The way we conduct monetary policy has also changed over the past thirteen years. The inflation-targeting policy introduced in 1993 has of course always been the nucleus, but it has developed in various ways. Work in my particular field of interest, financial stability, has also been refined in many ways. For obvious reasons, this is an area that has come under particular focus in recent years. One might say that if the task of maintaining financial stability had previously tended to be overshadowed by the usually more attention-grabbing task of maintaining price stability, the situation has almost been reversed during the crisis. The financial stability work has in any case gained a more prominent position and become more on a par with monetary policy. Now I do not intend to devote my last speech as member of the Executive Board to outlining my central bank memoirs. I have always been more interested in looking ahead than looking back, and I intend to do so today. More specifically, I intend to take up some areas that I believe will feature in the discussions on central banks and their activities in the coming years. They are all connected with the financial crisis in one way or another; it is difficult to avoid it in this context. In brief, I will talk about two themes: The importance of indebtedness not becoming too high and the importance of having crisis management mechanisms in place before the event. The most important lesson: Don’t allow too much debt to build up!
Once employees are on board, performance management should play a greater role, both in compensation decision-making, which needs to be simplified and diversified, and in the promotion process. The process should reflect a better balance between production and controls, by focusing not on “what” was accomplished but “how” it was accomplished. Repercussions are necessary for employees that do not behave in a manner that is desirable. I said that leadership must come from the top. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t drive the culture from throughout the organization in the form of “culture carriers” – employees who are well connected, respected and can be effective in making your culture “go viral.” Cultural change is not just a “flavor of the month.” It is a long-term commitment to changing a firm and an industry. It will take time. And, once you feel you’ve achieved what you originally set out to achieve, you will likely have raised the bar and will need to reset your goals. Building and maintaining a strong culture in a firm is an ongoing effort, not a “one and done” initiative. 8  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Conclusion Will our list of “to dos” ever end? Probably not. Will our list of “worries” get shorter? Unlikely in the current environment. We live in an ever-changing environment where speed and agility are of the essence. Demands from customers change, expectations from shareholders change, and the regulatory landscape you work within will continue to evolve to keep pace.