It is rare for the CEO of a major corporation to open the doors and show how things really work. For that alone, this book deserves praise. Ralph Hamers, who led ING as CEO from 2013 to 2020, describes the transformation that took the bank from a traumatized institution in the wake of the financial crisis to a proud, modern, digital-first organization where people wanted to belong.
Hamers’ stated aim is to share learning and inspire leaders to undertake comprehensive transformation when they see the need for it. The book is fundamentally about how transformation actually happens, what it demands of leaders, and what consistency looks like in practice. He offers an “honest account” of “how to lead real people through real change”. The framework he used to transform ING, he argues, applies equally to what large organizations must do now in the age of artificial intelligence: anchor a clear purpose with a compelling customer proposition, then align leadership, culture, capabilities, and incentives to execute strategy consistently. As he writes, this alignment enables you to navigate what’s ahead.
This is not an autobiography. It is not about Ralph Hamers the person. Yet you feel his energy and drive throughout. The pages crackle with it. His personal purpose—”to rock your world today, to go where you haven’t gone before”—is palpable.
Transformation is hard, restructuring is easy, Hamers writes. It takes at least three to five years and it requires conviction, discipline, consistency, and persistence. Many underestimate how long true transformation takes, how disciplined the leadership must be, and how much consistency is required to sustain it. It comes from connecting the dots and managing them every day,. Only leaders can connect the dots.
Before the financial crisis of 2008 ING was one of the top ten financial services companies globally. As a result of the crisis ING had to be bailed out and restructured. It went from 125,000 to 76,000 employees in five years. It became an organization in mourning. The restructuring “was exactly what needed to be done, but it left everyone drained”.
New energy and hope were needed. “By the time I stepped in, ING had been through crisis and restructuring. What people needed most was hope and a vision for the future. We had to shift from loss and fatigue into pride in a new kind of company with a new kind of story.”
Hamers set out to transform ING “from an internet savings bank into a full-service, digital-primary bank”, or as he called it “a tech company with a banking license” or “a global bank with startup energy”. People don’t need a bank, they need banking, he quips. And: if a music or travel app can be intuitive, real-time, and personalized, why shouldn’t their bank be the same? User experience came at the center, alongside financial performance, compliance and risk management. Customer promise became a decision filter.
Hamers credits his frequent visits to Silicon Valley with shaping his thinking. He has a principle: if you want to lead, look outside your sector; if you want to follow, look at your peers. Apple’s iPhone gave him the image of banking in your pocket. Google’s campus inspired the design of ING’s new Amsterdam headquarters: large, open floors accessible by stairs rather than elevators, so colleagues would run into each other and collaborate. He was not building architecture; he was rebuilding the social tissue of the organization. When teams sit in silos, they behave in silos. The executive team modeled the change by working in open space themselves.
Hamers walks his readers through the transformation process: how they defined their purpose strategy, leadership, culture, agile, and more. He writes that “a CEO can’t delegate three things: strategy, communication and brand/reputation, and talent and culture”. These are “the essential dots a CEO must connect for consistency. Strategy defines where you are going. Talent and culture determine whether you can get there. Brand is the most visible expression of both.”
The transformation was a resounding success. In the years after 2008 ING was seen as part of a broken system but that shifted. “It was like opening the windows and suddenly everyone had oxygen.” People started to believe in the program, resulting in a pull from below to move faster. “There was a certain magic in what we were doing, something magnetic about the mission, the momentum, and the culture. (…) We began attracting people with different profiles, accelerating the transformation with their energy and ideas.” In 2017 ING was named Best Bank in the World by Global Finance.
Yet trust, once damaged, is slow and difficult to restore completely. In 2018, ING entered a settlement with the Dutch Public Prosecution Office and paid a fine of 775 million euros. ING Netherlands had not done enough to prevent money laundering by its customers. It was a major blow to its recovering reputation. Hamers covers this topic in the book. That same year brought another test that he chooses not to mention: the supervisory board proposed raising Hamers’ salary by 50 percent, only to withdraw the proposal after public outcry. It is a loss that Hamers does not address this issue. He should have. His own words about the settlement also speak directly to this topic in my view: “Responsibility does not end when you believe you have done the right thing. It extends to understanding how these actions are experienced and being willing to stand in that discomfort.”
Still, Hamers has written a strong book about an exceptional transformation. Other CEOs will find real value in it. His willingness to show the work, to name the obstacles, and to trace the long arc from despair to momentum gives leaders a template for their own organizations. Read it.
Ralph Hamers. Do Your Thing. Lessons from Banking’s Biggest Digital Transformation. Lioncrest, 2026.