Tell Me Why I'm Wrong

Feat. Randy Karnes

In a Country of Yes Men Somebody Has to Say No

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Are people really more concerned about the NCUA looking unprofessional than having rules passed without debate?

I saw this poll posted on the Credit Union Times website that asked readers “What do you think of the NCUA board’s public disagreements?” The three main choices are: Healthy debate can lead to change; It’s a waste of resources; and it makes the board look unprofessional. To my surprise, 24% of respondents have picked that it’s a waste of resources and makes the board look unprofessional. And that’s completely absurd.

These days we seem to be so concerned with perception that we’re afraid to put a foot forward to create change—we’d rather hold our thoughts back and then whine through the results. For the first time in what seems like a long time we have a Board that is willing to actually discuss matters concerning our industry and in a transparent way. This is not something to be embarrassed by or ashamed of. Other industries should want this same type of discussion!Continue Reading

Is the CU industry too squeamish to watch McWatters and Matz duel it out?

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A new era of transparent debate and both sides of the story will be good for us all!

In general the CU industry is made up of people who like the appearance of consensus, even at their own expense.  We are an industry led by those who dislike conflict, to the point that we delegate to the trades.  We let them keep us in the dark as they claim to be the group that will fight and debate our issues with the establishment in DC, behind the scenes.  Our industry is made up of organizations that are often paralyzed by issues that cannot come to a unanimous vote.  Our industry is not really made up of the average set of gawkers that love to be present at a knockdown drag-out fights – we look away.  We value the appearance of being cooperative over almost any other marketing stance.  But appearing cooperative is not always the same as being cooperative and finding our way to success and sustainability.Continue Reading

Waiting Out the Member Might Mean Waiting Out Your Credit Union Closure

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“Imagine you had a greeter in your lobby every day and they had a pocket full of offers to extend to the members who come through the door. The greeter’s job was to give the person a quick once over and make a call on the offer to extend to the member. Is the offer age appropriate? Do we have any negative situations with this member? Does it look like the member might need the offer? Etc. How would you coach the greeter?”

This is a scenario I presented to credit union CEOs recently while discussing the idea of smart offers–a project to ensure that visitors to online and mobile banking are offered the appropriate service or product. It’s a subject I’ve pushed for feedback on numerous occasions, but for which I’ve received little response and it makes me wonder… are credit unions content with letting members take the initiative and is that going to end up costing them dearly?Continue Reading

Does anybody have the phone number for the President?

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NCUA is fine with a “Do as we say, not as we do” policy.

Well, maybe I should ask “Does anybody in the President’s office ever think about the leadership he has assigned to oversee the NCUA board?” I doubt it. Would anyone in this administration really care about a 13.1 million dollar credit union. I doubt it. I am not sure that anybody on the board of the NCUA cares about a 13.1 million dollar CU either – and they should care. Not because of the agency’s duty to guard the insurance fund (a passion for their positive liquidation capabilities). They should care because they owe it to the owners of every credit union to foster CU success no matter the size of a balance sheet (they’re missing passion for their contribution to the safety and soundness of our industry).Continue Reading

Are you an NCUA defined “Leaper”?

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Cooperative tactics are as important as business tactics for driving growth in small credit unions

Recently I came across a new term that the NCUA has coined: “Leapers.” I am waiting for some clarification on some of the characteristics used to apply the label, but the gist is “leapers” are credit unions that have recently negotiated the transition from being a small credit union to one that might be considered big. Has anybody else heard this term? Can you fill me in on what constitutes a small credit union today? How far up the scale do they have to jump to be a big one? Or how fast do they have to go from one to the other to qualify as a leaper?

The problem with assigning labels

This is one of the problems our industry has today—labels that seem to imply a judgment call as to what is good or bad about our operations. Big sounds better than small. Leaping forward sounds better than the slow and steady move forward. But there seem to be no rules attached to assigning the label, so everyone wonders the same thing. Am I big enough not to be called small? Am I growing fast enough to be a leaper?

And worst of all, do I satisfy the opinions of others when it comes to being relevant? We are crippled in our thinking today by trying to be relevant to almost anyone other than our members. Are we relevant to our peers? Are we relevant in the eyes of the NCUA? Are we relevant in the concerns of our competition? Are we relevant in the minds of our local business leaders? Are we relevant to anyone?

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Financial industry homogenization is killing our competitive difference and thus our advantage

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So much of a business person’s time is devoted to figuring out what they do better than their competitors.  For example, a CU that spends time understanding how its financial service products compare and compete with the services of a bank.  A business can become so vested in these comparisons and the effort to edge out competitors in what they do better–despite being basically the same–that their internal teams simply forget how to really focus on where they are different.  And after a while those internal team members (staff, management, and board) find themselves always starting from the same base, the same foundation, and the same perspective as their competitors, even though they are nothing like their competitors at their core.  And in doing so any hope for innovating on a core difference is lost. The difference that should inspire activities and ensure that the market sees you as different from your competitors is lost, and the advantage with it.

This is why we should be focused on learning, leveraging, and acting on being cooperatives.  Focused on walking the talk and driving customer-owner advantages into our daily activities, into our competitive activities, and into the spirit of everything we do.  This drive is one of the reasons I decided to get more involved in the cooperative business model and the groups that support its success.  I hope you will consider how credit unions might return to their core and drive this difference home for the members and stakeholders.  Be different, and start with the way you design your business.  Be a cooperative in the truest sense of the word.