Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

As Brett King quickly signed books, one attendee leaned in for a bit of privacy.

"Brett, I'm retiring in a year or two," he said.  "I thank God, I don't have to deal with all of this change." 

King had just given the key-note address at the NAFCU CEOs and Senior Executives Conference.  His message was clear: change is coming like an avalanche down a mountain to financial services.  The branch of the future may very well be a smart phone.  

The message was a bit unsettling to many. 

Often, it seems that all the change in the world is focused directly at you. Or your credit union. Or our industry.  But then I read this article from the Washington Post on the sale of the Post to Amazon's Jeff Bezos.  For anyone in our industry, it is essential reading.  Here are some highlights.

I started working at The Washington Post on June 5, 2000. It was in the same building we work in now, but it was very much a different place.

We were just on the cusp between one media age and another, even if not everybody understood that yet. One particularly vivid symbol of the earlier era was this: Every day, sitting in the cafeteria, there was a table of middle-aged deaf men. They sat there all day playing cards, drinking coffee and speaking in sign language.

They were press operators, a colleague explained to me. Against the roar of the old printing presses, being deaf was an advantage; they were unbothered by the noise and could communicate with each other by signing. But the new presses that The Post had recently installed rendered their jobs unnecessary. Protracted negotiations with their union were underway to try to buy them out of their contract. In the meantime, they came to work, clocked in, played cards in the cafeteria all day, and then clocked out.

The author argues that change is good for society, but it can be terrible for the "old way." 

The old way was unquestionably better for those of us who make a living from media and who enjoyed the job security and paternalistic pensions that resulted. But I’m not going to argue that society was better off. Essentially, every time somebody wanted to sell a used car or rent out an apartment or hire a new accountant in the Washington metropolitan area, we demanded a ransom of a few hundred dollars to place a classified. If you wanted to learn what the president said yesterday or who the Redskins were going to start at tight end, there were only two or three places you could get it.

The author goes on to explain that this isn't a Washington Post problem. It is just the way the world works.  And those that deal with change will do better than those that can't...or won't. 

The people who are able to have long and prosperous careers aren’t just the smart and hard-working. It’s also the people who can roll with the punches, be comfortable with change, and adapt what they do to changing technology and circumstance. The capacity for reinvention is something they don’t teach in schools, but is the thing that will determine for emerging generations the difference between people who can have a long, successful career and those who will find themselves in a constant career cul-de-sac.

And so it is with credit unions.

I can recall the payday ritual of my father and his colleagues visiting the credit union to deposit their checks and get enough money for the weekend. 

My first job at a credit union was answering the phones. And on payday, I'd answer more than 100 calls, each person wanting to know if their paycheck had hit, and how much money they had. 

Those days are gone.  The drumbeat of change goes on. With each change, consumers win out, and we have to hustle to stay relevant.  

You can like it, hate it or be indifferent.  But your take on the situation doesn't change a thing. So, all other things being equal, I'd recommend leaning in, grabbing hold, and enjoying the ride. 

Have a wonderful week, everyone. 

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