Category: Observations

Politicians see a parade coming down the street and rush to get in front.  Leaders create the parade.

Most people are aware that money does not buy happiness, but we still want to find this out for ourselves.

Our society seems intent on replacing human interaction with technology. In the independent Atlantic Baseball League, an experiment to automate the calling of balls and strikes is underway. The umpire still stands behind the plate but gets the ball or strike call via an Apple AirPod earpiece from a computer equipped with an artificial intelligence program.

Credit unions are deploying options so members speak to their phones or their home speakers, asking questions that were once answerable only by another human being. From account opening, to on boarding, to completely automated credit decisions, the race is on to take the human out of every conceivable member need and experience.

So what are the events that defy Google questioning and experiences we can only have through face to face interaction with another human? Answering that challenge is how credit unions will not only remain relevant but also define how each will compete no matter the asset size, number of branches or range of services. For what will be the cooperative advantage if people helping people simply becomes computer programs massaging each members’ data and responding based on software logic, no matter how intelligently designed?

Summer movies can provide escape, inspire, provoke and entertain.

All of these qualities are in the documentary Shining Night about American Composer Morten Lauridsen. I sought out the movie following a week of learning to sing Lux Aeterna, (a contemporary requiem composed on Lauridsen’s mother’s death), at a Richmond, VA choral workshop organized by Berkshire Choral International.

A Composer’s Thoughts

Born in 1943, three of his compositions are the most popular choral sheet music ever sold: Lux Alterna, O Magnum Mysterium, and Dirait-On.

The movie is a biography of the composer, and more importantly conversations about his creative motivations. Lauridsen is a mystic who translates both older Christian scriptures and contemporary poetry (“time tested words”) into musical expressions.

His descriptions of the these efforts are insightful. He is inspired by the belief that “There is something bigger than us out there. We must tap into that.”

He talks about “an absolute desire” to create because you have been sparked by something that makes you “feel whole” and provides inner peace.

An Inner Song

For Lauridsen, his way of finding meaning was writing music to share “this inner song.”

Very few are blessed with the genius of combining words and music to express one’s purpose. He acknowledges that sharing an “inner song” is no easy task, but that doing so “will change lives.”

That is the creative contribution we too often take for granted. But that is the light or to use his Latin word, Lux, that helps each of us believe each day is indeed worth living.

I hope an experience that enlightens will also be part of your summer.

The Chairman of CU*Answers announced at the CUSO’s 2019 Annual Meeting that the CEO would have his twenty fifth anniversary this month.

Many important accomplishments could be listed from this quarter century of management leadership. But I would highlight two critical processes that have contributed to this success.

The first is his ability to always plan ahead, not just manage the present moment. An example was the announcement that the cooperatively-owned CUSO will be investing over $400 million in technology spending in the next five years. That fact underwrites the CUSO’s ability to “pay it forward” for future generations of users and their members. The first rule of technology management is that it requires constant reinvestment.

A second factor oftentimes overlooked, is Randy’s unceasing efforts to encourage participation by all the owners and users of the CUSO. This is accomplished by more than traditional cooperative practice of boards, committees and annual meetings. He constantly invents new ways to incent feedback by owners through boot camps, leadership conferences, board planning sessions, and a never ending deluge of emails seeking reactions.

As important as money may be to sustainability, it can never substitute for passion. And participation encourages passion and cooperative pride of ownership.

“Our movement does not exist because it was created from the top down. Rather it was created from the bottom up. . . we did not tell Congress we wanted to be “safe and sound” institutions. We always knew that if we were lending to our members, there was risk involved. Serving came first; safety and soundness was a means to the end of serving.”

(Ed Callahan May 1999)