Lately I have been getting a lot of questions about Twitter. What is it? How does it work? How can it help my credit union. A great conversation follows and lights begin to click. Below is a short video breaking down the basics of Twitter from the people at Common Craft (watch below).
Many thanks to Pamela Stephens, CEO of Security One FCU, for putting together this brief report from day one of the 2009 CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC).
Watch her video below to learn what is going on in DC and shout back with your thoughts, comments and ideas.
Click here to check out the conference schedule for the rest of the week.
Gathering together to support each other is even more important in hard times. Looking back, the companies that emerged from the Great Depression stronger and earlier than the competition had this in common: Looking to the future, workers bonded together around a common, well-articulated mission. Meetings are how this is done, and how business is done. It’s how economies are stimulated, and how employees and business partners are motivated to create positive results. For the complete white paper, check out tbaglobal.com's The Value of Meetings. (Thank you for IAEE for highlighting this.)
Times are serious and business operations are changing. As prudent leaders, strategically managing your ROI is critical. The National Environmental Health Association has posted a list of questions to help you asses the value of a meeting for yourself and your credit union. Here are a few of them:
For the conferences [events] that you are considering attending:
1. Will it be beneficial for you to meet some of the people who will be attending the meeting?
2. Can you imagine: “crucial conversations," which you would want to be a part of even if only to listen, taking place at this meeting?
4. Is high-level interaction available to you at this meeting, and would it be beneficial to you to have such an experience?
5. Is the education available at the conference relevant to your work responsibilities?
6. Could this education enable you to do your job better and/or more cost effectively?
10. Would some of the conference offerings enable you to return to your workplace as an effective change agent?
12. Does the meeting take time to recognize its leaders and achievers with awards so that you might better understand what excellence in your line of work looks like?
14. Does the conference provide important updates on where the profession is?
When dollars get tight, organizations typically head straight to marketing and training as they start slashing budgets. Though tempting, it's important to look out on the horizon and keep positioning your credit union forward. As a credit union movement built on the philosophy of “people helping people”, we need to continue to practice what we preach.
One new concept might prove priceless for your credit union. Gather together locally and at conferences and seminars to:
· Share and learn from each other, speakers and vendors.
· Collaborate to solve problems, creating synergy with innovative solutions.
· Look for those ideas, processes, and strategic alliances to help you make your credit union more efficient and/or provide better products and services. You owe it to your member/owners and your staff.
· Stay engaged and help strategically position credit unions forward.
Get creative when it comes to marketing to maximize your results. There has never been a better time to shout out the credit union story.
With the season for Association and League annual meetings starting, make the decision to attend. Arrive prepared to make a difference. Plan to both speak and listen. As challenging as these times are, they are also exciting. Don’t let this moment in time pass you buy as you quietly sit on the sidelines.
Check out the second episode of Blog Talk Radio featuring Dick Ensweiler as he chats with Brian Turner, director of advisory services for Southwest Corporate Investment Services.
With nearly 30 years of senior financial management experience in the financial services industry, Turner is a frequent speaker on various economic and credit union issues.
Ensweiler and Turner discussed the current economic conditions; what’s horizon and what it means for American families. Specifically, the duo addressed how the declining stock market, escalating unemployment rate, the subprime mortgage meltdown and the weakening financial sector have impacted consumer confidence.
Additionally, Ensweiler and Turner weighed in on the recent inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, and how this change of power might affect consumers’ perception of their future financial circumstances.
Shout back and share your thoughts and comments below.
Resourcefullness abounds in the credit union movement. Collaboration and creativity have been hallmarks of our industry. We have member/oweners we are accountable to. Do you have the next great innovation/idea to help position credit unions forward? Or do you think you are not high enough on the management chain, your voice would never be heard? Think again! Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, wrote about how Thomas Barnett changed the Pentagon. From the bottom. No status. No rank. Just a reasearcher. The key - passion for change!
Silence is not golden. You have a forum. Your voice can be heard. It's time to get in the game, to "slinky up" (anti up, belly up, step up, roll your sleeves up - you get the idea - only have fun while you're doing it).
Credit union and SCMS faculty rock star, Denise Gabel, writes: Feeling stimulated yet?
Whether you supported it or not, Congress and the Obama administration have served up a massive spending package aimed at the economic crisis. Rather than waiting for that money to trickle down, Filene wants to help credit unions innovate in the new environment.
Thank you to the LoneStar Leaguer for the heads up on the "Filene Future Focus" oppourtunity. And high five to Filene for their focus forward!
As social media continues to be a hot topic in the credit union world, and a great way to build relationships online, it's important to manage social networks while not getting overwhelmed by them. I know for a fact that this is so easy to do.
For example, I run Facebook, Twitter, email, text and voice all from my phone. Some days I have to hide my Blackberry or turn off the alerts to get anything done. Other days, I wanted to be uber connected to the social network world.
Check out the great tips below from Susan Fletcher, Ph.D. when she first got into social networking with Facebook:
Shout back and let us know how you have handled getting into social networking. Or... let us know what fears you have about getting into social networking. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.
Kudos go out to The Boston Globe's columnist, Steven Syre, for an objective article about credit unions in today's market - Paying a giant's price. Take a quick moment to read this insightful and straight forward article.
Thanks go out to several credit union friends for sharing this timely article.
As we drive to position the credit union movement forward, I came across a blog of Tom Asacker's with seven questions to challenge and make you think, leading up to "Are You Making History?"
Asacker also referenced what looks to be a source of inspiration - "This coming Monday, February 16, PBS Nightly Business Report will celebrate three decades on the air by revealing the 30 most important innovations from the last 30 years based on the seven questions. Watch the show, and then sit back and really soak in the fact that the original 'idea" behind each and every one of their chosen innovations was rejected by the prevailing orthodoxy. Just like you're rejecting the ideas that will make you great today."
Thanks Tom for keeping vision and dreams out there!
Dream, Imagine, and Make it Be! Are you creatively seeking solutions to position the credit union movement forward? Care to share?
