By Frank J. Diekmann
A different kind of clock. A page of CU history. The kind of stuff you like to think doesn’t go on, but does. There’s all that and more as I continue to dig my hand through the bottom of the 2016 editorial bag and pull up the following”
Why Every Hour Feels Like Three
At the DoubleTree Hotel in Seattle recently, a front desk clerk told me the airport bus “leaves every 20 minutes on the hour.”
Worth Remembering
A recent obituary notice offered another reminder of the passing of a generation in credit unions and of the turning of a page in credit union history.
Robert D. “Bob” Volpe died recently at 90 in Ohio. Mr. Volpe hails from the days when people routinely founded credit unions largely on their own, and then operated them from their homes. Mr. Volpe started AP Federal Credit Union in 1956. At the time he was working as a timekeeper at AP Parts Manufacturing when the company’s owner, John Goerlich, asked him to found a credit union for employees, according to the Toledo Blade. He attended school while also working to obtain the charter, and soon was working half-time at the company that manufactured automotive exhaust systems and the other half running the credit union from his dining room.
“He’d carry a notepad in his pocket at the plant and urge co-workers on payday to deposit some of their pay into the credit union,” the Blade wrote in its obituary. “Then, he’d come home and record the deposit in his books, and co-workers would follow him from the plant to his home.”
Mr. Volpe helped to grow the credit union by visiting other Jeep suppliers, mostly UAW shops, and asking employees there to join the credit union, the Blade reported, and in the 1960s he led efforts to buy the property where APFCU currently has a branch. He remained treasurer/manager of the credit union until the mid-1980s and even after retiring continued to visit daily to help out.
Mr. Volpe left the CU’s board in 2009, and today a community room at one branch is named after him
This Stuff Still Goes On
This following story was shared with me by a friend who works in credit unions. My friend said he was sitting in a diner in Portland, Maine, having breakfast when two men sat down, both wearing nice suits. A young woman working there asked, “Why do you have a suit on?” and one of the men responded, “I work with Chase Bank.” The young woman responded, “I’ve never heard of Chase Bank,” and the guy answered, “Who do you bank with?” The young woman answered, “With my credit union.” After a brief pause the Chase banker said to her, “You should be careful; credit unions aren’t very safe.”
Here are 3 Office Traditions Being Killed by Millennials
According to INC Magazine, the following three long-time office staples are going to be killed off by Millennials:
1. Email Will No Longer Be the Primary Internal Communication Tool. After noting that one French IT firm that reviewed all of its employee emails and found just 10% to be deemed “useful,” Inc. reported Millennials will lead businesses to seek greater adoption of different internal communication tools, such as live chat, project management platforms and collaboration technology.
2. Traditional Office Space Designs Will Become Extinct. According to Inc., Millennial leaders are transforming the way workspaces are designed to encourage broader communication and ongoing collaboration by eliminating cubicles and divided departments, and allowing for open meeting spaces and seating areas.
3. Strict Office Hours Will No Longer Exist. Noting that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 20-million Americans actively choose part-time work to deliberately secure work-life balance and gain more flexible hours, Inc. said technology has also helped to eliminate the need for the traditional 9-to-5 schedule.
The Circus, Exploding Humans & More
Some notes and observations from the recent California and Nevada leagues’ annual REACH Conference in Las Vegas.
- Emmanuel Durand, “Coach” of Cirque du Soleil’s “O” show, oversees 77 performers ranging in age from 18-61. “You would think the 18-year-olds would be most difficult, but sometimes the 50-year-olds are just as bad,” shared Durand during a session that featured members of Cirque’s management team. “What has helped keep it together is family values.” You can read more about that session here http://cutoday.ssd.thinkcreativeinternal.net/THE-feature/Cirque-du-Soleil-Team-Shares-What-It-s-Learned
- The REACH Conference just happened to overlap with the final game of the World Series, whose 8 p.m. ET start was the same time as the 5 p.m. open hours of the exhibit hall. The leagues responded by having two 80-inch TVs moved into the exhibit hall–because the Cubs may play in the World Series every 108 years, but credit unions must have their free drinks and hors d’oeuvres, or else.
- It’s among history’s most tragic events in sports—or would be, were it true. Lauren Hudziak of Google was speaking to the group about how important it is to break out of “mental models,” in other words, the limits that assumptions can place on a person or organization. He shared the story of England’s Roger Bannister, who broke the 4-minute mile mark in 1959. Until then the “mental model” or conventional wisdom had always been that a four-minute mile was simply beyond the physiological capabilities of human beings and that breaking that mark would cause the runner’s heart to explode. “And that’s exactly what happened,” shared Hudziak. “He crossed the finish line and his heart exploded and he died.” As the shock of that news set in on the audience apparently a bit short on sports history, he then pointed out that, no, Bannister was just fine and he went on to finish medical school, and within a year dozens of other runners were also breaking the barrier. And none of their hearts exploded, either.
- Hudziak said that the company discovered that certain photos that are part of Google Earth would not match up when the satellite shot them again a few years ago. Why? Thanks to tectonic movement, the earth had shifted and homes, for instance, would be several inches from where they used to be.
- What’s the most recognized brand on Earth?
McDonalds? Nike? Google? No, said Hudziak. It’s Lego. Another interesting fact: Lego is also the world’s largest (teensy, tiny) tire manufacturer
- In a less-than-reassuring development, when Hudziak asked his audience how many were familiar with two-factor authentication, not every hand went up, even though it has been a big topic of discussion within CUs and is now mandated for online access. On a personal level, he added, “It’s probably the single easiest thing you can do that will have the most profound impact on your digital security.”
- You can find more of what Google’s Hudziak had to say here.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info or @FrankCUToday.