BankThink

Plenty of credit unions are looking for good volunteers for board and committee positions or at least say they are. But one volunteer says "good" just doesn't cut it. And that's not all. While many credit unions have pared the number of volunteers they use, whether out of necessity or design, this same volunteer says his credit union is consistently creating new positions in which people can volunteer their time. Indeed, his own credit union has 32 people volunteering in some capacity.

Ed Roberts' front-page story July 10 ("CUNA Goes On The Offensive Against Bankers On The Hill") states that CUNA's approach is "raising questions" among some in the credit union movement. There is no question in my mind-CUNA did the right thing.

The point of research is to collect actionable information that can be used to improve the member experience and grow the credit union. Here is a five-step model one credit union has used successfully for many years.

The "butterfly effect" is a component of chaos theory that holds that small variations in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long-term behavior of that system. In practice, the reference is to the theory that the fluttering of a butterfly's wings could create the tiniest of changes in the atmosphere that might ultimately, through a chain of events, lead to a tornado.

From a systemic perspective, how does the credit union system define success? Or perhaps more appropriately, how should we define success? Credit unions may count higher net worth ratios, increased membership and measure myriad growth categories on balance sheets. A year with no liquidations, conservatorships or few involuntary mergers may be a benchmark for regulators. The system is greater, though, than the sum of these parts.

Nationwide is growing and expanding as a financial services company. Nationwide insurance agents will soon be hawking banking, investment and retirement products to complement the standard auto, home and life insurance services. Nationwide now promotes the trademark: "Life comes at you fast!" - agents swamped with the new look at Nationwide must certainly agree!

If you walked up to the front of your branch to discover peeling paint, trash on the ground, and fingerprints all over the door and windows-what would you do? Start calling managers on your cell phone? Ask the entire staff to come out in the parking lot and look at the branch through the members' eyes?

By all rights, judging from some recent headlines, including in The Credit Union Journal, you should be reading this by flashlight, on the floor, perhaps under your desk. You're not alone. Apparently credit unions should be hunkered down inside their offices with the shades pulled and the lights off, with any plans for membership expansion deleted from hard drives, any board presentations run through the shredder.

Are you looking to get more from your repossession agency? Here are five steps on how to get them to do what you need-now.

There's a fine line between believing passionately in our mission and drinking too much of our own Kool-Aid. True in all businesses everywhere, the nature of our credit union mission makes us more susceptible than most to finding ourselves on the wrong side of that fine line.