I recently met up with a friend who works at a local credit union to get his take on all the changes that CUs have experienced over the last few years. He listened to what I had to say, agreed with some of my observations, and challenged my thinking on others. It was a fun evening and I enjoyed hearing things from his viewpoint and picking his brain. Hopefully someday I can return the favor, because I definitely got the better end of deal, and walked away with more than I gave.

Read more on On ditching RFPs, picking brains, and drawing lines….

I was just visting my mother and happened to check out her email inbox on her iPad.

Completely full of junk.

Dating services, travel offers, and all kinds of other completely inappropriate emails filled her inbox. (My mom is in her 90s so I feel pretty confident in saying she’s not frequenting online dating sites.) I immediately began unsubscribing her from these and quickly discovered that they were coming from just 2 or 3 different sources. Shame on the originating retailer for “selling” her email address.

Read more on Don’t let your marketing emails become junk…

The line between a lie, a half truth, a white lie and a lie of omission is very faint. I’d be willing to bet that every one of us has told more than a few.

Read more on Do you mind being lied to?…

The latest marketing brouhaha is that Target (or Tar-jay if you prefer) has the technology to figure out which of their customers is pregnant by the kinds of products they buy. And they did not do this by tracking which people buy an at-home pregnancy test – which would be rather obvious.

Read more on Totally creepy…and brilliant…

Here’s my little rant for the day.

First there was the Netflix fiasco where their goofy CEO, Reed Hastings, raised their prices by about 60% and then was surprised by the number of people who dropped their subscriptions. Their stock price dropped dramatically and in an effort to woo back customers, they decided to split the company in two: one for renting DVDs and the other for streaming them. Neither one of these things has been popular – in fact they’ve gone over like a lead balloon and poor Mr. Hastings must be wondering if he’ll still have a job when he wakes up each day. I don’t feel sorry for him.

Read more on Are CEOs stupid?…

Have you read the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson? It was a best seller a few years ago and it begins with the story of Greg’s failed attempt to climb K2. When he failed however, he found himself in a small village in Pakistan and while there, he became inspired to build schools for impoverished children. Greg founded the charitable organization called Central Asia Institute (CAI) and since 1993, claims to have built more than 50 schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book has been read and loved by millions (it has more than 2400 reviews on Amazon.com) and Mortenson goes around the country giving talks and trying to raise money. (My sister saw him speak and thought he was terrible, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t good at building schools.)

Read more on Remember that you’re always making a first impression…

I recently read about a fascinating book on a taboo subject: everyday people who break the rules for practical, everyday moral reasons.

Thousands, or even millions of ordinary people break the rules on a regular basis (often with severe career risks) simply to give someone else a chance at a decent life in the face of an unfair economy. Examples include a nurse who treats an uninsured patient, supervisors who help their employees adjust their schedules around child care, teachers who bring meals to hungry kids, or restaurant managers who allow poor employees to take leftover food home to their families.

Read more on Breaking the rules…

What if the cute member you’ve known for years  - you helped her get a student loan, an auto loan and her first Visa card – comes into your branch with her boyfriend, ready to open up a joint account or get a mortgage together? Are you tempted to pull her aside and give her some good motherly financial advice?

Read more on Love and money are like oil and water…

Frankly, I’m not sure this post has a lot to do with credit unions. But I think there’s something in this story that’s worth sharing — it’s not every day you encounter this kind of passion and commitment. (Come to think of it, passionate people are pretty common in the credit union world.) And I know the issue of offshore manufacturing is very important to lots of credit union members.

Read more on Back in the US of A…

A recent article about business relationships pointed out that most successful people operate from a position of implied trust — their default position while doing business is to believe that others are telling the truth and are also seeking a win-win situation. This creates some risk, of course, but this is offset because it also opens the door to far more opportunity.

Read more on Suspicious minds…

I’ve shared a list of things TO DO to save money. Now here’s is a list of things NOT TO DO if you’re interested in saving money. According to this article, these things are all just a waste of your member’s hard-earned money:

Read more on Don’t buy this!…

You have to wonder — what would happen if you told your members the 100% unadulterated truth for once, and let them draw their own conclusions?

Just imagine the following, delivered by a gruff but lovable no-nonsense sort of CEO, like Colonel Potter from MASH:

Read more on Maybe transparency is worth a try…

Yesterday, Kent and I had the privilege to speak at a meeting of the Ohio (Credit Union) Marketing Network. Whenever I’m in a room full of credit union people, I’m always amazed by the passion they have for their members and for the credit union movement. We’re all working to make the world a better place, and it’s a great feeling to be around so many kindred spirits.

Read more on Five more ways to be “more differenter”…

Be honest — how many of you have web sites that show a Big Scary Lawyer Warning (BSLW) like this when a member clicks a link to another site?

OH NOES! You are leaving the ABCFCU web site! ABFCU has no control over and is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other web sites. ABCFCU does not endorse or guarantee products, information or recommendations provided by linked sites and is not liable for failure of products or services advertised on these site. So if you click a link somewhere else and your toes fall off, don’t come running to us!

Is this REALLY necessary? I don’t think it ever was. Yes, of course you should make it clear when someone is leaving your site, but do you have to remind people that you’re not responsible for the entire internet? Besides, who’s going to read all that?

Read more on Big scary lawyer warning…

A while back, I wrote a post detailing my finally becoming a member of a CU. I joined because I needed a Health Savings Account and this nice local credit union offered one. My bank did not.

Read more on Life as a CU member, part II…