By Frank J. Diekmann
You frequently hear someone who is retiring from a long career in credit union leadership observe that the way they had ended up spending their professional life had never been their plan, that when they were young they had a whole other direction in mind. Or, just as often, didn’t have any kind of career map in front of them at all, and then through serendipity one day they just found themselves getting a paycheck from a financial cooperative. And they stayed.
There are exceptions, of course, as one unique aspect of credit unions is what are now fashionably but negatively known in other fields as “nepo-babies,” but not so negatively—in fact, positively, in credit unions. These are people whose parents and even grandparents worked in CUs. Just this week CU reported on a new CEO who is succeeding her mother in the job.
As John Lennon so famously observed, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Perhaps some time I can use this space to share readers’ own stories of how they ended up in credit unions, of their odd paths, happenstance events and unplanned journeys. And maybe over beers some time we can all get together and I can share my own completely unexpected and accidental arrival here, including how had I not once found a note in a campground I wouldn’t be in this job at all.
Dollars, Not Collars
What got me to thinking about all these random ping pong balls in life’s lottery was an interview I did recently with NCUA Board Member Rodney Hood, who reminded that at one point in his life he "almost became a priest.” (And yes, I hear CEOs around the country saying that’s not surprising, every NCUA board member always thinks they are the pope.)
While Hood never entered the seminary, he did add that he has always tried to view his work at the regulator “through the lens of helping vulnerable communities.”
And if that’s not God’s work, what is?
Doing it Right
In an earlier column I took to task those credit unions that offer year-end bonus dividends and loan interest rebates and then make a big deal by—telling absolutely no one about it! That’s their mistake. But some do get it right, such as evolve credit union, which featured this message online to ensure members and prospective members know there is a benefit to being a member, while having a little fun in the process.
You Must Have Really Deserved It
During the NCUA board’s most recent meeting Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman observed that one of the reasons the agency has openings in its examination force is that it does actually fire people. But as he more than hinted, it isn’t like NCUA and other employers aren’t giving people a chance or three in today’s tight market.
“If you work at a place that is short-staffed and your manager’s number-one priority every day is to find people, you must be pretty bad to get fired,” he offered as an aside.
Doing It Right II
Kudoes to White Eagle FCU and to the Credit Union Association of New Mexico for keeping the messages fresh in social media, as shown below.
Teaching a Master Class
If you want to attend a Master Class in keeping your name/product/brand in front of a cluttered market, might I suggest you look to the Merchant’s Payments Association.
While you may disagree with the MPA and its position on the credit card routing (hint, it’s 180 degrees from the position of CUs), you can’t disagree with how effective the organization is in finding fresh angles for one of its policy positions.
The news cycle is short, and the MPA has landed on a strategy that pretty much allows it to keep chanting the same talking points without sounding like its repeating itself or driving news editors and others on the receiving end of its statements to mutter “I’ve heard this before” as the punch the delete button.
In this case, it uses various holidays to make its point that “rising swipe fees” are hurting consumers. For example, the group claimed debit card transactions “could potentially cost consumers over $500 million in higher prices for everything from cards and candy to roses and rings this Valentine’s Day.”
“There’s nothing romantic about swipe fees,” a spokesperson said.
Late last year it used the Christmas holidays to suggest swipe fees charged to the average family would total $18.50 during the shopping season, enough for a Barbie Doll or Lego set (a good example of making its argument more tangible).
Making abstract concepts such as “credit union benefits” feel more tangible is challenging, but it’s so more rewarding and effective when you do. Just what could members buy every year with the savings/cost benefits of belonging to your credit union? Are you worth more than a Barbie?
CUs could learn a thing or two from the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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