By Frank J. Diekmann
Las Vegas. Atlanta. Tampa. Tucson. Atlanta. New Hampshire. Atlanta. Kentucky. Atlanta. Airplane flights. Rental cars. Unhealthily early wake-up calls. Ubers. Taxis. Hotels. Surprisingly missing hotel amenities. Dozens of conference rooms. Hundreds of discussions. Thousands of people. And more.
You hear everyone in credit unions talking about their “journeys?” Well, please join me in Part I of a journey through Credit Union Land and a half dozen meetings and some of what I heard in recent weeks.
The Cliché That Keeps on Giving
First, let me just say once more, that I have again watched slickly produced videos, heard conference presentations, been a part of interviews and seen other news reports in which someone announces with grave solemnity and if they have just coined the phrase, “In these times of economic uncertainty…” As if it was new. Really, has there ever been a time when anyone has said, “In these times of economic certainty?” It’s the cliché that keeps on giving.
Rethinking that ‘Wow’
During a discussion at PSCU’s Member Forum over how the good old-fashioned checking account—even if no one ever writes a check—remains a key driver of future card usage and relationships with members, Kerri Anne Aarnosk, a strategic portfolio principal with the CUSO’s Advisors Plus service, shared, “We ask credit unions, ‘What is your wow factor?’ Ninety percent say, ‘We give them the best service.’ That’s great, but think about that, as they don’t know that until they are already with you.”
Knowing How to Read (the Other) Green
Since the days of actual wooden woods, credit unions are experienced old hands at hosting golf tournaments to raise funds for charities or politics and this and that, and one CEO used a related metaphor I hadn’t heard before to describe what credit unions do for members.
“I think that we have seen so much talk about humanization, personalization, innovation, but what we do as credit unions is partner with our members and we do it better than anybody else,” said Kelly Botti, president and CEO of the $2.95-billion TruMark Financial Credit Union in Ft. Washington, Penn., during a panel discussion at PSCU’s Member Forum in Tampa. “(A colleague) used an analogy last night that I think really sums it up: we are our members’ golf caddies. We are the people that tell our members’ what club to use and how rough the terrain is, but ultimately it's their choice. We have to be available and ready to help them and partner with them.”
You can read the full story here.
Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
Observed by Mark Sievewright of Sievewright & Associates, “When I go visit credit unions, I see fintech strategy as being everything, everywhere, all at once, or nothing, nowhere, ever at all.”
Later, Sievewright added, “When we get to 2040 we will have the same number of credit unions as the year.”
You can find the full story here.
Let’s Get Ready To…Be Real
A man who is a professional entertainer should be entertaining, but what made Thomas M. Bullard—better known as World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Titus O’Neil—such a special messenger to credit unions was all the substance behind the sweat and Spandex.
In remarks to PSCU’s Member Forum, Bullard shared his story of having been born as the result of a sexual assault on his mother—who was just 12 at the time of his birth—and then growing up under tough circumstances in Boynton Beach, Fla. and being told often he would be dead by the time he was 16. He was eventually sent to the Florida Boys Ranch where some tough love (a “white guy from Chicago” took a flyer on him and told him something he had never heard before: “I love you and I believe in you) helped him turn his life around (you can read more about his story here).
Bullard would go on to play football, graduate from college, become a superstar wrestler and a philanthropist in the Tampa community.
Several times in his remarks Bullard avoided cursing by saying “sugar honey iced tea” (you can figure it out), and after he was praised for having had a middle school named after him, he replied, “And I’m still alive!”
Beyond his inspiring story, Bullard had this child-rearing advice for certain audience members: “White people, stop negotiating with your kids. If you do this, you’ll get this…”
Finally, as Bullard continued to talk the session came to an end and PSCU’s conference organizers began to play some music.
But you don’t tell a large WWE wrestler to get off stage.
“Man, turn off that damn music. This isn’t the Oscars or the Grammys,” he said. And they did, and he finished his thoughts.
Two Things Cops Don’t Like
Bullard was joined during the same panel discussion by the mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor, who was the first female chief of police and first openly LBGTQ member elected to the post. Observed Cantor, “Another change is mindset, which you often see in government, is around organizational change. People say I love change. They are either a liar or they are saying change their world, don’t change mine. We are all creatures of habit. We changed how we police in Tampa in 2003. The only people more resistant to change than police officers are firefighters. We always say there are two things police officers don’t like: The way things are and change.”
It Took Just One Word
Just how worried are people about the future of technology and AI and their own lives? At the PSCU meeting, Lital Marom, an entrepreneur, engineer, author and leader of the consulting firm UNFOLD and the Academy of Tomorrow, showed the results of a Google search that began with the word “Will…” Google immediately populated the screen with the most popular search question beginning with that word: “Will machines replace humans and take over jobs?”
You can get the full story here.
The Captain Talks Leadership
The man known simply as “The Captain,” Yankees’ Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, was asked for his thoughts on leadership at the PSCU meeting. “There are different kinds of leaders. Some lead by example. Some are vocal leaders. What’s most important it getting to know the people you’re leading. You don’t treat everyone the same; you treat people fairly. You have to get to know people. The only way to know the difference is to take time to get to know them. You don’t just walk into the room and say follow me.”
What? The Captain Bans Photos
Jeter, by the way, prohibited members of the media from shooting his pic while on stage at the J.W. Marriott in Tampa. For a guy who lived with a 24x7 media spotlight in New York and on whom hundreds of cellphones were trained as he was taking the stage, the prohibition was utterly absurd (unless he didn’t want anyone to recognize him as the guy who did nothing to improve the Miami Marlins while he was the team’s CEO for five years).
But to honor the prohibition I refrained from taking a photo of the All-Star shortstop. But they didn’t say anything about shooting a picture of someone shooting a picture of Jeter. So…
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief of CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info. Mr. Diekmann is also author of several new book, including the brand new “The Last Lyric,” a humorous satire about a murder investigation at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in which every line of dialogue is either a classic pop/rock song title or lyric. Available on Amazon, Apple iBook, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Mr. Diekmann is also author of a non-fiction compilation of the very best & worst he has seen and heard in covering more than 500 CU meetings and conferences, “501 Name Tags: How Everything You Need to Know About Business Can Be Learned at a Conference & Forgotten in the Trade Show.” It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Lulu, and Smashwords