LOS ANGELES — Credit unions may have found a powerful new ally in their long-running battle to increase their recognition by the general public.
It could happen, if Earvin "Magic" Johnson responds to a request by an audience member at the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues' Annual Meeting and Conference here Tuesday. The legendary basketball player and uber-successful businessman was asked if he would lend his star power to promote credit unions.
"I see the diversity in this room, and I like that," Johnson began. "I am about financial literacy when it comes to minorities in a big way. We were not brought up in money, and do not know how to save. So if Diana [Dykstra, the president and CEO of the CCUL and NCUL] asks me, then yes."
Credit union conferences over the years have featured astronauts, economists, politicians, innovators and gurus of all types. But rarely have they seen the excitement and enthusiasm generated by Johnson. From the first moment he was introduced he did not stand on the stage distancing himself, he walked the aisles, took pictures, talked to audience members by name, exchanged fist bumps — all while sharing what has made him a resounding success at nearly everything he has attempted.
Winning, Johnson told the crowd, is a mindset. After winning a National Championship in college at Michigan State University, he moved on to the National Basketball Association and was an integral part of a Los Angeles Lakers team that won an NBA Championship in 1980, his rookie year. Still, he was not satisfied. He took a self-evaluation and realized he needed to work on his jump shot to become a complete player.
To this day, Johnson performs a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) on himself and his business twice a year.
"Competitors make you better, but you have to be honest with yourself," he said. "You have to understand your strengths and weaknesses. For me, working harder and becoming the Most Valuable Player in 1987 made the team better. There is always something we can work on and improve upon — no one can get to 100%."
Johnson reached out to teammates to help him become a better shooter. When he was still active in the NBA he realized he wanted to be a businessman when he was done playing. "I did not know business, so I took 20 CEOs who used to sit on the floor at Lakers games to lunch to ask them how they became successful, and how I could get started. I was not afraid to reach out."
Too often, he noted, people let their egos get in the way of asking for help. "Because of reaching out, I was able to start my business."
From Movies to Coffee to Mickey and Minnie
When he was ready to start his post-basketball career, he realized African-Americans had $1 trillion in spending power, and Latinos had $1 trillion in spending power, but "no one was speaking to them." He did research and found out minorities went to movies, but did not have theaters in their neighborhoods — so he built Magic Johnson Theaters.
Having built a small empire of profitable theaters, Johnson said he "wanted to go another level." He called Starbucks and asked for a meeting with the chairman. "I told him he needed to grow in urban America, because Starbucks already had a location on every corner in suburban America."
Johnson soon had built 125 Starbucks locations in 40 states. Predictions were, he recalled, minorities would not pay $3 for a coffee. "We will pay $3 for a coffee, but we don't know what scones are," he said to a roar of laughter. "So I delivered to my customer. I took out scones, put in sweet potato pie and pound cake. I took out Lawrence Welk music that they play at the other Starbucks and put in Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie, Earth, Wind and Fire. If people are happy, they stay and make a second purchase."
The result? Johnson's Starbucks locations had better per-customer profit numbers than the suburban Starbucks, he noted with pride.
"Do you speak to your customer? Do you listen to them?" he asked the credit union executives in the audience. "You have to overdeliver to the customer in order to get attention."
As another example of over-delivering, Johnson recalled he obtained the food contract at Disneyland and "did a great job." Later, when the much larger contract came up with Disney World, "I got that, too. So now Mickey and Minnie eat my food."
Best Year?
According to Johnson, the management team at every CU should be asking three questions: How are we going to get better? How do we take the credit union to another level? How can we have our best year?
"It will be up to you and your leadership. Change is hard. People don't like change. Set your goals high."
Johnson related a story from his NBA career, when he wanted to best friend and competitor Larry Bird in shooting free throws. Johnson typically shot 85%, which put him roughly 15th in the league in that statistical category. With a new goal of shooting free throws at 90%, he researched his weaknesses and discovered he was missing free throws in the fourth quarter of games, when he was tired. To combat that, he did his regular work outs, then shot free throws at the end.
On the final game of the season, Johnson was told he needed to go 21 for 21 in free throws to pass Bird and Jack Sikma — and he did.
"Put up some benchmarks that have not been achieved before, then put up strategies around those numbers and tell your teams you are going to achieve it," he advised. "Are you willing to change? Magic went from never being in the top 10 in free throws to the best in the NBA. I hate losing. What is your mindset?"
Hire Smart People
Asked what are his expectations of his executives, Johnson said first, he wants people who do not look back. "They have to be able to make decisions based on how the deal will affect the bottom line and the brand."
Second, executives have to be able to hire the right people to keep the company moving in the right direction — without running to Johnson to get his input. "If you are leaning back on me, I don't need you."
His executives need to represent themselves, the company and the brand, Johnson related, and "I want them to be smarter than me. They need to be able to work with me and the team, not go on their own agenda. We are a family, which is why we can hit the numbers we do. We work together as a team."
Johnson learned from an early business failure the importance of delegation. He wanted to start a clothing line, and he acted as the buyer, choosing all the styles of shirt, jackets and hats that he liked — and nothing sold.
"The deal went bad, it lost money, and it made me realize I can't be the owner and the one who buys the shirts. I had to get an executive team to make the decisions."
Mr. Positivity
As a player, Johnson was known for his smile on the court. During his hour-plus time with credit unions he rarely stopped smiling. Asked why, he said, "I'm not supposed to be here. Twenty-three years ago I announced I had HIV, and everybody said I was going to die. I asked the doctors what I had to do to live a long time and they said I had to take my meds, work out and have a positive attitude. I said 'I am Mr. Positivity.'"
