Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

Change is difficult.  With everything going on, I have a hard enough time finishing tasks that I want to do, let alone a new task that is dropped on my plate. 

But can this fear of change, or our comfort with things as they are, cause delusions?  Perhaps. 

Look at this story (Blogs.HBR.org) about English newspapers. Freek Vermeulen highlights how an entire industry convinced itself that an outdated practice was the right course. 

For many decades, newspapers were big; printed on the so-called broadsheet format. However, it was not cheaper to print on such large sheets of paper — that was not the reason for their exorbitant size — in fact, it was more expensive, in comparison to the so-called tabloid size. So why did newspaper companies insist on printing the news on such impractical, large sheets of paper? Why not print it on smaller paper? Newspaper companies, en masse, assumed that "customers would not want it;" "quality newspapers are broadsheet."

When finally, in 2004, the United Kingdom's Independent switched to the denounced tabloid size, it saw its circulation surge. Other newspapers in the UK and other countries followed suit, boosting their circulation too. Customers did want it; the newspaper companies had been wrong in their assumptions.

When I looked into where the practice had come from — to print newspapers on impractically large sheets of paper — it appeared its roots lay in England. In 1712, the English government started taxing newspapers based on the number of pages that they printed. In response, companies made their newspapers big, so that they could print them on fewer pages. Although this tax was abolished in 1855, companies everywhere continued to print on the impractical large sheets of paper. They had grown so accustomed to the size of their product that they thought it could not be done any other way. But they were wrong. In fact, the practice had been holding their business back for many years.

Ouch. But we wouldn't do that as an industry, would we?

Just some food for thought.  Have a great week, guys. 

***

It's the new year, so every trade association, including NAFCU, is announcing their 2013 educational line-ups.  I am partial to our offerings, but hey, I'm biased.  Here's what I'd suggest.

1. Take a look at our offerings.  See if any make sense for you. If conferences fit into other areas of your credit union, forward that conference information to the appropriate person.
2. Compare what NAFCU offers to what others offer.  See what is the best fit for your credit union.
3. If you want to join us, fantastic!  You don't have to be a NAFCU member, or even a credit union.  Quite a few vendors attend our stuff each year.
4. And if you will attend, by all means, use the NEWYEAR coupon code by the end of January.  It will take $100 off your bill.  It is free money, if you know you're coming.