Richard Davis likes to keep the pot boiling at U.S. Bancorp, the nation’s sixth largest financial holding company

“Hot water at 211 degrees is inert; at 212, it’s making something happen,” said the president and CEO of the Minneapolis-based financial giant.

“In banking we don’t celebrate the near misses,” Davis explained. “We celebrate making things happen, and we celebrate doing things to make your lives better, whether it’s cashing a check or making a loan.”

Davis has done plenty of big and small transactions in his 30-year banking career—from breaking a $20 bill for a customer to playing a key leadership role in a $21 billion merger that vaulted U.S. Bancorp into the nation’s top 10 biggest banks. His ascent to one of the most influential executive positions in the sector began on the bottom rung.