By Frank J. Diekmann
Here are some interesting observations and notes–or perhaps I’m completely wrong and this whole thing “blows”–from the recent “Underground Collision” conference that was sponsored by Mitchell Stankovic and CU*Answers (at which I was among the presenters), and CO-OP’s THINK 17 meeting, both of which were held in New York City.
Not Very Cooperative (or Smart)
Randy Karnes, CEO of CU*Answers, who along with his company consistently promotes the concept of cooperation, said he talked to one person at a billion-dollar credit union who asked why the CUSO was “talking about these Seven Cooperative Principles; those aren’t relevant to us.”
Not Very Smart (or Cooperative)
One person noted his credit union’s members elected a new board member who was the ripe young age of 27. The response from the regulator: They said he was too young to be on the board.
Round & Round You Go–For Good Reason
Here is an interesting piece of trivia. While many Americans continue to push back against (and be baffled by) traffic circles (or roundabouts or rotaries), Andrew Dignan, who is founder of The Ready, a consultancy that specializes in organizational design and transformation, told the THINK meeting that when compared to traffic lights at intersections, the roundabouts result in a 75% reduction in accidents, a 90% fatality reductions, an 89% reduction in stops and delays–and are 10% cheaper to build.
“We don’t go for it in the U.S. because it feels different,” he said.
Later, Dignan, in a meeting that was all about digital transformation, shared examples of three companies that are “not digital on their face, but extremely digital in their way of working and organizing.” All three are based overseas: Buurtzorg, Svenska, and Handelsbanken. You can read more here and here.
What Many Still Misunderstand
CUToday.info has reported previously that among the great myths within credit unions is the demographic that values branches the most. Stephen Wunker, an Innovation Consultant and co-author of the book, “Jobs to Be Done,” said research shows “Millennials valued branches more than non-Millennials, and the difference is pretty substantial.” You can read more about what Wunker had to say is misunderstood by many companies here.
'Ohhh, S...'
Tom Goodwin, who is now the EVP of Innovation with Zenith Media USA, was working at Nokia when the iPhone was introduced. As he recalled, “Collectively, we all thought ‘Ohhhh.’ It was a bit more rude than that.”
Later, Goodwin added, “I’ve never written a check in my life. They are quite prehistoric. In the U.S., you have built this technology on top of checks to make them seem less prehistoric. This is a demonstrably crappy way to move money.”
Feeling Safe? Time to 'Face' Some News
If you’re confident biometrics is the answer to online security and will eventually replace passwords as a sure-fire solution for personal authentication, prepare to have your confidence shaken. One speaker shared with credit unions that a start-up has created software that can replicate your voice with just one-minute of you talking. If that weren’t scary enough, it is also possible to mimic someone via a video image, as well. So maybe don’t give up on the password just yet.
A Bizarro Buzzard
In what I believe is a first at a CU meeting, a panel discussion at THINK featured a Bizarro and a Buzzard. In this case, Pedro Bizarro of Feedzai and John Buzzard of CO-OP. During that discussion, incidentally, it was noted that fraudsters have formalized their operations to the point that on the dark web there is tech support available and even “Yelp”-like ratings on stolen data that is available.
The Short Lives of CIOs
Michelle McKenna-Doyle, who is SVP/CIO with the National Football League, said, “My brother went to Alabama and played football. My dad always thought his kid would make it to the NFL. He just bet on the wrong one.”
Later, McKenna-Doyle added, “A technology project often becomes the excuse for driving change at companies. That’s why CIOs often have a short shelf life.”
If These Guys Can Do It, CUs Can Do It
For credit unions that just don’t think they can make the “digital transformation,” David L. Rogers, author of The Digital Transformation Playbook and a teacher at Columbia Business School, told CUs, “If Encyclopedia Britannica can reinvent itself by focusing on the customer, then any business can. If we can think differently about our members and data and what is our value, then any of our businesses can transform and succeed.”
Who CU Employees Should Hear From
Looking for ways to inspire your credit union’s employees about the work they do and why the CU exists in the first place? Laszlo Block, the well-known former Google executive vice president who wrote the book “Work Rules,” urged CUs to identify members who have been most affected by what the credit union has done for them, and to have those people come in and share their stories as another way of helping employees to really connect with their work.”
In Block’s insightful comments about the nature of work, which you can read more about here, he later joked that so much time and effort is invested in relationships and marriage, but little is spent on the co-workers. “And you spend more time with these jerks that some other idiot hired,” he said.
Another interesting aside: Block said that the people who are affected the most by advertising and marketing are “the people at the company. If you say, ‘We’re innovative, we’re innovative, we’re innovative,’ employees will think, ‘Hey, we’re innovative.’”
All I Can Say Is...
Finally, I thought I had heard just about everything from the stage at credit union meetings. But again, I stand corrected. As time was winding down, one emcee moderating a panel discussion tilted her head back and announced, “This blows. This is over.”
And as for this column, that’s true, as well.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info. He can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info or @FrankCUToday.