Making tough decisions is not an easy job

Credit unions and the organizations that serve them are very good at many things, but making tough decisions isn't necessarily one of them. The reasons are many and well known. Like personal friendships, lack of pertinent information, personal prejudices, denial that there is a problem needing fixing, lack of courage, time constraints, possible consequences, etc. Perhaps a first step in making tough decisions is to identify specific topics that require a decision. The second step is to make a preliminary "decision" to see how it flies. Some of these seat-of-the-pants "decisions" might suddenly make so much sense that the follow-through becomes high priority. Some may be so off the wall that they can be quickly discarded with little or no further consideration. Many will probably fall somewhere in between these two. Here are just some of the tough decisions that credit unions and their support organizations might want to think about: * Decide to stop carrying thousands of members on the books that don't want to be served by the credit union and prove it by doing almost all of their financial business elsewhere. * Get rid of all board members who are not making a contribution, regardless of their age, length of time on the board, past accomplishments, or long-term personal relationships. * Get some new blood on the board of directors that is more representative of the makeup of the membership. Elect a new board chairman. * Decide to make board meetings shorter, more efficient, and more productive. Implement a consent agenda system. * Decide to allocate more money for regular hands-on training for all staff and board members. * Decide to give a good employment agreement to the competent credit union CEO along with a substantial pay boost and a commitment to let him or her manage the credit union. * Fire the incompetent credit union CEO regardless of how long he or she has worked at the credit union or how well liked he or she may be. * Decide that all policy decisions will be based on credit union philosophy, not on the CU CEO's personal philosophy of what a credit union should be and do. (Don't assume that they are one and the same.) * Decide to challenge and stand up to the credit union's regulator, realizing that everything that they say is not gospel! * Demand that CUNA and NAFCU work at least as closely together as they did during the Campaign for Consumer Choice and that each group stop taking individual credit for joint achievements. * Decide to drop the credit union's defined benefit pension plan. * Tell CUNA to get back on the "world class trade association" fast track and stop trying to be all things to all people like the pre-Renewal CUNA. Re-affirm the decision that CUNA concentrate on being a trade association. * Tell NAFCU's leadership exactly how you feel about them possibly expanding to serve all federally insured credit unions, before they make such a far-ranging decision. * Decide to change the name of the credit union. * Make certain that the credit union is always being run in a way that best represents the best interests of the members, not the board, staff, regulator, or any credit union trade group. * Decide to implement a controversial program like indirect lending. * Decide to explore private, primary and excess share insurance. * Decide to merge. * Decide to get involved with as many groups as there are that would benefit the credit union including memberships in trade and professional organizations, partnerships, and alliances both within and outside the world of CUs. * Decide to ask every group that credit union money pays for - including CUNA, NAFCU, NASCUS, CUES, U.S. Central, corporates, CUNA Strategic Services, and the dozens of CUSOs that credit union dollars support - for a written statement explaining what business that they think they are in. * Decide to drop out of every group that can not justify its existence in terms of cost and time commitment no matter how long the credit union may have been a member or supporter, even though it may not be politically correct. * Decide to create more CUSOs at the local, regional, and national levels. * Decide to build a new headquarters facility. * Decide to change data processors. * Decide to convert to a community charter. * Decide to do something immediate and meaningful to combat the growing problem of predatory and payday lenders. * Decide to drop all credit union products and services on the CU's "laundry list" that members don't use. Ditto for all credit union organizations. * Decide to improve the credit union's newsletter; or discontinue it. Ditto publications of state and national organizations. * Decide to open another branch office and install another ATM and become part of a shared service center network. * As CEO, finally decide to fire someone (you know who); to promote someone (you also know who). Ask CUNA president Dan Mica and NAFCU president Fred Becker to do the same (they know who). Should every credit union and CU organization tackle tough decisions like these immediately if not sooner? Of course not. The point of this over simplification and exaggeration is to challenge credit union decision-makers to make sure they are facing up to the most important decisions every time they meet officially, no matter how tough such decisions may be! No one ever said being a leader was easy. Comments? Call 1-800-345-9936, Ext. 15, or Fax 561-683-8514, or E-mail mwelch@cutimes.com.