Joe Montana paid homage to his father during his address atthis week's annual NACUSO conference in Las Vegas. His fatherwasn't a big jock, but he could work the fundamentals with hisfuture NFL quarterback son, like tying a tire swing up in atree–not to swing on–but to throw the football through.

His father would swing it to force young Montana to hit a movingtarget. Kids being who they are, Montana applied his learning tothrowing snowballs at cars passing down the street as well. Stillit served him well.

Montana said he was a basketball nut when he was younger. Oncehis father got too slow to keep up with him, he'd do things liketrip him or step on his foot when he was trying to jump. He wouldcomplain to his dad that he couldn't do that, to which his fatherreplied, “What are you going to do about it?”

This really resonated with me. The game doesn't always go asplanned. Credit unions got tripped up in the economic crisis. Theyhad their feet stepped on. What are you going to do about it?

Many credit unions did just what Montana suggested. They gotback to fundamentals. Throughout his entire career, Montanapracticed fundamentals like footwork. He practiced and practicedthrowing the ball a foot in front of where the receiver was goingto be. “[Coach] wanted us to catch the ball for the receiver,” hecommented. Leadership is practicing until you can't get it wrong.It's making it easier for everyone else to do his or her jobwell.

Leadership is also about work ethic. Montana explained that aguy named Jerry Rice joined the 49ers, and every time he caught apass he ran it in for a touchdown. Every time. This made practicesvery long, which initially irritated Montana. But it turned outthat Rice became the all-time touchdown reception leader–byfar–according to Montana.

You play like you practice. How is your credit unionpracticing?

Then John Taylor started doing it. And Rice and Taylor beganracing each other down the field at practice. At game time thattranslated into throwing up blocks at the 20-yard line for eachother to get the other in the end zone. They played like theypracticed, and they trusted each other.

Montana is a Hall of Famer and, according to John Ainsworth ofMasterCard Worldwide who introduced him, Montana won more than 70%of the games he played. And, Montana admitted, it was all due topracticing the fundamentals, possessing a strong work ethic andtrusting each other.

Credit unions are going to need that kind of winning strategy,not only in their day-to-day operations, but also to fight back thebankers who are ramping up the heat on the tax exemption. Over this week and last, the House Ways andMeans Committee has sent out feelers for tax reformrecommendations. According to the 2014 budget from President Obama, the credit union “tax expenditure” could beworth $9.5 billion over four years. That's more in line with thebankers' estimates of the value of the credit union taxexemption than other government estimates. No one really knows thetrue value of the credit union tax exemption because credit unionslikely would change their structures and business models in orderto best survive in that environment. In fact, they would likelyreturn more to the members in order to avoid being taxed on it. Notnecessarily a bad thing so long as they maintained enough to remainsafe and sound.

In different times, I've written that credit unions couldsurvive taxation. Now I'm not so convinced. Likely many would mergeout of business or convert to banks. I've spoken with a number ofCEOs of large credit unions. Most if not all credit unions withmore than $1 billion in assets have a conversion plan in their backpockets–not because they want to but it's at the ready for justsuch an occasion. The credit union regulators, leagues and smallercredit unions would lose the financial support the large creditunions provide. Credit unions would fail to exist and the Americanconsumers would be worse off.

Every credit union executive must lead his or her institutiontoward a prosperous future and lobbying is a necessary part ofthat. Some credit union executives have told me they aren'tcomfortable with lobbying because they don't want to offend theirmembers. Their members are the ones they need to be lobbying tosupport credit unions in their fight against taxation. If members,who are voting constituents, don't get involved politically theywon't be members for long–they'll be customers.