Musings from the CU Suite

Compiled by Anthony Demangone

 The first Friday of Spring. Congratulate yourself. You made it through another winter.

Please enjoy this week's reading pile. I changed the format a bit, giving you a little insight on why I picked a particular article. If I annoyed you with the change, please let me know. I don't mean to be annoying. Sometimes, it just happens. Just ask Kate and Briggs... 

• Have you ever noticed that certain complaints or arguments seem to repeat themselves year after year? Joshua Brown brings this to light in a wonderful post titled "Same Old Fears." (The Reformed Broker)
• It is so easy to fall into ruts. My friend Dan Rockwell wrote a wonderful essay talking about this. And this phrase caught my eye: Warning: Life's ruts start feeling like well-worn jeans.  (Leadership Freak)
• All of use want to compete. But what are we competing on? Seth Godin asks a number of important questions that gets to the heart of strategy and execution. (Godin)
• This article argues that there are not enough "starter homes" in the U.S. I can't speak for the country, but that surely is an issue in Northern Virginia. (Business Insider)
• We all know what we know. And there's a bit that we think we know. But we don't know what we don't know.  Such as this fact. What generation is most likely to fall prey to scams? That would be millennials. (CreditCards.com)
• A very interesting read into the last days of Lehman Brothers, as told by Erin Callan Montella, its former CFO. (Wall Street Journal)
• Hope, it turns out, is a very important emotion to our well-being. (Wall Street Journal)
• In case you missed it, Goldman Sachs just gobbled up a $17 billion bank. (Federal Reserve)
• Devon Lyon, NAFCU's new Director of Education has been busy. We just announced a new BSA conference. (NAFCU.)
• Just why do some ideas take off, while others flop? Success seems to be a mix of convention and novelty. (Inc.)
• The largest oil driller is very pessimistic about oil's future. That's not great news for those hoping for an oil resurgence. And who would want that, you might ask? Lots of people depend on that industry, including a number of credit unions. (Business Insider)
• Meanwhile, another energy sector (solar) seems to be headed for "boom times." A chart inside this article shows that annual solar installations are growing quickly. Very, very quickly. (Vox)
• Speaking of energy, the most important light bulb deal in the world was just completed - all based on the super-efficiency of new light bulbs. (Slate)
• If you travel a bit, it can be hard to find time to exercise. This article gives a seven-minute routine that packs a punch. (Business Insider)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.