Let Your Checkbook Do the Talking

Danielle Chatfield-Beres is one of my favorite people in credit unions. As an amazing credit union marketer, Filene i3er, Partnership Symposium attendee, and all around awesome person, seemingly everything she's ever been involved in has become better as a result. One of my favorite stories about her was a decision not so long ago to leave her position as a rockstar credit union marketer to take a job at another credit union to become...a controller. She had aspirations to be a CEO someday, and that seemed to be the most logical way to position herself to make that happen. I love that.

Anyway, that's a long introduction to the point of this post. On the CUDE listserv the other day Danielle posted her frustration with the way Dick Durbin's interchange amendment has been discussed publicly by merchants. The basic argument on their side is that interchange (or swipe) fees are simply another case of meaningless profiteering by financial institutions.

Danielle has had enough, and posted what I think is a very clever way to fight back:

"My new protest weapon against interchange:  My own checkbook.  Specifically, my ability to give big box retailers precisely what they are purportedly after...a return to the good old days of the expenses of dealing with cash and checks.


I resolve to dig out my checkbook from under the dust bunnies and walk into a big box retailer, select about $10 worth of items to purchase...and proceed to the checkout counter with only my checkbook in my hand and my driver's license buried deep at the bottom of my purse where I'll have to spend a minute or so searching for it.


I'd love to get 25 or 30 of my closest CU friends to join me.  I'd love to have others across the country do the same.  I'd love it even more if we made it such a concerted event in different locales that we could REALLY get our local media to pay attention and bring a camera to watch how much people adore having their checkout lines clogged up with people paying by check.


I've read the interchange compromise summary.  I've watched the hearings.  I know this particular battle may not be won.  But at least we can make a loud enough point about it that when consumers start seeing their account fees rising, we can give them certain legislators' contact information so they know who to thank for it."

 I love this idea. I hope you do as well, and will join us on this.

(Now if I could only find that checkbook...)

Upright and Locked Positions

I'm 5'7". Unless you're blue and live in a little mushroom village, that's not tall. Still, I am almost always cramped and uncomfortable on airplanes. And when the person sitting in front of me reclines his seat (I'm talking about you, Mr. Snoresalot), I have no space at all. I couldn't imagine how horrible flying would be if I had eaten more vegetables as a child.

I know the score. I know that the more seats you can jam into an airplane's cabin, the more revenue each flight can generate. I know that people have learned to expect discomfort on planes. I also know that there's a reason first class seats are more expensive. If you want flying to suck less, you have to have money.

Banking sucks too.

The more transactions a teller can perform in a day, the lower operating costs become. Consumers have learned to expect lines, discomfort, and divided attention. Special lines (or account terms, or phone numbers) are open for special customers. If you want banking to suck less, you have to have money.

I'm not sure what my point is other than to say this: 1) Don't recline your seat on a plane; 2) Efficiency is important, but you need to balance it with service; and 3) Seems like there's an excellent opportunity for planes, banks, and credit unions to redefine first class, and eliminate second class.

We have an obligation as credit unions to be as efficient as we possibly can. I'm in absolute awe of the credit unions who have succeeded at focusing on the training, processes, and strategies necessary to minimize operating expenses. Still, I would have to think there's an appetite out there for premium banking relationships (no waiting in line, no automated phone systems, 24/7 accessibility) open to the masses. Price it right, and you may find that there are people out there who are willing to pay an annual fee to make their lives less miserable.

I Still Dig the Diggers...But We Dug this Hole

We could blame the recession. We could blame regulators. We could blame consumers/bank competition/[insert your legislator/president of choice]/Wall Street/each other.

Whatever we choose to blame, I think we all realize deep down the rut credit unions find themselves in has been largely carved out both by and for credit unions. Lip service to our core cooperative principles, an unwillingness to hire (and pay appropriately) top talent, being way too slow to adapt to changes in the competitive environment, misappropriated budget dollars, gross negligence regarding our corporates (from the elected to the electorate), and a hell-bent determination to follow as opposed to lead in the marketplace have much more to do with the predicament we find ourselves in than any external factor. If we are going to dig out of this rut, we need to make a few things happen:

1) We need to reevaluate our staffs (from top to bottom). Do we have the right talent in place to make the necessary improvements to our operations? Are we willing to pay for it? Are we willing to capitalize on this golden opportunity to gobble up the amazing supply of skill in the job market right now? We have some of the best people in the world working for credit unions. We also have some of the least talented and skilled. If your team isn't cutting the mustard, now is the time to make a change. Don't forget to look in the mirror.

2) Work together. Fighting with each other over 6% of the marketplace is asinine. Cut it the hell out. Collaborate. I don't necessarily care if we grow market share at all. I do care, however, if we refuse to capitalize on ways to lower operating expenses. If you are truly interested in serving your members, then you should be tirelessly searching for ways to cut costs. An easy start to this would be eliminating as many duplicative processes/expenditures as possible between credit unions, trades, and membership organizations.

3) Find new problems to solve. Upper and middle class Americans with good credit have extensive access to affordable transaction, savings, and loan products. Done. Problem solved. Just as the world doesn't need another reality television show, coffee shop, or American Idol, we don't need another run of the mill financial institution. Start by reaching out to the 60 million Americans who are either unbanked or underbanked. Train staff to offer the services members need instead of the ones you want them to have. Put yourself in your members' shoes to uncover day-to-day problems credit unions may be able to help with. Launch.

4) Fix your pricing. We price products like we're banks. We're not banks.

5) Cheer up. We're special organizations trying to do special things. One of the best things we have had going for us over the past 75 years is our optimism. Don't lose that.

The Perfect Game

Jim's day started with him standing in front of thousands of angry people and a chorus of boos. Just the day before, he had committed one of the most notorious workplace blunders of all time. It's one thing for a small time employee in a small time industry to make a mistake. Behind closed doors. With an insignificant project.

This was different.

This screw-up was by one of the best in the business. On national television. In one of the most significant moments in his industry's storied history. In the most important moment of Jim's professional life, he got it wrong.

But there he was the next day, back at work and committed to doing better. As he was handed the Detroit Tigers' lineup card he looked up to see the face of Armando Galarraga and hordes of television cameras. If the news coverage and memories of yesterday weren't enough to drive a man to the breaking point, this moment was. A sea of boos produced a river of tears; Jim Joyce was overcome with emotion.

There have been only 20 perfect games pitched in the history of Major League baseball. Galarraga, a talented, but largely unknown pitcher with only 12 innings pitched all season long, was one out away from becoming the 21st when Jason Donald hit a grounder down the right side of the infield for the 27th consecutive putout.

But it wasn't meant to be.

From Jim Joyce's vantage point, Donald had beaten the throw to first. So, Joyce did what umpires are supposed to do when that happens; he called Donald safe.

No more perfect game.

No more no-hitter.

No more history.

The problem was...Donald was out. He was clearly out. By the time Joyce finally got to see the replay, he agreed.

"I just cost that kid a perfect game," Joyce sulked.

I couldn't imagine the pressure that an umpire is faced with in such a situation. Sure, it's part of the job, but imagine how tempted you must be on the last play of a perfect game to err on the side of the historical moment. Joyce didn't do that. He called it how he saw it. He was wrong, but he was wrong for the right reason.

What I love about this story is Joyce's integrity. He was honest with his call and upfront about being wrong. I also loved Galarraga's classy move today when he tried to console a clearly emotional Joyce at home plate. In an era of prima donna athletes and irrational fans, Galarraga knew that the boos, the threats to Joyce's family, and the media fallout were much more devastating to the umpire in this case. He understood the human element of the situation, and chose empathy over self-pity.

To me, this was a perfect game...pitching and otherwise.

Excite Innovation

How could a person who never comes up with a new idea, never approves an initiative, and has no funding authority or ability become the most important person in the innovation process?

Easy.

Sometimes all an innovator needs is someone else to be excited with him/her about an idea.

Be that person.