Be a Jet Ski - Article by Kelley Parks

This is an article I was quoted in from a conversation we had on CU Watercooler about the advantages of being a small credit union.  I like using the jet ski vs. Titanic analogy.  First off, jet skis are FUN and produce a great mental image of a fast, exciting ride (which the CU industry certainly is at this point in history) they are close to the water (just like a small CU is close to our members) and they can be quickly maneuvered around obstacles. The "big bank" industry certainly is akin to a comparison with the Titanic. (especially the historic "too big to sink" theory)...hard to steer and to stop once it picks up steam and able (and willing) to plow through and over anything in its way. 

Chris Blough, CEO of Wayne County Community FCU, had a brilliant quote on Liquid Lunch, 

 “Small Credit Unions need to be like jet skis. We’re not the Titanic. A jet ski would see the iceberg.”

I love the spirit of innovation in that statement. Small is nimble, and with the right thinking and some iron will, can speed right past all the other boats in the ocean.
Are you a Titanic or a Jet Ski? Is the spirit of innovation alive in your credit union?
Here’s your test:
Are you a Titanic?
You are trying to serve first class and third class all on the same boat. You believe you should be all things to all people. After all, with 17 CD options and 6 Checking Accounts, you’re bound to connect with someone.
You don’t take action because you think you are too big to fail. You have meetings to have meetings. Sub-committee has become code for “vacation in my head”.
You fail to plan for enough lifeboats. You don’t know how to react in an emergency. I mean “growing income” isn’t on the marketing calendar this month?
Or are you a Jet Ski?
You’re not afraid to get wet. You know that perfection is a mirage and experiments can be messy, but you’ll jump in and try because that’s the only way to discover your true potential.
You easily maneuver around obstacles. You’re a creative problem solver. Behind every challenge you see opportunity. While others wait for the water to stop rocking, you speed past them. Decreased budget? More regs? Bring em’ on. Big waves just make you jump higher.
You get right back on as soon as you get knocked off. You realize that it takes hard work and action to get results. You realize that mistakes help you learn and grow.
But most importantly, you aren’t afraid to make waves.

Where did my good little boy go...

It seems that the gestation period for unruliness of a Blough is 15 months.

Greyson has now turned, as did his brethren, to the darkside. 

There shall be no more quiet relaxing mornings with him lying on my chest while his brothers are still asleep.  No longer will the happy little footsteps echoing off of the walls of our home bring with it the anticipation of a giggling little angel.  Grey has now officially become ORNERY!

God bless us and help us all.

God gave you two ears for a reason...

I have come to realize that amidst all of the amazing things we can do in this modern age...we have lost some things along the way.  The ability to use a rotary phone.  The knowledge of how to do simple math without the aid of an electronic device.  The ability to concentrate on a single topic for more than 45 seconds...and oh...what was the other thing...oh yea, we have completely forgotten how to listen.

We are so busy doing everything we seem to think we just HAVE to do that we rarely slow down long enough to collect our thoughts or listen to what the people around us are telling us.  Our spouses are telling us to look them in the eyes and connect with them once in awhile.  Our children are telling us that they are growing up right in front of our eyes and we are missing every last second of it.  Our friends are telling us that they would rather have us sitting across the table from then than texting us from across town.  The people at work are trying to tell us that they want to know who we are and what really makes us tick, not just what our Facebook site says we did the last time we actually took a day off.  We have killed our attention spans with gadgets, gizmos and high speed wireless thingamabobs.  It's a fact Jack.

When is the last time you went for a walk with someone and left your cell phone at home.  How often do you unplug and walk away from technology long enough to feel the sun on your face and watch a bird fly from a tree.  When was the last time you asked a young child what was on their mind and then listened attentively without pulling out your phone and checking for messages or rushing them along so you could turn the TV back on.

Let's face it.  We have become terrible listeners with the collective attention span of a common housefly.  Worse.  Houseflies are pretty persistent.

So unplug.  Offer up both ears and all of your senses.  Your friends, spouse and kids are worth it.  Besides, the phone in your pocket is outdated anyway and what they have to say is real-time.  Click.

A cluttered mind and clean desk...or a cluttered desk?

I've heard it said that you can tell a lot about a person by his or her desk.  The size, shape, clutter...this scares the hell out of me.

                 this was Albert Einstein's desk.......really.

Apparently at the office I am a hand-me-down ugly metal throwback from the 1970s, complete with a drawer positioned perfectly to leave a constant bruise on your thigh and just enough storage for 3 items, give or take, you choose what they consist of. For me they are cell phone, keys and a random freebie from a conference long since forgotten.  Anyway, not my optimal work environment to say the least, but, it sure looks better than it did when I got here.

At home I'm an over-sized some assembly required fake wood big box store special with 6 months worth of paid bills, receipts and junkmail cluttered into piles... and on top...pre-school and kindergarten artwork (not mine, I'm not that much of a packrat).  My intention with the home office was to have it act as the central 'mother brain" of the household.  The place where photos get downloaded and organized and where the perfect playlists are compiled and uploaded to Ipods.  It has not really come to fruition at this point....a year after it was created.  I am still hopeful though.  Others in the house, not as much.

At any rate, it scares me more than a bit that my work areas are so seemingly haphazard and discombobulated.  But you know what, somehow, it all seems to work out just fine.  I have a photographic memory.  Somehow my brain seems to catalog the mess and unless it is moved and "organized" by someone other than myself, I can almost always find what I am looking for.  Granted it is a stressful place to sit and work, but that pushes me to grab the laptop and get out.  Which I am fairly sure is why laptops were created.  People realized that an office may be a great place to collect things you think you need to keep but don't care enough about to put in a place you frequent...but it is really no place to get any work done.


I started this post a few months ago...in my office.  I am finishing it on the laptop, outside.  Where the sun is shining and the only thing on the table other than the computer is a cold beer.