Big Ideas for Credit Unions
Career lessons from the watermelon farm
I had a strange career before getting mixed up with credit unions, including a few years working at a mental hospital and 12 years in a busy rock band. But the one thing that makes people stop and ask questions is my time as a watermelon farmer in southern Indiana. I spent every summer when…
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Making the world a better place, one tomato at a time
We’re big on making the world a better place, and we’re even bigger fans of those that actually do it. A few days ago, we ran across this link to a fascinating National Geographic article on how the Netherlands, a country with 1/270th the area of the US, has become the world’s #2 exporter of food. (Take…
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Just one of these obstacles is enough to keep you from growing
Ignorance, inertia, and inattention. Just one of these obstacles is enough to keep your credit union from growing. And your credit union needs to overcome all three if you are ever going to thrive. IGNORANCE As CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle told attendees at the Southeast Credit Union Conference, credit unions have a perception problem, which…
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Peace, love, and credit unions
“Hippie” values are back, and it’s time for credit unions to dig out those old tie-dyed tees and headbands and get ready to group-hug a whole new generation. I can already see the signs: Peace, love, and credit unions. Credit unions have every right to claim and own this message in the financial world. While Millennials…
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Bread and butter car loans don’t have to be boring
Here’s a product idea for car loans I’ve had kicking around my head for years. It’s yours, free of charge. (Of course we’d certainly love to help with marketing strategy and creative.) The plain old car loan is every credit union’s bread and butter. It’s also kind of boring. No wonder your members look at your…
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8 AHA! Moments from Austin | #CUatMAC
Those AHA! moments — quotable lines by interesting and unique speakers — that make a conference worth attending. Add in smiling, friendly marketers, vendors that actually get along, and a city that is known for its live music, a social conscience and being a bit weird, and you might just have the perfect combination for a credit union marketing conference.…
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Eating the Elephant: Economic Upheavals
There’s a silly old joke that goes something like this: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” In this series, we’re talking about taking a bite out of some of the “elephants in the room” – big, obvious, uncomfortable problems that everyone’s trying to ignore. We’re hoping to inspire credit union people to…
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Eating the Elephant: Health Care Costs
We all know the expression “the elephant in the room”. It’s a big, obvious, uncomfortable problem that everyone’s trying to ignore. In our “Eating the Elephant” series, we’ll take a good hard look at some of the elephants jostling credit unions and their members. We’ll also discuss some ways credit unions could play a role in taking…
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Don’t forget to breathe.
It’s October, and the world seems to ripen around you. Reds, oranges and yellows pop out overnight against the darker green leaves of trees that aren’t in such a big hurry, while squirrels try to get a little fatter with every walnut they crack open. It’s the best time of the year in the Midwest.* The air is a…
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Where’s your Master Plan?
Elon Musk, best known as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has a very interesting document on his company’s blog — the second half of his “Master Plan”. He’s achieved or is close to achieving the goals he laid out in the first half of his Master Plan, and he’s now working on the rest.…
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