SEATTLE—Not only will CUs be picking up some great ideas to improve their bottom lines during the CUTomorrow Conference, they’ll also be learning how to put the ideas into practice immediately.
To bring real meaning to the idea of a “takeaway,” the practical aspects of implementing new ideas will be taught to attendees in a special session at the end of the CUTomorrow Conference by Dr. James This, president and CEO of James L. This and Associates. That session will help to wrap up two days of credit unions sharing peer-group leading examples of growth.
“There really has not been a lot of opportunities in the past for small CUs to participate in a conference that is focused on their needs,” said This. “We are not going to have a bunch of inspirational speeches. We are getting people together to talk about solutions that work for credit unions and show them how they can take these ideas back home and make a real difference to their bottom lines.”
This said what typically happens at industry meetings is attendees hear some ideas, get charged up, but take little if any action when they get back home to implement them.
“Either they have to convince decision-makers to go along with the ideas or get caught up in the day-to-day details of their jobs and don’t do anything with what they learned,” he said.
Details on the Meeting
The CUTomorrow Conference (cutomorrow.info) is scheduled for Sept. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin. The meeting, priced at just $499, was put together in response to feedback to CUToday.info and is for credit unions that are not seeking to merge, but instead want to be a part of an old-fashioned credit unions-helping-credit unions collaboration. Sessions are focused on practical, pragmatic real-life examples of successful programs from peer-group leading CUs.
This said that since many of those attending the meeting will be the leaders of small credit unions, he will emphasize one clear but important point—they have the power to make changes.
“It’s not like a mid-level executive will have to go back and convince the CEO of the idea, the buck stops with you,” This said. “You will have to have the commitment to make the changes when you get back.”
One way to do that is to write down the ideas that can help the credit union, said This, and hold yourself accountable.
Building Contacts
“Attendees will also encounter a sizeable number of small credit union leaders at this conference who have good ideas,” This said. “We will help them develop a contact network with these people, get them a list of emails and phone numbers. They can call people when they get back, share additional thoughts and ideas, and encourage each other to get moving on the ideas they took back and not get too caught up in daily operations.”
What will really help attendees take back some great ideas, said This, is that the sessions will cover tactics, programs and solutions that have worked for other credit unions.
“This conference is not about theory, pie-in-the-sky concepts. People will hear about concrete ideas that have worked,” said This. “And session leaders, too, will address how to apply what they are talking about. Also, at the end of each day, all of the speakers from the sessions will come together in a room to take questions from attendees. This meeting will be very interactive.”
The meeting’s smaller size, too, will encourage interaction among attendees, This said.
Gathering Ideas
Attendees will also not encounter the issue they face at many big industry meetings in which the speaker’s message does not apply to their respective credit unions.
Before the meeting sessions even start, This said CUToday.info will be working to gather ideas from attendees.
“We will ask people, through a survey, to come up with one or two great income-generating ideas that have worked at their credit union,” explained This. “We will then do a ‘brain writing’ exercise—put people in groups and start with a couple of the ideas from the survey. The group’s mission will be to refine and develop the idea. It’s more creative than brainstorming.”
The Sponsors
This further emphasized that the cost of the meeting is being underwritten by a group of vendors, including Catalyst Corporate, Volcorp, Harland Clarke, CU*Answers, Emery Financial Group, CUNA Mutual AdvantEdge Analytics, and Your Marketing Co.
“This is very commendable,” said This. “We have gotten a lot of support from vendors who realize there is a need to support smaller credit unions so this trend of losing a CU a day—typically smaller credit unions—can slow down by helping these credit unions be more successful.”
For info: cutomorrow.info