By Frank J. Diekmann
Some notes ranging from cursive writing to Chris Rock to Civil War battlefields from the recent Directors and CEOs Leadership Convention in Las Vegas.
The M Word Talks The M Word
As I once pointed out here, you sure-fire can’t go wrong if you need to kill some time speaking before a credit union group if you talk about the “M” word. I’m pretty confident it’s even required in some hotel contracts.
So I thought I had heard just about all one could hear about Millennials (with the exception, of course, of Millennials themselves), before Curt Steinhorst of the Center for Generational Kinetics offered some new insights and perceptions, with a dose of humor. You can read more about that here.
Among his various points and observations:
- Steinhorst, a Millennial himself, told his audience that if they had any disagreements with his presentation they should write them on his evaluations in cursive. “We can’t read cursive,” he said.
- He pointed out that many Millennials are just starting their first jobs. “And they’re probably 27 years old. It’s their first day. They are nervous. They are late. And it’s safe to say they have a lot to learn. My generation is starting work two, three or five years later than earlier generations.”
- Steinhorst said approximately five-million Millennials have no checking account, and 42% report their biggest worry in life is debt.
Credit Unions Got Talent
Comedian Howie Mandel did a 45-minute gig before the conference. To his credit, he at least knew who his audience was, which is more than can be often said for headline acts that just default to their usual material with no idea if they’re talking to credit unions or credit cardholders, as long as the paycheck’s good.
Among some of Mandel’s lines:
- “I just talked to my agent. Chris Rock got the Oscars. I got the Directors and CEOs Leadership Convention.”
- Mandel was a bit late for his appearance, having been doing a live show of America’s Got Talent—where he is a judge—in Los Angeles, and then jetting to Las Vegas. “I just left Los Angeles, and (fellow judge) Heidi Klum asked ‘Where are you going?’ And I said, ‘The 39th annual Directors and CEOs Leadership Convention.’ And she wanted to know how do you get that? And I said, “I'm not telling.”
- After several members of the audience—unusual for a credit union group—started shouting out various things while he was performing, Mandel replied, “Hey, this is not a breakout session.”
The Market Isn’t Really A Battlefield, But…
Over the years I’ve seen some pretty big leaps from presenters attempting to draw a parallel between an historical event and competition in the retail marketplace, or lessons to the workplace, etc., usually while shilling a book.
So I was just a wee bit skeptical when Steven Wiley spoke to credit unions about what they can learn from the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg (especially given that more than 50,000 people were killed over a tragic three-day period).
But Wiley drew some pretty interesting insights from that battle, including the reasons why the better trained, better equipped and larger army (the Confederacy) lost. Wiley now leads the Lincoln Leadership Institute, named as a result of the famous address the president gave four months after the battle. You can read the full story here.
But among some of the various points, thoughts and quips from Wiley:
- In sharing how he can be reached, Wiley said, “Those of you in the audience who are over 60, we’re in the phone book, too.”
- In reflecting on how he has changed as a person, Wiley said for much of his life he was a poor listener. “One thing I was really good at was waiting to speak.”
- Joking about his own academic performance, Wiley said, “I did all my highlighting with a black magic marker in college. I missed a lot.”
- Like a number of speakers to credit union meetings, Wiley cited stats regarding how many employees are “actively disengaged” in their work. “You might as well hire terrorists and put them on the payroll. You have lots of people who have quit; they just haven’t told anyone else.”
Boards, Heal Thyselves
A slow pace of change has often been described as “glacial,” but at the rate the glaciers are melting perhaps I should find another word. That said, one place where change has been nearly frozen has been the willingness of credit union boards to evaluate themselves and, hold on to your landline phone! even evolve. Still, I’ve slowly been hearing more about the subject at various credit union meetings, and the Directors and CEOs Leadership Convention was no exception.
Ben Rogers of the Filene Research Institute—which has been a driver in at least getting the issue discussed—pointed out something Filene’s research has uncovered that seems to be something of a chicken-and-egg situation: board renewal policies are most likely to be found at larger CUs, least likely to be in place at small operations.
And that, as the philosophy majors say, begs the question: Did such policies help the credit union to grow, or does a larger asset size allow the board more time for reflection, as it spends less time micromanaging the operation?
Separately, Rogers shared some examples set by CU boards that have actively sought to replace themselves, even if it meant the incumbents typically won races for board seats.
- He noted one credit union, following a merger that created an oversized board, did an Areas of Expertise/Experience Assessment, as well as a Completed Skill/Capability Assessment, and also required board members to have a biography available (limited to 300 words) that could be read online. Board members also had to have a contribution statement, again with a maximum of 300 words).
- A separate Filene Study found board evaluations lead to a good balance of directors. Those CUs with evaluations felt they had a good balance; those without board evaluations were less likely to feel that way.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator-in-Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info and on Twitter @FrankCUToday.