Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

All of us try to understand the world around us - we have duties to serve broad constituencies, so we must see the world as it is.  

But a dangerous thing can occur - when you think you know something that no longer exists or has changed dramatically.  Here are three examples from my own lack of awareness. 

1. The NBA. It is an American league, right? Well… Roughly 25% of NBA rosters are international. 30% of merchandise sales are international. And 70% of social media follows? International.  (Sports Business Journal) NBA viewership may be flat in the U.S. But does the NBA care?
2. I’m currently reading Stalin’s War, and it is blowing my mind. My understanding of World War II was very flawed. Before Germany’s Barbarossa offensive into the USSR, the Soviets invaded Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Romania. I misplaced that piece of history.
3. I don’t have a great handle on the U.S. media market. NBC Nightly News draws 7 million viewers each night. Not bad, right? Mr. Beast, a “YouTuber” has 130 million subscribers. His content has been viewed 35 billion times. Whether you follow him doesn’t matter. He’s here. And his influence is massive. Example? He managed to convince his followers to tidy up Wal-Mart shelves where he is selling his brand of chocolates. (FastCo) I can’t get my kids to clean their room.

Whether you care about basketball, history or YouTube, I hope you see my point. My view of the world is incomplete. Perhaps I’d be better served by approaching every situation like this…

I don’t know what is going on here. What questions can I ask and what can do I do to get a better understanding?

Now, on to this week’s reading pile.

• NAFCU Nation – a place for credit unions to share their stories. And brag a little! (NAFCU)
• Wholesale used cars see big price increase in February, but down 7% YOY. (Calculated Risk)
• 2023 Social Media Trends: Hootsuite’s report and what it means for marketers. (ConvinceAndConvert)
• The permanent recession that never arrives. (Axios)
• Rituals. (Godin)
• Employment watch.  Weekly jobless claims tick up. (SHRM) Job openings drop by 400k.  That’s a drop of roughly 3.5%. (AP) Are the Fed’s rate increases started to affect the job market?
• The perks workers want also make them more productive. (FiveThirtyEight)