Crisis Leadership... Easy as 1-2-3.

Sure enuf?

1) The primary role of a leader is to assure the survival of the group.

Leaders always receive great support from the group in pursuit of this common goal. Deference, ceremony, "pedestal-ization", , pomp and circumstance, pontificada-yada-yada, ....

   

Liars, huh?

2) The primary function of a leader is to create, instigate, and then control crisis.

You will find this process difficult to anticipate and evaluate, for although leaders should never lie; if wise, they rarely tell the full truth. Leaders are calculated stage actors and major dissemblers.

   

Sneaky b-----! 

3) The primary goal of a leader is to predict the future.

As a futurist, the leader is a revolutionary, radical agent of change working in direct opposition—due to the high risks associated with major change—to the perceived best interests of the group.

Successful leadership is clearly evident, continuous change in the apparent absence of crisis. 

[Unexpected internal crises are leadership failures,

 whether or not successfully managed.]

The Key To Leadership...

" Always speak last."

"If you must speak, the less said the better."

"If you must speak, wait to be asked."

"And, if you must speak, but are never asked?"

Call To Action ....

"THINK CAREFULLY, THEN ACT RASHLY!"

A call to our leaders, including those in credit unions!1

Non Sequitur.... Building Credibility.

Doesn't seem to add up !!

"NON SEQUITUR"

 A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statements.

"As a result of intense analysis, scrubbing, and reviews... NCUA formulated the budget using zero-based budgeting to ensure that each office's requests were individually justified and consistent with NCUA's strategic plan." (NCUA  Zero-Based Fudget)

"Cutting the budget, however, is not an option.  Like all businesses, this Agency faces non-discretionary costs [health, travel, telecom, rent, staff, benefits, the overhead  transfer rate!] ..."

[Are those costs "non-discretionary" where you work? Yeah, me neither!]

The classic non sequitur...

Happy Thanksgiving!...

HOPE YOUR DAY IS THIS BEAUTIFUL!

H-m-m-m, North Carolina at Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Prayer For Credit Union Folks...

At Thanksgiving...

 Lord, save us from our foolishness.

I know that's a lot to ask with this group.

But, do the best you can.

Amen.

NCUA Budget Analysis...

"We Know Everything"®

We are requesting more money and some additional examiner positions to help manage the shrinking number of credit unions.....

The Democracy Credit Unions Deserve.....?

DIVERSITY AT ITS BEST

...and...

Competency .....

Mr. Mark McWatters

The contrast is becoming embarrassingly stark....

✮✮[Read this!]✮✮

("Hey, let's hope nobody notices...")

Joke Of The Day...

"It seems that currently the greatest threat to the dual chartering system is the disparity in fields of membership between federal charters and many state charters."

- NCUA Chair Debbie Matz

Statement on the Proposed FOM Rule

November 19, 2015

Would suggest that the real greatest threat lies elsewhere and you do not need...

To The CUNA Board: On The Need For Reform....

Joseph Loconte, a professor at King's College in

NYC, published an interesting opinion piece in the WSJ at the end of October ("When Luther Shook Up Christianity" - WSJ, 10/30/15). 

Think there may be a message in the opinion piece for the CUNA Board. Here are some excerpts:

"When an obscure German monk hammered his indictments ["The 95 Theses"] to the door of All Saints' Church at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, he did not intend to impugn the authority of the Catholic Church, or malign its leaders, or rupture the spiritual unity of medieval Europe. Martin Luther wanted reform, not a Reformation.  But that's what he got."

"Medieval Catholicism had reduced a vibrant faith to rituals and obligations, mediated by Church authorities and performed under the threat of punishment. Indulgences ["free passes" for overlooking individual sins] to finance a new St. Peter's Church in Rome were offered with the "tagline":  "as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs".

Luther's answer to all this was "a doctrine of freedom of conscience, rooted in a religious view of human nature and the nature of belief." And here is what Luther said about true faith and the nature of belief:

"For faith is a free work, to which no one can be forced.... certainly not a matter which outward authority should compel or create."

... and the message for the CUNA Board?

As to "CHOICE"...

Cloud Computing...

CELESTIAL VAPORWARE?

       OR...

Statuary Authority...

I generally don't read fiction, but happened to be reading CUNA's Membership@Work newsletter recently for the 2nd quarter of 2015 [here's the link], when I ran into the following unusual thought.


On page 3 of the newsletter is an article summarizing CUNA's April 17, 2015 comment letter [here's the link] to NCUA on the proposed risk-based capital (RBC) rule.
  

The statuary risk group...

The article says one of CUNA's key points in the comment letter was that: "NCUA does not have statuary authority to establish a RBC standard for the purposes of determining whether a credit union is well-capitalized."

Would hope that that statement is true, but the way NCUA has been acting the last few years, would be willing to bet NCUA thinks it has statuary authority over credit unions, if you know what I mean!

But in all seriousness, CUNA's letter does clearly state...

CHOICE: CUNA's Indecision...

DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES,
YOU'RE MAKING US ALL LOOK FOOLISH!

CHOICE: CUNA's Indecision...

 TIME TO LISTEN!

CHOICE: CUNA's Indecision...

ENUF ALREADY!

CHOICE: CUNA's Indecision...

C'MON!....

CHOICE: CUNA's Historic Indecision...

... and George Washington didn't care much
for cherry trees or lying either!

[Wish CUNA "Washington" led that way, don't you?]

Vive La France!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up...

WANNA TRY AND GUESS...

WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT?

[Here's the link!]

(Could this be the real reason CUNA is afraid 

to give us a "CHOICE" - might go to our head?)

Call "911".....

Well, the latest announcement from the fine folks at CUNA is that they plan to "call in the lawyers" to help!

  (Alright stop that laughing right now - or else I'll sue!)

Seems that the CUNA "BLT" ("Boss and Leadership Team") and perhaps the CUNA Board have somehow finally gotten the word that there is change afoot in the world. [Here's the link!] 

"To choose or not to choose,
that is the question...

Experience proves that bringing in the lawyers does not generally foreshadow a quick decision! And even worse, lawyers quite often can provide a convenient cover for delay and a seemingly "reasonable excuse" for lack of action. 

But as a long-time, casual observer of leadership and human nature, would suggest that this might be a case of the CUNA BLT....

Wayne Gretsky, Steve Jobs, Diana Dykstra....

North Carolina and South Carolina pull a

 Wayne Gretsky!

[Here's the link]

While Diana...

The Boss and the Leadership Team... CUNA's "BLT"!

"Where's the bacon?"

Today is a red-letter day for credit unions! At 2:00 p.m., "CUNA CEO Jim Nussle and his Leadership Team" [note that's "Leadership Team" in caps!] will hold a webinar during which CUNA-member credit unions will:

"* understand CUNA's work on behalf of credit unions."

"*  learn about the latest benefits of membership and the opportunity to ensure your voice is heard."

[Here's the link!]

The "B" and the "LT"!

Mr. Nussle and "The L.T." will also provide CUNA members with "the opportunity to ask

 questions". That's a pretty cool opportunity! 

Hey, the chance to 1) understand CUNA, 2) get an update on "activities and actions", 3) learn about new benefits, and 4) let everyone have their say - all in just one hour from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Guess it's going to be kind of like speed dating!... or maybe there's just not really a whole lot new to say about CUNA. [sounds a bit like an NCUA "listening session", doesn't it!]

Hope these 4 questions [ok, ok 8!] are discussed:

1)  How will the rapid decline/consolidation in the number of credit unions affect CUNA?

2)  What is CUNA doing to save small credit unions?  Why isn't it working?

3)  Why won't CUNA honor the request of its members in all asset classes for "CHOICE"? Why will credit unions stop supporting CUNA if "CHOICE" is approved? What's wrong?

NAFCU Dues Coupon...

NAFCU: BETTER BY HALF?

Missed Opportunity...

Well, the NCUA Board video of the Oct. 15, 2015 meeting is now available for viewing - enjoy! 

During the meeting you will see an important review of the merits - and lack there of - of the "gone-on-for-ever" risk-based capital (RBC) rule. The points are significant and well worth a listen on the part of credit union folks. The RBC rule was passed on a 2-1 Board vote and is scheduled for full implementation by 2019.

But the highlight of the entire meeting was the segment between 1:15.30 and 1:15.37, when Chairman Matz made the following offer to Mr. Metsger...

Freedom of Choice for America's Credit Unions...

... it makes "The System®" look weak!

Speaking Frankly...

Mr. Frank Diekmann

One of my favorite writers on credit union topics is Frank Diekmann - he may be the best writer in the credit union space. 

But then again, he ought to be since he's been "practicing" his credit union journalistic craft for over 30 years. 

For those of you too young to study history, Frank was a key player in the creation of both the CUTimes and the CUJournal - [that's equivalent to being the starting pitcher for both teams in the World Series!]; and now is the head honcho over at CUToday, which is a new, savvy, web-based CU information resource.

As we start down the path of seeing how the CHOICE issue plays out - [the key leagues meeting is next week and the "meet your maker" CUNA Board meeting is in December] - think it is helpful to see as many different opinions on the issue as possible. 

CHOICE is a deadly serious issue with long range ramifications. There are two major risks involved with CHOICE, that 1) credit unions will make an uninformed decision and worse that 2) credit unions will make no decision at all....

You've had a chance to see some diverse opinions

here on the blog, including the CUNA Task Force Report and the league leaders "Vision..." as well as gleanings from Jim Nussle and Diana Dykstra as several leagues start to pick sides. You've also gotten a flavor of the alternative offered by NAFCU. Couple of commenters  - anonymous and otherwise - have also even added a little snark and spice!

Frank Diekmann has just posted an opinion piece on CHOICE... think you might benefit from taking a look... 

[Here's the link!]

'Course there's also another "Frank" who has weighed in on the dithering of CUNA in the past...

Your CHOICE .... for Americas' Credit Unions...

CUNA AND THIS ISSUE OF CHOICE....

It's kind of intriguing to watch the folks at CUNA - who frequently put themselves forward as significant cooperative leaders of the Free World [that's why they had to jaunt down to Cuba] - struggle and squirm with the principle of CHOICE for America's credit unions.

After all isn't the...

 FIRST COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE:

VOLUNTARY MEMBERSHIP?

and the...

SECOND COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE:

DEMOCRATIC MEMBER CONTROL?

[Here's the link to CUNA's website if you need to check on their principles.]

As CUNA's own member survey, CUNA's Task Force Report, and Diana Dykstra have publicly confirmed. America's credit unions want...

It's the principled thing to do.

Yet CUNA and many of the Leagues continue to wiggle and squirm. The "reasons" against CHOICE, increasingly appear "suspect" - or at least cooperatively "unprincipled".

The opponents of voluntary membership and democratic control within "The System®"

are having a tough time removing "the strong whiff of self-interest" which appears to color their arguments; and, making a "principled" case for coercion is like "trying to nail Jell-o to a wall".

But "the game is not up yet" as we head toward

next week's AACULE Summit at the Four Seasons and the "now or never" CUNA Board meeting in December. 

There is still time for CUNA to try and repackage our principles...