CARROLTON, Texas–Mark Arnold, CCUE, is an popular speaker, brand expert and strategic planner. He is also president of On The Mark Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in branding and strategic planning. Arnold’s blog (markarnold.com) was recently recognized as one of the top 20 blogs in the country for financial marketing. Below, Arnold shares his thoughts as part of CUToday.info’s The Corner.
CUToday.info: What intangible of leadership is most difficult to convey or prepare for?
Arnold: Sincerity. Either you are or you aren’t. There really is no middle ground. People are drawn to leaders that are real and authentic. You can’t prepare for that quality yet genuineness is paramount to your leadership skills.
CUToday.info: Are you a fan of a management book or books? If not, why not. If so, which have resonated with you and why?
Arnold: I’m huge fan of reading management and business books. If you are not reading, you are not growing. I try to read at least one business book per month and if you work for me you have to read at least one per quarter. Some of my all-time favorites are Leading or Growth by Ray Davis (yes, even though he is a banker); Grow by Jim Stengel and Onward by Howard Schultz. Those are my top three because they all tie leadership, branding and growth together. If you want to grow you have to have strong leadership and strong branding.
CUToday.info: Innovation: four syllables getting all the attention. Deservedly so? If so, can you really drive innovation? Or is it coming at the cost of implementation and delivery?
Arnold: Innovation is a somewhat overused buzzword today. It’s more about resolve. How resolved are you to implement innovative ideas? There is a “knowing-doing” gap when it comes to innovation. We “know” we should innovate but don’t actually “do” it. For example, I love to run and I know I would run better and faster if I ate healthier. But I love pizza and hamburgers. So while I “know” what to do (eat better) I don’t always do it. With my running, it’s all about resolve. The same applies with credit unions and innovation. How resolved are you to actually implement innovative ideas? A little less talking and a lot more action would yield better results.
CUToday.info: Which school is ultimately more valuable: Business school or School of Hard Knocks? Why?
Arnold: Yes. How is that for riding the fence to this question? And since our oldest daughter is currently in college I have to careful how I answer this question. On a personal level, I have probably learned more from the many mistakes I’ve made. However, I would balance that comment with the fact that there is a ton of great business reading out there you can do (just maybe not the traditional college textbooks).
CUToday.info: My Keeps-Me-Up-At-Night concern is? Why? And My-Let’s-Me-Sleep-At-Night optimism is?
Arnold: What keeps me up at night is how little brand awareness credit unions have in the marketplace. It rarely exists. Too many credit unions are struggling with how to differentiate themselves. And if they don’t differentiate, they will die. My optimism comes from the younger generation that genuinely seems to care about the values that credit unions are built upon: volunteerism, a cooperative spirit and membership. We need to leverage the power of Gen. Y with the power of the credit union movement.