Tinfoiling

First and foremost this entry is not meant to offend any credit union. What a credit union chooses is their domain, not mine.

In a recent issue of Business in Vancouver (a weekly business journal produced in Vancouver B.C.) there is a section titled ‘Hats Off’ which lists donations by various businesses to worthy charities. This week caught my eye. Listed were three credit unions. But to the untrained eye they were not ‘credit unions’ they were ‘Financial’, ‘Savings’ and ‘Financial Group’. So what happened here?

In the Lower Mainland of B.C. are a large number of very large credit unions. In fact the total of these large credit unions amounts to an excess of 60% of the total deposits for all credit unions in the province of B.C. It runs into the billions of dollars. The competition is fierce amongst all financial institutions and there is this marketing mantra that says any FI needs to differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace. That mantra has carried into the credit union system by pushing some credit unions to have their names presented in the public arena sans ‘credit union’. This supposedly is the way to be different.

The problem that I see is even if I am not a member of a credit union I do have some remote idea of what it is. But do I know what a ‘Financial’, a ‘Savings’ or a ‘Financial Group’ is? That is even more confusing.

I would ask any group of credit unions to consider what they would do in a similar position. Would you keep ‘credit union’ or drop it? It seems once you drop it you become something entirely different. Don’t ask me what, because as noted, it becomes confusing.

One of my favourite people in the credit union movement is Denise. She works for the Credit Union Association of New Mexico and has been associated with credit unions for years. Denise tells it like it is.

Her blog post today does just that. When I began reading it proved interesting from the fact that the 4 minute mile was a record broken in Vancouver during the Empire Games in the ’50s. There was a bronze statue commemorating the run erected at the site and as a kid you always wondered about how magical that moment was. Back then those types of events didn’t seem to happen as often as today so they always seemed magical.

The blog post points to something similar. But many, instead of experiencing that magical moment, will begin to sense a moment of dread. The key to exist as a business in this world is to be aware and be nimble. If you aren’t good at keeping your balance with the winds of change you’ll end up falling a lot. And getting up gets harder to do. Being aware and nimble should give you your greatest advantage which is the use of time. The new iPhone and possible iTunes payment system isn’t hard to see as a concrete possibility. It will be used but it won’t have everything that people will want. Those FIs that understand that and are prepared for change will find they will continue to exist.

I tend to see technology as pure technique. This is just another refined technique to be aware of and to see as a possibility to play to. Don’t forget ‘magic’ is a noun, adjective and verb.

Next week CU Water Cooler Symposium happens in Fishers, Indiana. This symposium has its roots in the Forum Solution Symposium of the past. For me it had been one of the best events in credit union land and next Thursday this new hybrid should establish the CU Water Cooler Symposium as one of the best symposiums ever.

Before anyone attends anything they have probably weighed what it costs versus what they would come to expect from going. Compared to most events here in Canada this event is a bargain. The list of speakers shows people who are working experts and the topics which are near and dear to their hearts. There is no official ‘theme’ but the speakers topics display a large variety of what will presented. How the speakers were chosen, the t-shirt contest, to the type of name tags to be used, shows an open and very workable approach to getting something like this going.

So here are a few of my personal expectations.

1. To be able to re-connect with colleagues. There are a number of people going who I haven’t seen for a few years. Even though you know key events in their lives from twitter, facebook and blogs it is always neat to re-connect face to face.
2. Finally being able to put a face and a voice to some avatar on Twitter. You follow people for years and now you actually get to meet them!
3. Hearing some non-mainstream speakers. Just being able to hear new voices and pertinent topics for a change. So many conferences are almost mainstream in making sure the speakers are vocalizing the ‘flavour of the month’.
4. The debates. If the past is any indication, there should be some lively discussions around just about anything credit union related.
5. Social media is in everyone’s mind and it will be interesting to see where everyone is at, beginner, experience or expert.
6. The last and probably most important. To learn, learn and learn. I never hurts to go with an open mind and act like a sponge.

And don’t forget to make your own name tag!

My good friend Morris over at everythingcu.com cc’ed a tweet to me about a discussion they were having about CUs and Cooperatives. I was reading it and didn’t think there was much to say  until someone writes from the viewpoint that “we need to make money”. That led me to respond.

It does seem a little crazy that whenever the topic of the 7 cooperative principles is brought to light, people will point to what they see as the greatest need –  ”to make money” and neglect what the real debate is about. It is like someone asking how you are today and your first statement is “I need to breathe”. Of course we need to breathe but does that end the discussion?

Here is the post.