From Bill Merrick:

Don’t expect Tom Peters to be warm and fuzzy when he addresses the America’s Credit Union Conference (ACUC) in San Diego this June.

It’s not that the management guru and bestselling author doesn’t like credit unions—quite the contrary, in fact. But being cordial and reassuring isn’t his thing.

“I won’t be a nice guy—and I mean that in the best sense,” Peters said during a recent call from his farm in New Hampshire. “I’m going to be like the dog tugging on your coat who wants to go out.”

Peters won’t ask ACUC attendees to change—that term is “grossly overused,” he says, and lacking in urgency. Instead, Peters implores credit unions and other organizations to “destroy and reimagine.”

That means “spending a heck of a lot more time trying new stuff,” he says. “I’m a strong supporter of decentralized organizations that have energetic and talented people who are allowed to try any darn thing that comes to mind. You act your way into thinking more than you think your way into acting.

“In established organizations, there’s a tendency to shore up what you did yesterday rather than stick your nose into very different air.”

That’s a good reason for leaders to hire people they’re not comfortable with, Peters says. “If you sit down with your executive committee tomorrow morning and you’re comfortable with every one of them, you’ve got a problem, brother. We need some people who are disruptive—those who’ll roll their eyes when the CEO talks about [an outdated] project and say under their breath, ‘that’s so 2009.’ The alternative is obsolescence, failure, and—plain and simple—evaporation.”

Credit unions can avoid obsolescence and compete with larger competitors by staying true to their “bedrock” values of integrity and service, and connecting with their local communities, Peters says.

“The small guy has an enormous advantage” over the larger players, he says. “I tell people in retail that if you’re a local organization and you can’t beat the hell out of Walmart, there’s something wrong with you. Small, local businesses have an opportunity for intimacy with customers that Walmart can’t duplicate.”

Recently called the “Red Bull of management thinkers” by Inc. magazine, Peters will share more advice—and strong opinions—Monday, June 18, during ACUC.

Bill Merrick is senior managing editor for Credit Union Magazine.

From Beth Stetenfeld:

If you ask friends, neighbors, and colleagues to size up their lives, few say every aspect of life has been perfect—that they’ve had it all.

Some say they have no regrets. But the truth is, we all make choices and sacrifices. At some point, we have to set aside one personal goal or desire for another.

Whether it’s trading time with family for military service or setting aside a long-time cherished hobby for a more lucrative career, we all must choose paths along the way. Often this means subjugating selfish goals for the common good.

Many of the credit union movement’s leaders have made great personal sacrifices for the benefit of their members and communities. And four times each year, Credit Union Magazine highlights and thanks these CU Heroes.

Often these folks say they’ve received as much as they’ve given. While that might be true, they’ve all made credit unions and their members a top priority.

This year, we celebrate the contributions of four more CU Heroes:

• Rudy Hanley, president/CEO, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif. His political involvement, work ethic, and integrity have benefited his own credit union and the credit union movement, overall.
• Ron Kase, CEO, Landmark Credit Union, New Berlin, Wis. One of his proudest accomplishments: leading his credit union through remarkable growth, including the creation of 450 jobs in southeastern Wisconsin.
• Frank Matous Sr. (posthumous), former CEO of Tandem Federal Credit Union, Warren, Mich. A credit union pioneer, he encouraged the next generation—including his four sons—to stay active in the credit union movement.
• Joe Robertson, retired president/CEO, Our Community Credit Union, Shelton, Wash. His credit union garnered a record $18 million increase in deposits during 2009 (doubling the previous year’s increase) during the slow recovery from the recession.

And now it’s time to select the CU Hero of the Year. Please visit creditunionmagazine.com to cast your vote.

Voting will take place through April 30. This year’s winner will be honored at CUNA’s America’s Credit Union Conference in San Diego, June 17-20.

So cast your vote and visit cuna.org to learn more about the conference.