By Frank J. Diekmann
If you’ve turned into (or already were) the model 21st century media consumer, then this collection of "consumable" items from around the credit union community is just for you…
One Way to Get Volunteers’ Attention
In cleaning out the notebook I came across an observation shared during the Volunteer Leadership Institute earlier this year that I had meant to share. It's from Matt Fullbrook, who had the kind of message that grabs board members’ attention—it was about paying volunteers (yes, an oxymoron).
Fullbrook is from Canada, and at the time he addressed the U.S. meeting he was manager of the David and Sharon Johnson Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation at the University of Toronto but was in the process of transitioning to his own company, Fullbrook Board Effectiveness.
“In Canada we have a very healthy and very good CU movement. All of the boards are compensated, some very well,” he said. “Two, we’re taxed. And neither of those things has killed the movement. I know there is a different perspective in the U.S. But these are not the things that make the CU movement what it is. The credit union movement is about more than board compensation and taxes. I am starting to encourage more boards (in states where permitted) to consider whether board compensation could help to recruit better directors, keep directors more engaged, help to get more people to give more time. Don’t reject it off-hand. I have talked to some that have decided to compensate and others that said it’s not for us.”
There are some pretty strong views around the question of paying board members (who are paid by some CUs in some states). What do you think?
And if you’re interested in more on what Fullbrook had to say, go here.
Big Swings Can Lead to…
Sallie Krawcheck had an accomplished Wall Street career and a CV similar to those rare few who get to lead a big money center bank. But that also means you also get to be outsourced/rightsized/fired by a big money center bank.
Krawcheck, who is now the co-founder of the investing platform Ellevest, which is designed to meet the needs of female investors, told Co-op’s recent THINK Conference she is often asked, “How did you get to high level and then get fired?”
“It’s the same thing,” said Krawcheck. “If you take real risk with the right boss and right turn of events you can be the CFO at Citi. And you can take real risk with the wrong boss and get the wrong turn of events, you can be fired.”
A couple of other observations shared by Krawcheck:
- In all of the extensive research conducted to build the Ellevest platform, one thing the company avoided was focus groups. “We do one on ones,” she said. “Focus groups will lead you down a primrose patch of whomever spoke first (in the group).”
- There is this debate over technology vs. people. The answer is tech AND people. It’s about the more you can use tech to leverage your people.”
An Extra-Venti-Sized Wake-Up
You don’t need 32-ounces of caffeine and sugar to have your eyes opened by a couple of recent announcements from Starbucks. The company revealed there is a venti-sized $1 billion sitting unused on its gift cards.
Interim CEO Howard Schultz told investors in a second-quarter earnings call that the cards have been used by more than 120 million people, Business Insider reported.
Customers purchased 46-million cards in 2020, with a stored value of $12.6 billion on the gift cards for the year. Starbucks cards by themselves are bigger than the entire gift card industry, Schultz said.
One company’s analysis of what the numbers mean was equally percolating.
“Gift cards can be a boon to retailers, as recipients often don't use the full amount,” observed Business Insider. “This essentially gifts free money to the card issuer as nearly 40% of 18 to 29-year-olds lose their gift cards before they can spend them, and around 25% of 30 to 64-year-olds do the same.”
This scenario isn't unique to Starbucks. A CNBC report said the average American has approximattely $167 in unused value on the cards, and that overall there is more than $21 billion in untapped cash on the cards. No wonder they're called gift cards. But the gift is to the companies selling them.
Scan & Borrow
If you think your loan approvals are fast and easy, you may need to head back over to your whiteboard.
During its Network meeting, NACUSO hosted its annual Next Big Idea competition, a Shark Tank-like format in which CUSOs/fintechs make their pitches (with the winner receiving $7,500) and potentially earning additional investment.
Although it didn’t win, one of the companies displaying its newest wares was Quilo, which shared a loan solution that allows a vendor such as a roofer, for instance, to help a customer get a loan to cover the job. The would-be borrower scans a QR code the roofer provides, which opens the loan app and in no time the deal is closed.
Bo Knows. But You Didn’t, Until Now
As CUToday.info reported here, one of the greatest two-sport professional athletes of all time, Bo Jackson, recently sat down with an audience at the NACUSO Network meeting for a Q&A. (And if you think his National Football League and Major League Baseball accomplishments were something, click on the link above to see what he did in high school.)
But Jackson said he knows of at least one man who was an even better athlete than himself: his grandfather. His grandfather, he related, played in the Negro baseball leagues as a catcher. Barehanded. His nickname was “Snag.” According to Jackson, his grandfather had the opportunity to keep paying professional baseball, but he turned it down for a better offer. To go to work in a coal mine.
You Can Keep Your Bricks, Thanks…
With COVID restrictions lifted, perhaps you’re all set for “normal” to return, when members visited branches for transactions and used online or mobile banking only on weekends or when the branch was closed.
But I’m assuming you have been on the email cc list and got the memo those days aren’t returning. And if you need more evidence, consider this new survey from GoBankingRates.
The company’s survey found more than one in four people — 27% — do their banking entirely online, a number that rises to 31% of 25- to 34-year-olds.
“While it may not be surprising that nearly one-third of the youngest adults have abandoned brick-and-mortar branches altogether, it’s likely most people wouldn’t guess that 35- to 44-year-olds were even more likely to do the same, but it’s true. A full 36% of respondents from that demographic now do all of their banking online,” GoBankingRates said.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief of CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info. Mr. Diekmann is also author of several new book, including the brand new “The Last Lyric,” a humorous satire about a murder investigation at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in which every line of dialogue is either a classic pop/rock song title or lyric. Available on Amazon, Apple iBook, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Mr. Diekmann is also author of a non-fiction compilation of the very best & worst he has seen and heard in covering more than 500 CU meetings and conferences, “501 Name Tags: How Everything You Need to Know About Business Can Be Learned at a Conference & Forgotten in the Trade Show.” It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Lulu, and Smashwords.