I don’t know how many times over the last year or so I have heard the phrase “culture of compliance”. It seems to be one of those overused buzz phrases. It’s in articles, in conference presentations, and even…blogs. But, what is really behind that phrase? Is there something to be learned from what it means?

Well, I did a little research and found an interesting definition that says that a company’s culture is actually its personality. On a personal level, our personality determines how we act, think, and interact with those around us. Let’s consider what a personality means for a credit union.

As I started thinking about personality, my mind went to my first-grade class which I still remember vividly even though it was a hundred years long time ago.

One of the most memorable kids in my first-grade class was Wendell. He was a ball of energy which, unfortunately, was very undirected. So much so, that the teacher would tape him to his desk. I’m not kidding. (You youngsters today have it easy. Apparently, this is now frowned upon.) Wendell wasn’t a bad kid. He was just running a mile a minute without a lot of focus. Is this your credit union’s compliance personality? Are you so busy being everything to everyone that you forget to focus on compliance? If so, you might want to make some changes before someone tapes you to your desk.

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