Category: Observations

In grade school I learned about the discovery of American with the phrase “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”  An event that was ultimately honored in the Columbus Holiday the second Monday of October.

It became a legal holiday in 1971.  However it was President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937 who proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday, largely as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, an influential Catholic organization.

The current renaming of the holiday as Indigenous People’s Day celebrates the people who had lived here for thousands of years prior to Columbus’ “discovery.”  The histories of some of these existing populations are increasingly noted in the naming of some of  many natural and new  landmarks in their tribal territories

For example the Anacosta River in DC is named after the Anacostia Indian peoples who live in what is now DC.  There are several dozen geographic features and constructions such as high schools in the areas that incorporate the name.

Is the Issue Historical Truth?

The holiday has been a political issue since Columbus Day was first declared.   In 1892, the 400^th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage, President Benjamin Harrison declared a one-time national celebration following the lynching in New Orleans where a mob had murdered 11 Italian immigrants.

Continuing today Italian American politicians walk in parades to celebrate the prior contributions and today’s success of the descendants of these immigrants.

As the injustices of the country towards the native populations has become more acknowledged and patterns  of systemic wrongs better documented, there has been an increased focused on correcting the tragedies and changing the traditional narrative.

One effort is to dishonor Columbus and remove statues or other names celebrating his role.  Last Friday a Philadelphia judge ordered a plywood box hiding Columbus statue for over a year be taking down before the parade today.

Thus another issue is added to the cultural clashes now infecting the political dialogue.

But is it possible that both views could be “truths” and that society benefits from knowing about each historical circumstance and their relevance to current priorities?  And what does this example suggest for credit unions?

President Biden has  proclaimed this holiday will celebrate both Italian Americans and indigenous communities.

Individual Achievement and Society’s Circumstances

America has had a long tense debate between what is good for society as a whole and the celebration of individual enterprise and success.

Individual effort, passion, ambition and fortitude matter.   We celebrate accomplishments in every area of activity from business, to entertainment, to sports to academia.   We honor these superstars with prizes, fame and enormous fortunes.

However much of that success depends on context—the training, the resources, the organizations and the examples that make individual achievement possible.  Everyone benefits from this social infrastructure and the connections that make success possible.

In credit unions this same tension exists.   Current leaders take actions which they believe are in the best interests of their organization sometimes oblivious to the legacy they inherited.  They see a different, more “modern” future than their forebears.   This limited grasp of both history and the kind of future being passed on, could undermine the future of the cooperative system.

Cooperatives were built on human connection.  Every society needs these organizations so individuals can prosper and help each other.  Today when three and four generations of members are separated from their credit union’s roots by merger, the ties of loyalty that bind are broken.

Credit unions need persons who want to build a better tomorrow for their own organization and the entire system.   It is OK to be self-interested.  However that motivation needs to be tempered with honor.

The charge against Columbus is he had no respect for the native people he encountered.  Only the search of gold mattered.  Many Europeans who followed had the same belief in their own superiority and right to ownership of the seemingly open lands.

We can see  issues more clearly with the benefit of history.   But it is an error if in our own lives and responsibility within coops today we believe we are immune from such hubris.    The future of credit unions needs innovation.  But it also requires character that respects the legacies we all inherited to achieve our positions of responsibility.

 

 

A student recently shared a paper for a senior  leadership course that required two interviews with active CEO’s.

One interview was with a small silicon valley based startup. The second  was the CEO of a multi-billion dollar credit union with a two-decade long record of incredible performance-excerpted below.  At the end are her conclusions about leadership, which suggests the influence of the credit union CEO’s wisdom.

CEO Interview Comments from the Paper

He said “I really don’t do anything.” While we both laughed, he really wasn’t joking. He clarified saying, “Sure, I set what the credit union stands for, I get to influence strategic direction, and I point the various leaders in the right direction, but I sit back and let them execute.”

However, his leadership practice was truly the opposite of “doing nothing.” He describes it as “servant leadership” which requires “complete transparency” with the understanding that the “way to get what you want, is to help people get what they want.” This transparency he believes, “pays huge dividends in terms of helping the company meet its goals.”

That ”servant’s heart” is what he looks for when  hiring someone: “You can train technical skills – and sure, some jobs require certain backgrounds – but you can’t teach someone the desire to serve others.”

He meets with every new-hire in the beginning of their careers.

He wants them to know that they are making a difference in people’s lives – not just cashing checks – and here’s how. “Our prices and services are not our competitive advantage. What makes the credit union special is “Us,” each and every employee.”

He wants his employees to think of him as just another person, because quite simply, he is. He makes mistakes, he goes on vacation, he has a family, just like everyone. To emphasize the point he tells all his employees: “You don’t work for the credit union; you work for the dreams and ambitions you have. The role of this credit union is making those dreams possible.”

 The Student’s Leadership Conclusion

I had believed that to be a leader it was essential to hold a position of authority. One where people report to you, often indicated by some swanky leader-esk title. However, what I’ve learned is that leadership has many different styles and can mean a lot of different things – and it doesn’t have to be directed downward.

One can hold a position, not formally recognized as a leadership role, and still have the ability to lead.  Leading is related to your influence as an individual more than any job title. Not only have I learned this is possible, but also just how necessary it  is. To be good at your job, and to make the right impressions on those around you, it is essential that you are able to lead – even your bosses.

My Note:  The art of leadership is not the responsibility of a single position.  For any organization to be successful, everyone must feel responsible for their role in serving others.

 

Covid has created a backlog of people stymied in seeking new opportunities.  Companies are finding it harder to hire and retain employees.  Hiring bonuses are rising.  Every day it seems a major company announces a higher minimum hourly wage it is willing to pay to attract applicants.

The vaccines promise to break this logjam for job seekers. Especially with organizations paying up and willing to offer flexible work environments.

Providing insight into this situation is a recent article by writer Jeffrey Harvey about how interviewees might to respond to five common interview questions.

He describes the challenge as follows:

You likely stride into your subsequent interview with a belly full of fire, and a brain stuffed full of all the right words to say, and the right ways to say them. You’ve carefully crafted your pitch so as to embody the can’t miss candidate; the person who will blend seamlessly into the corporate culture from day one.

And then you never hear back.

Five Likely Interview FAQ’s and Unforgettable Answers

 

His essay then describes how a job seeker should handle these questions so as to be memorable.   I will not spoil his insights by sharing his advice which is both humorous and spot on.  Question number 2 is a sample of his approach that is sure to  land your application on the top of the resume pile.

Even if you have no interest in seeking another job, this advice will enlighten your day!

Question #2: “Where do you see yourself in five years?”Answer: “Well, the parole ends in three, so provided we’ve survived the zombie apocalypse…”  And the explanation. . .

This question has torpedoed more first dates than The Rules, and it’s even worse in a job interview. In a world where companies and entire industries are changing moment to moment, not to mention the looming threat of the flesh-eating undead, it’s presumptuous to assume that the human race will still be solvent in five years, let alone a mobility aggregation start-up in Hoboken.

What you really want to convey is that you envision an upward trajectory for yourself, and anticipate the type of personal growth that will make you a greater asset to the company as time passes. Re-gaining the ability to travel out of state is a concrete example of how the attainment of a tangible personal goal will also make you a more valuable employee.

Your somber acknowledgment of the zombie apocalypse will demonstrate your willingness to grapple with unpleasant possibilities — an inevitability in every business. As the old saying goes, hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and stock up on canned meats and fish antibiotics for impending Armageddon.

Or they’ll think you’re joking and remember you for your irreverent sense of humor. At least until a zombie is munching their cerebral cortex.

The other four Q & A’s are just as irreverent.

In April 2014, Jim Blaine discussed the Fed’s policy of pouring money into the economy and the prospect of inflation.  His analysis seems relevant even more in today’s stimulus driven economy.

Chart This !!

Spent several days last week at an economics conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.  They hold it out in the north Georgia woods – a good distance from reality – which seemed appropriate.

There were a lot of really “scary smart” people at the conference including an economics Nobel laureate, several highly distinguished academics, global bank economists from the U.S., China, Spain, Japan, Chile, Italy, etc. and the leading economic theorists from government agencies such as the Fed, the FDIC, the U.S. Treasury, and the SEC.  You get the picture – the best and the brightest in quantitative economics. No one from NCUA was registered…

Never been bothered much about not being “the smartest person at the table”(that’s just the way life is); but it’s a bit unnerving when you have to honestly admit that you’re unquestionably and repeatedly “the dumbest person at the table”(it was that kind of group!).  Practiced being quiet a lot and trying to feign invisibility when the Q&A started soaring well above my head.

The Bernanke Solution !

What I found most intriguing was the open, heated debate among these very bright folks over the merits of the recent practice of “quantitative easing” by the Fed. Literally trillions of dollars have been injected into the banking system in an attempt to revive the U.S. economy.  Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke colorfully labelled quantitative easing as the practice of “dumping helicopter loads of cash” on to communities all across America.

Much of the debate centered around the future economic consequences of reabsorbing this excess monetary stimulus as the economy gains strength.  It was somehow both reassuring and refreshing to hear the best and brightest profess profound doubt and concern over being in these uncharted economic waters – with highly arguable and uncertain outcomes. All in decided contrast to the “inerrant robusterians” at the NCUA, who remain resolutely and insanely certain, about the unfailing wisdom of their myopia.

To read his observation about how the Fed was using its monetary stimulus and his “image token” from the meeting click here.

We are all heirs of September 11, 2001.  Some from experiences close up and personal.  Others as horrified observers, unable to look away from the TV coverage.  And for more, it is an event in history known primarily  through broadcasts like those aired this past weekend.

That September day is now part of America’s story.  The heroic parts about fully loaded firemen walking up 80 stories to open jammed doors to let occupants walk down while they, duty-bound, rose to ever higher floors and  their destiny.

We recall the shared emotions-fear, vulnerability, anger, confusion and the desire for retribution.

And we follow still the unfolding domestic and international political decisions that continue to be analyzed and interpreted two decades later.

The posts today and tomorrow are about that day. First two personal accounts and tomorrow a response at that time by a credit union leader.

Everyone has a story.   They connect and sustain us.  They help to make us who we are. That is why we remember.

A Personal Story

On Tuesday 9/11, I was in our office overlooking Farragut Park in the center of DC, three blocks from the White House.  September would normally be a peak month for planning sessions out of the office. However our daughter Alix was getting married on 9/15 and  Joan and I had planned a week long singing vacation in Salzburg, Austria for later in the month.  I was not paying attention to the business trip Joan began the prior Thursday to New York City for NABE’s Annual convention at the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel.

Upon first report of the plane hitting a trade center tower, I assumed an accident had happened.  Here is how one employee remembers the following cascade of events.

“I was at the  Callahan office that morning which happened to be 5 days before my wedding.

I got a call from Alix  who was home after her morning coaching session on the Potomac .   She told me that a plane had hit the WTC while she was watching the Today Show (NBC). I remember thinking of a documentary I saw where it described how a plane had accidentally hit the Empire State Building in fog several decades earlier causing some damage but obviously not destroying the building or causing mass loss of life.  So, I wasn’t very concerned. 

When it became clear that this was a passenger jetliner and that another plane had struck the other tower it was obvious this wasn’t an accident.  By this point, everyone the Callahan office was very aware and all were concerned.  We rolled out the large CRT TV on its cart so people could watch the live news coverage. 

News of the Pentagon being struck became part of the news too but very limited live footage of that was available.  Most of the TV focus stayed on NYC.  At Callahan we could see the smoke coming up from the Pentagon from our 10th floor Farragut Park overlook which had a line of sight directly to the National Airport Control tower — next to the Pentagon.  

Cell phones and office phones rang throughout the morning — mainly family members of employees calling to check in and share info.  Rumors swirled in the office from the calls– other planes possibly headed to the White House, just blocks away. One employee said there were “fires burning on the mall.” From our windows we saw employees walking/running from  all White House area buildings

Of course, this increased the  concerns of everyone in our office.  

It wasn’t long before the scene at Farragut Park totally changed  from a normal calm mid-morning, post-rush hour commute.  The park was absolutely flooded with people…all trying to go home it seemed but the metro wasn’t capable of handling that many people at non-peak times.  Large crowds blocked all streets, barely moving and no cars or buses could escape.  Cell phones were also no longer working — the networks were far too congested.  

The big question was whether we should close the office and tell people to go home.  I recall the conversation centered around what would be safest for staff — staying put was probably safest and least frustrating given the chaos on the streets outside and likelihood of many hours to get home (many had to walk given the transit freeze).  However, we knew that many staff wanted to go so we gave everyone the choice to decide for themselves. Most left within an hour. “ 

During the cascading events of that morning, Scott Patterson came to my office to tell me that my daughter Alix thought Joan was in NYC for a conference.  She wanted to make sure I was aware.  I had not remembered nor put 2 and 2 together that Joan was not only in NYC but also at the WTC complex. Lara, my other daughter, six months pregnant, was in nearby New Jersey, having arrived in Newark from California the night before to attend a conference.

Of course, Joan was unreachable, without phone, on her own until  that afternoon when a third party called on her behalf as described below.

By midday, everyone had left the office.  People needed to be with their families and away from any potential targets in downtown DC.    I remained  at Callahans till late that afternoon, answering phones and watching.  By then the metro was running, the crowds had left and I got back to Bethesda that evening.

Joan’s Story at the World Trade Center Marriott

 

 

 

 

 

The National Association for Business Economics 43^rd annual meeting was at the New York Marriott World Trade Center Hotel from September 9-11, 2001.  The event’s tagline was “In a New York minute in the midst of economic uncertainty.”  I was the press officer.

Visiting Windows on the World

The night before the attack, Monday, Sept. 10, Diana Gregg, a reporter for BNA, and I decided to make a late night visit to Windows on the World, the famed restaurant on the 106^th floor of the North Tower. We wanted to see the view and there wouldn’t be time Tuesday morning because of the conference and press events.  It was a short walk to the elevator on the ground floor of the North Tower; midway up, we changed to another lift, creaky, but with an elevator operator. We were tempted to stop for a drink, but it was late, so we went to the viewing platform to see the twinkly city below. There had been rain.  We felt we were on top of the world ….and believe we may have been among the last to leave Windows on the World.

Seventy-nine people who worked at Windows died on Tuesday morning, September 11, when the plane crashed into the building, as did 91 restaurant guests, many attending a conference that morning.  NABE had considered having its Sept. 11 CEO breakfast at Windows, but opted instead for the grand ballroom on the ground level of the Marriott WTC hotel. The hotel adjoined the North Tower.

On Tuesday, the morning session was in the 1^st floor Grand Ballroom. Robert Scott, Morgan Stanley President and CEO, was speaking to the group.  Then came a jolt.  The lights flickered.   Chandeliers began to shake.  A rumble, like an earthquake.

Everyone headed for the exits.

My NABE colleagues and others helped people get out of the hotel…we were directed away from the front entrance because of falling debris and went thru the “Tall Ships” side entrance-which had been locked, but was knocked open… police on busy West Street highway  stopped traffic so that we could cross …I made my way to the Hudson River, stopping along the way to stand with groups of NABE evacuees gawking at the Towers. . . watching what looked like lumber falling from the windows, but then realized they were jumpers. . . some thought the fire in the North Tower was  being contained. . . NABE would be in touch with the hotel to see if we could resume our meetings in the afternoon. . .  saw a second plane smash into the South Tower. . .  gasps that went up from the crowd. . . ‘”This is terrorism.”

We didn’t know what was going on. There were no iPhones and cellphones didn’t work. But there was radio! . . . A group gathered around a man  who had a battery operated radio…desperate for news….people at home watching TV knew about the Twin Towers and the Pentagon…and Shanksville. . .We didn’t. . . We knew something terrible had happened in New York.. . We were on our own.

Tramping south along the river with thousands of evacuees. . .stopped at a vendor to buy 10 bottles to water because ‘this was going to be a long day’. . . do you know how heavy bottles of water are? . . .passed them out to anyone who would take them. . .ran into NABE Past President Diane Swonk, in a suit and high heels, surrounded by other NABE members and visiting international students . . . their passports and belongings were now dust, as were ours. . . Diane, chief economist at Bank One, possessed, miraculously, a cellphone that worked. . .  She offered to have her office call people’s families to let them know we were OK. . . we scribbled a dozen phone numbers on a piece of paper, she passed them on to her office.

Chip, who led Callahan & Associates in downtown DC, got a call later that afternoon from the administrative office of Bank One CEO Jamie Dimon with the message that I was OK…. Diane then led her group uptown to safety at Bank One’s midtown office…I decided to head south, along the river, thinking it was safer. . .  I reached the tip of the island –there was no place to go—it was either uptown or jump into the Hudson River and swim to New Jersey. . .seriously considered the idea! . . I was part of a huge crowd of anxious people…I needed to speak to someone, to ask how they were doing, but no one was interested in chit-chat…one man nearby said he was going back to get his dog…A cloud of black smoke was coming in our direction. . someone shouted “a stampede is coming”…panic was imminent. . .but it didn’t happen…suddenly, the smoke cleared, and as if by magic, a NY Waterways ferry appeared. . .I was never so glad to see anything in my life. . . I wouldn’t have to jump into the river!

People boarded carefully, no pushing or shoving… we donned life vests at the captain’s request. . .we looked to the sky….would we be attacked in the open water?…once in New Jersey, with no place to go, I approached  a young woman who was looking at Twin Towers. . .she was a temp, but had not gone in that day. . .an aspiring opera singer, she took me to her subsidized artists’ housing unit . . we would surely be friends for life…She went with me to a nearby car rental, where I hitched a ride with a group going south on I-95. . .I insisted we stop for gas, we didn’t know what was ahead….but it was OK and my ride went as far as Philadelphia…  they dropped me at the deserted airport. . . Sarah McLaughlin, the daughter of old friends from Chicago Tribune days, picked me up, drove to their house, put me up for the night. . . next day we went to the Amtrak station . . .wasn’t afraid to ride the train to Union Station, or the subway home to Bethesda. . . It was another world outside of lower Manhattan. . . I had made it home in time for Alix and Scott’s wedding three days later.

PS: This dramatic exodus enabled by an armada of boats  which evacuated hundreds of thousands off Manhattan in just nine hours is narrated by Tom Hanks in this 11 minute video.

The story is also told in this article Escape From New York.  Following is an excerpt:

Day and his maritime colleagues at the Sandy Hook Pilots Association — the specially licensed seamen who help larger vessels get in and out of the harbor safely — would help orchestrate the largest maritime evacuation in world history, larger even than the famous British rescue at Dunkirk.

With no plan and little direction, they would cobble together a makeshift civilian armada of fishing vessels, pleasure yachts, tugboats, and passenger ferries that evacuated somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 people from the tip of lower Manhattan — desperate, worried, dust-enveloped people trapped by the closure of the island’s bridges and tunnels. . .

The flotilla that day included upwards of 130 boats: harbor launches, fishing vessels, sightseeing ships, and dinner-cruise boats, as well as 33 ferries and 50 tugboats, plus numerous FDNY, NYPD, and Coast Guard rescue boats. . .

 

 

Glenn Arbery is President of Wyoming Catholic College.   He shared some thoughts with the incoming freshman class last week.   

While his hero references are from academic literature, all organizations tell stories about leaders who have played critical roles in their history.  These stories  are reminders of extraordinary success or sometimes tragic failure.

They are intended to help us be more aware of the choices we make in our “lived” roles.  His last words about the “Fear of God” are interesting.  It is not a religious statement he is making.

Rather he is stating  that most of us know what are better angels require.  But as one CEO wrote me in a request for counsel, sometimes right gets a little blurry.  Here is an excerpt from his talk.

When you enter the classroom this week, you will encounter in a new way those figures that the tradition of the West has always honored and whose names you have known since childhood: in Genesis, the patriarchs specially called by God; in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the heroes who explore the boundaries between the mortal and the immortal.

These are men and women who step outside the common order into a uniquely charged sphere of unfolding meaning. They extend the expectations of mankind.

Heroes and saints are not necessarily easy to get along with, since they answer a higher call that puts them at odds with the world around them, even those closest by. It is not easy to fit the hero into ordinary life, but without these primordial figures, we would not hope for more in human life than good internet service and enough coffee. 

We are not engaged in tearing down or demeaning what is great, but in honoring whatever is noble and good, wherever it might be found. . .

Fear of God, in the sense that I mean it, is awareness of another choice when there is a temptation to belittle others or indulge yourself. Moment to moment, there is a better way, a best way.

Fear of God means a dread of choosing what you know to be wrong or of letting something harmful happen through weakness, indifference, or inattention. It is wholesome and cleansing, like cold mountain air. It is the kind of fear that makes you alert and urges you to pay attention and watch where you are going.

Good advice to start the school year for everyone. The full speech and essay can be found here.