What WON'T You Collaborate On?

by Ron Daly 

Last Wednesday was a great day for those of us here on the East Coast. After months of snow and sleet and cold, we were treated to a mild, cloudy day and a visit from our fellow credit union service organizations at the NACUSO regional meeting. And what a visit it was. 

We met a lot of great folks last week who had a lot to say about CUSOs and the current "credit union economy". Following up from last Tuesday's Blog Post, NACUSO CEO Tom Davis kicked things off with a quick view of the industry and word on butterflies. "Butterflies?" You ask. Yes, butterflies. According to Tom's talk, when butterflies leave the cocoon they have to struggle to break free and fly off. If you help one out of its cocoon, it won't have to struggle - but it can't fly. I think that's a pretty good analogy, and a great thing to keep in mind when the going gets tough. 

Jay Johnson of Callahan and Associates led a "group-think" session about the goals of the credit unions in attendance and how they might benefit one another by sharing services and capacities. This led to some discussion of "The Canadian Model", a term I've heard bandied about a lot lately. There are quite a few CU professionals who think Canada - and Desjardins Group in particular - have a model that could be adapted here to strengthen the industry as a whole. I'm interested to hear what our readers have to say about the Canadian Model, so please, leave some thoughts in the comments. 

Guy Messick of Messick and Weber CUSOLaw.com talked about gaining a greater market share and working toward stronger inter-CUSO connections and more collaboration in sharing resources - a "CUSO 3.0" Network Strategy. Some of the key talking points that we shared on our Twitter feed: 

• Expect a lot of mergers in the not-too-distant future. This can create issues for CUSOs, considering conflicts of interest and service and in ownership. It also harms a credit union's sense of community when they have to increase service areas and take on the policies/procedures of their "new partner".  
• The topic of "myths". An amazing bit of insight on what's keeping us held back, particularly when it comes to marketing. "There's a reason we're still under six percent" of market share, says Messick - it's time for CUs to be bold and tell their story. 
• "Shame on us" if we know what it takes to help credit unions succeed and don't act on it. I agree completely.
• A question that really made us think - "What WON'T you collaborate on?"

What really struck me about the whole session was how many folks were willing to share their stories and their experiences helping credit unions help members. I don't want to speak too early, but there will certainly be some impressive outcome of last week's meeting - a lot of collaboration that will result in a lot of great services for CUs across the country. 

Your comments are, as always, appreciated.