Everyone wins. Isn't that the point?

You've got to feel bad for IT security leaders. Often dubbed "Dr. No" by their colleagues, the IT security professional's role has traditionally consisted of telling their peers why they can't do what they'd like to do. None of this is frivolous, of course; it's all about protecting companies from hackers, IP theft, corporate spying, viruses... these folks are there to save the rest of us from the hazards of the technology we often don't fully understand.

The problem is, saying No and But and We can't doesn't always mean they get the final word. Another part of this tradition has been for leaders from the business side to weigh Dr. No's dire prognostications against the alluring upside of technology.

In other words, saying No doesn't just make you unpopular. Often, it also makes you overruled.

Recently, though, I spoke with a security leader who had decided to take an entirely different tack with his peers. No more were he and his staff going to be Doctors No. In fact, he banned the words No and But from his department's vocabulary altogether.

Literally. Those two words are banned.

"Instead of No, we say Yes. In place of But, we say And. As in, "Yes, that's a great idea, and I'm going to work with you to make sure it's successful."

Partnering. Enabling. Turning Can't do into Can do - and then being careful with how it is done. That is how this particular company is aligning security with the business.

Everyone wins, because everyone is working together to make Yes happen. Isn't that the point of business in the first place?

Some industries get it. Others? Oh, boy.

Ever notice how some industries have higher or lower collective standards of customer service? This has fascinated me for years. For instance, we frequently compare the best service we receive to top-flight hotels. It isn't that all hotels get it, but the best sure do - Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, W, and Waldorf-Astoria all come immediately to mind.

So too with fine dining, some retail stores, some car brands: Wegmans, Nordstrom and Lexus are three of my favorite examples here.

At the other end of the spectrum... You can find a customer-centric hospital, like Griffin in Connecticut. But in general, hospitals are famously obtuse when it comes to the customer experience. They don't even call us customers, do they? We're patients, as in "it requires a lot of patience to put up with how we'll treat you."

Airlines? Oh, boy. Don't even get me started. While I love and admire Southwest and, to a lesser degree, Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue, you have to take it in context: Southwest is exemplary for an airline. But since airlines give abysmal customer service, being the best doesn't necessarily mean much.

Then we come to banking....* And all I can say is, What is wrong with bankers? I mean morally wrong. As people. I'm... I'm beginning to get discouraged in my fellow man, and anyone who knows me knows that this is just not the kind of thing I say lightly.

There are countless thousands of people working at companies that legally steal money from unsuspecting customers. This is such a scandal that Congress is enacting legislation to oppose it. Do you do something in your daily work that they have to pass a law to stop you from doing?

Let's think about this in context, shall we? Let's say that you, too, can swindle money from your customers right now - go for it! It'll bring in a whole pile of cash and prop up your bottom line this quarter and this year.

Sure, you'll alienate some customers along the way - so what? Everyone else is doing it, so what are they going to do, go to your competitor? Ha! Let's watch 'em and see how that goes!!

Here's my question for you. Forget all about repercussions from the law or from irate customers, and let's just focus on this one thing: can you live with yourself? Really?

That's my question for employees of big banks, including (but not limited to) Bank of America, Wachovia, Capital One, Fifth Third, and TD Bank. How do you feel about yourself?


*This is where I add my disclaimer, "Some small local bankers really know how to treat their customers." That's a different topic for a different day.