George F. Jones Jr. ('67)
Dallas

Advice for recent graduates:
It's important to be purpose-driven about who you want to be personally and professionally. Spend time thinking about how you want to define success, and then visualize your goal and follow it through.

Best career lesson learned:
It's important to have the self-confidence to trust your instincts. You have to learn when to trust yourself and when to just go for it.

Definition of leadership:
Leadership is a lot of things. A lot of people mistakenly think that leadership is about getting to the top, but it's not that at all. It's building an organization where everyone feels like they contribute in a meaningful way to our success. Good leaders hire and surround themselves with smart people, who share their vision, who are always looking for ways to move their organization forward, and who are empowered to achieve success personally and as a group.

How banking in Texas has changed:
Texas Capital is based on the idea that Texans inherently trust Texans more easily. When given a choice, Texans like to do business in Texas, with Texans. The banking industry today is much more managed for risk than it used to be. But, risk aside, banking is today and should always be about the relationship that's built between the customer and the banker.

On serving the community:
I give back in part because UNT gave me a second chance to be successful, and so now it is important for me to help other young people. In addition to work with the Salesmanship Club, I am a member of the Dallas Citizens Council and have served as chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Dallas and on the Baylor Healthcare System's Board of Trustees.