The business of relationships

At the core of a good relationship is trust, and building trust must be part of your intent when starting a new relationship. Especially in business relationships, this is important. Because while we often begin these conversations with a specific purpose, if we’re not willing to find some common ground and explore how we can both benefit from the relationship, its potential will be limited.

My good friend John Spence recently featured a guest blog from award-winning author and thought leader Frank Sonnenberg on this topic. It caught my attention because much of my daily work these past few months has been focused on relationships.

For the past 10 years as I’ve served as president and CEO of NAFCU, one of the best parts of my job has been traveling the country to meet with credit union leaders and professionals. When I took the helm of NAFCU, I went on a “listening tour” to see what our members valued about our current offerings and how we could better meet their needs.

Fast forward to today and NAFCU and CUNA have proposed to merge. Once again, listening to members’ thoughts, concerns, ideas, and needs is paramount to the success of the potential new organization, America’s Credit Unions. That’s why this week we began hosting virtual forums for CEOs to have a space for meaningful dialogue.

 

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