers. That's the key to banking's future in Washington, according to ABA Chairman Brad Rock.

Speaking during the association leadership session with ABA Chairman-Elect Arthur Connelly (chairman and CEO, South Shore Bancorp, Weymouth, Mass.), Rock, president and CEO, Bank of Smithtown, Hauppauge, N.Y., hammered home his view that bankers have got to organize to bring a major presence to Washington. Not on every legislative battle, but on the ones that really matter. "We have to be able to shoot that 'big gun' when we need it," said Rock.

Future "big gun" events? Rock said they could include the mortgage bankruptcy legislation pending in Congress and credit union encroachment.