Books, Balls and Human Beings

In less than  an hour, the 1 Conference is going to blessed by Kevin Carroll’s presence. Kevin will be wrapping up what has been an absolutely wonderful week in Las Vegas. I can think of no better way to close.

I have known Kevin since 2003, when he joined us in Reno for that year’s annual meeting. Not only is Kevin an amazing speaker, he is an amazing man. When Kevin speaks to you, you feel like you are the most important person in the world. I love talking to Kevin and I always consider myself so lucky to know him.

About an hour ago, I joined Kevin backstage as he prepared for his session. As he carefully wrapped his “props,” we talked about where he has been, what he has been up to and what is inspiring him on a daily basis.

One of the first things he told me about is Katalyst: Confections for the Curious Soul. Built specifically for the web, this “one man show” invites viewers to see what happens behind the scenes.  I can’t wait to check it out.  Of course  I also had to ask what he is listening to and what he is reading.

On Kevin’s iPod:

• Robert Glasper Trio
• The Bad Plus
• Cello Adagios

Kevin’s Favorite Reads:

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret
• All Things “Daredevil”

Kevin’s Favorite Blogs:

• Daniel Pink
• BeyondSportWorld
• David Rockwell of The Rockwell Group

Kevin is one of those people who finds inspiration everywhere and passes his energy on to everyone he meets. He is a Katalyst, a Change Agent and a Teacher, among other things. He is also a huge supporter of credit unions! Kevin has been a proud member since 1980, and currently belongs to First Tech Credit Union in Beaverton, Oregon. I would tell you more about Kevin… but I don’t want to miss a minute of his session!!!

I am pleased to report that there are many young people at this conference! This is a very good thing. It means that many credit unions are recognizing the importance of providing leadership and training opportunities to their youthful employees. Soon, these members of Generation X, Y and Z will be at the helm of the credit union movement.

This year “Crashers” from all over the world descended upon the 1 Conference. Comprised of fifteen credit union professionals under the age of 30, the Crashers (led by Brent Dixon of the Filene Research Institute and sponsored by PSCU) have built their own conference around the “proper conference.” Besides attending the general and breakout sessions, the Crashers have scheduled conversations with industry thought leaders.They also have the benefit of building relationships with other under-30 credit union professionals like themselves, from around the world. The enthusiasm and excitement that these men and women bring to the movement is awesome.

Yesterday afternoon I sat in on one of the Crash sessions. Led by Paul Hazen, CEO of the NCBA, the session focused on selling the cooperative nature of credit unions. Hazen shared some enlightening information with his captive audience. Here are some of the key points:

• There are 29,000 cooperatives in the United States;
• There are 120,000,000 members of cooperatives worldwide (representing 70% of the adult population); and
• Cooperatives account for 1% of the total GEP.

Cooperatives range in size from “small store-fronts to large Fortune 500 companies.” Some famous cooperatives include: Ace Hardware, Associated Press, Group Health Cooperative, Land O’ Lakes and REI.

Cooperatives form when a group of people unite for a variety of social and economic reasons. They form when individuals recognize that they can get much more done by partnering with others, than they can going it alone. The beauty of cooperatives is their openness, their honesty and their transparency. These themes really resonate with today’s young people, who relish the power that collaboration and community bring.

Are you educating your members on the cooperative difference?

Everyone knows about social media, and talks about being hands-on and interactive. But what does this mean and how do you do it? Some people (& credit unions…) sensing a huge business potential throw money at new online opportunities. But speaker Tara Hunt says, “Money isn’t the capital of choice in online communities, it’s social capital, known as ‘whuffie,’ that drives these new engines.”

Tara, the author of The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business, says that in the social media space, market capital flows from having high social capital. Without high levels of “whuffie” (I can say that word all day BTW), you lose your connections to online communities, and any recommendations you make will be seen as spam.

The first part of her presentation echoed Brent Dixon’s yesterday. Viral social media content is mostly emotional, positive…awe-inspiring. People are sharing personal information and feelings like never before via social media (even their location – gasp!). The social web is growing and changing the way we interact with each other.

One particularly interesting finding she mentioned is that social networking affects the brain like falling in love – if a company or brand raises our oxytocin levels, we are more likely to connect with them.

Some great examples and videos Tara showed the group:

• “A Vision of Students Today” video on Gen Y & technology
• Patelco Credit Union’s Facebook page (& contests – she highlighted one video in particular on Patelco CU during the “zombie-apocalypse“)
• The famed Young & Free Alberta’s “Difference Between Bank & Credit Unions” Video
• BankerSpank videos
• CU*Swag’s entry into the Young & Free HQ’s “Money in a Bank” music video contest

Tara’s final words – “This stuff is important. All you need is love. May the force be with you.”

This morning I had the pleasure of introducing Howard Mann, the President of  Brickyard Partners Inc.  Howard’s experience in leading his company out from under extremely difficult circumstances (following an economic downturn), is particularly applicable for credit unions today. How did he do it? By returning to basic principles.

During the session he recalled the rise, and subsequent fall, of his alma mater’s football team. Led by a new coach, the team had started out the year well by focusing on the basics: blocking, tackling, running hard and catching the ball. As their wins added up… their egos grew. Suddenly, they were dropping balls and fumbling passes; their winning streak ended. When asked how they would recover from the loss, the coach told reporters that he was sending his receivers “back to the brickyard.”

The “brickyard” he was referring to was a practice drill where receivers stood 20 feet apart and tossed an old, red brick, back and forth. The idea being that, “If you don’t pay close attention to the very basic skill of catching a brick, it will hurt–a lot.”

The same metaphor can be applied to credit unions. We need to go back to the basics and focus on executing them perfectly. One of the first steps in doing so, is to reconnect with our purpose. “Your purpose should be a true reflection of why you do what you do and what makes your business more fun to run. It should live at the intersection of what you truly do better than anyone else AND what your clients truly care about.”

As leaders in the movement, I turn this question over to you: What IS your credit union’s purpose? I look forward to hearing from you.

Viva Las Vegas! I’m excited to be blogging live from the 1 Credit Union Conference in Las Vegas with Courtney and Meghann over the next couple days. We’ll be posting some highlights and takeaways from key sessions right here on CUNAverse (Note, they’ll be a little looser than our usual posts). Also, for more live conference coverage, you can check out News Now’s updates, CU Grow, and of course a twitter search of the conference hashtag #the1cuconf for real-time information from conference-goers.

This morning I had the pleasure of introducing Brent Dixon, Young Adult Advisor at Filene Research Institute (USA), and Ross Lambrick, Regional Manager at Credit Union Australia (Australia), for a very relevant and important session – “Youthful Products for a Younger Membership.”

Ross kicked off the packed session with information on the demographic and the current Australian environment. For example, Gen Z, Y and X together make up 61% of the Australian population but only 20% are credit union members.

What I found most interesting were his examples of what both banks and credit unions are doing right in Australia. Highlights:

• Bendigo Bank partnered with a college to mentor students which exposes them to issues and practices in the finance industry as career development.
• Commonwealth Bank has a vision to have every child be financially literate – they offer and extensive school banking and financial literacy program.
• Community First Credit Union has an online greeter, Lisa,  you can interact with on their website.

What do Gen X & Y want from their financial institution?

• Convenience
• Control
• Problem resolution
• Friendly, courteous and knowledgeable staff
• Interested in the values of the brand they buy

Ross ended with his creed – “Change the life of a member for the better.”

Brent opened it up with the landscape – “credit unions need Gen Y.” Highlights: 

• 47 is the average age of membership
• From 1985-2005, Gen Y members declined

So what do you do? Cosmetics aren’t the answer and it’s not just about being “edgy.” You need an oustanding product to begin with – master the basics first.

Some successful product ideas he mentioned:

• Give your product a customizable face
• Debit card rewards
• Prize-based savings
• First credit cards (relationships last on average 15 years) are key. Hint: market to parents.

Think Twitter and social media is just about what people had for lunch? Wrong. Twitter can also be used for real change and political action in places like Iran.

It’s also changing our idea of “now” and we’re always “on.” He mentioned a statistic that 48% of people check online activity when waking up in the middle of the night. What can your credit union do? You need to listen and interact with members in real-time because it is becoming the expectation.

For your content to go viral (or to even be watched), you need to be original, creative, emotional, and awe-inspiring. Luckily, credit union stories are all of those things.

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To bring you the most up-to-date info, we’ve added “Quick Quips” to the top of the YES Blog.

What are Quick Quips?

Immediate, brief posts from yours truly about what’s going on in real time. This way, we can update you on the goings on without burdening post readers with short updates.

This feature is powered by something called Cover It Live, a really cool application to enhance the live blogging experience for attendees and readers abroad.

Don’t worry, pithy content guaranteed…

Full posts on select sessions and video interviews will be a short scroll away below the Quick Quips box. So, be sure to stay tuned for immediate coverage and in-depth info from CCUC09.

Can you believe we’re only a day + a few hours away from the CCUC09 kickoff!

>Hey everyone, just a quick update regarding CUNA’s Community Credit Union & Growth Conference coming up in a few weeks.

I just confirmed that we’ll be live blogging the event! We had great success with this at the YES Summit the past few years, and I’m glad we’ll be posting live at CCU&G in October.

Expect timely posts, an interview or two, and hopefully I can squeeze in a few pics and videos as well. It will be a busy time for yours truly, but there’s nothing I can’t handle… I think.

Why live blogging?

Live blogging can never replace actually attending an event, but it does provide a glimpse into what attendees are experiencing. There are a lot of important issues and topics to be discussed, and we’re committed to fostering the conversation throughout the CU movement.

It also enhances the experience of attendees.

How does it enhance an attendee’s experience?

Live blogging greases the wheels for conversation between attendees, either in-person or through commenting on posts. Live blogging also provides access to information an attendee may have missed thanks to a restroom visit or because they chose to attend a different breakout session.

So, keep your eyes peeled and your browser ready while you’re in Las Vegas October 21st – 24th. I’m looking forward to being on-site and adding value to the event… I hope you are too!

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Jamie Hart, Virginia CU, Inc., won a Flip camera, similar to that used to record the videos from YES LIVE, in a final day drawing.

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Bad Haircut” was the award-winning educational program designed at the YES Summit to teach creditworthiness to 18-to-30s. Accepting their cash awards from conference organizer and host, Josh Jones, are (from left above): Terry Boden (MemberFocus Community CU), Carmen Ellington (Autotruck FCU), Melissa Sexe (Credit Union of Colorado), Amy Etheridge (Robins FCU–partially obscured because Josh, a typical Gen Yer, likes to hog the camera, that’s her to the near left), Paula Anderson (Anheuser-Busch ECU), and Sue Yoder (Citizens Equity First CU).