The Orange Code: How ING Direct Succeeded by Being a Rebel with a Cause

How championing consumers led to ING Direct's revolutionary rise in the banking industry

Since 1996, ING Direct has grown from a mere concept to an ocean-spanning global enterprise, with over 20 million customers and more than $300 billion in assets. From the time this Internet-based direct bank first launched in Canada, it focused on serving ordinary people who felt abandoned by today's money hungry financial institutions and provided its customers with products they actually wanted–like savings accounts with high interest rates. This revolutionary idea was startling in its simplicity. The Orange Code recounts ING Direct's intriguing story, explaining the philosophy of its founder, Arkadi Kuhlmann, the "bad boy of banking," who fervently believes in the power of individuals to control their financial destiny, and his 12-year partnership with Bruce Philp, the branding consultant who helped Kuhlmann make ING Direct a cause to its own people and a household name across North America. In entertaining and inspiring style, Kuhlmann and Philp discuss the unconventional approach to business strategy, leadership, and management that built ING Direct. From refusing to promote credit cards to college students to pointing out frivolous expenses, Kuhlmann and Philp not only address the practical principles that have propelled ING Direct to the top, but they also help readers understand how making a cause of personal financial empowerment made everyone a winner in the ING Direct story. Engaging and informative, The Orange Code offers readers a rare look at this company and provides them with invaluable insights into making more inspired leadership decisions.