Right, wrong and stuff about wheels

I am proud to be a member of the CUinsight Community and I regularly read the thoughts and opinions shared by others within the Community. It’s interesting to see how various happenings in our daily credit union-related lives are dissected, benchmarked and compared to everything from Star Wars to selfies. What’s even more interesting is that, with all due respect to my friends throughout the Community: They are all wrong.

That’s right, I said it: They are all wrong. And so am I.

At the same time, they are also all right (as in correct, not as in alright, which is arguably not even a real word – meaning that alright, may in fact not be all right and is actually wrong – but I digress). So, again, they are also all right. And so am I.

I’m sure those in the Community who offer such commentary would agree that, in most cases, their posts are meant to be food for thought. Are there posts that are direct and meant to drive home a specific message? Absolutely. Regarding those, the right/wrong line may be more concrete in the reader’s mind. That, however, is a topic for another post.

In this case, I’m wondering more if you feel your leadership style is more in the Obi-Wan Kenobi mold, or are you more of a Chewbacca? Maybe a bit of both?

If you took a selfie of your credit union, what would you see? How does this relate to Socrates? Or beer goggles?!

Everyone alright? I mean, all right?

Confused? Are the wheels spinning a bit right now? Perhaps this is where the wheels come off… if we haven’t already jumped the shark…

So now that I’ve worked the following into my post (in alphabetical order, to bring us back to some sense of stability): beer goggles, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, selfies, sharks, Socrates, Star Wars and stuff about wheels… what’s the point?

The point, and here’s where you may decide whether I’m right or wrong, is that if we don’t continue to look at our industry through constantly changing lenses, always searching for a new angle or edge, we may miss the next big opportunity. It could be something as small as a member service enhancement or as big as an industry-wide grassroots initiative to drive membership that comes to mind as an 18-wheeler with a colorful trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike flashes by your window. You never know where that next idea could come from.

And that’s why I enjoy taking in the perspectives others share in the Community. We’ve got plenty of numbers and data to keep us focused on the bottom line, but without those who throw out the “this is kind of like…” comparisons and “what if, like Brand Y, we did…” challenges, we’d be stagnant.

In some cases, what you read may not fit where you or your credit union are operationally or strategically. You may perceive this as wrong or, in fact, it may actually be wrong for your organization or individual disposition. That’s okay.

In the end, it’s not about being right or wrong, but extending our critical thinking to include concepts and considerations that seem odd or, in some cases, confusing or even uncomfortable. If we don’t train our minds to take in what surrounds us and try to effectively translate that into something meaningful for our industry, we may miss that 18-wheeler out of the corner of our eye.

To my friends who have posted these topics (they are in the Community), and others who take a similar approach, I thank you for sharing your lenses with us. I look forward to continuing to view our challenges and opportunities from new perspectives through your posts.

Greg Michlig

Greg Michlig

As CUNA’s EVP/Chief Engagement Officer, Greg leads the organization’s Engagement Unit, an internal shared services team which also directs interactions with the credit union community. The team ... Details