SAVANNAH, Ga. -- With the number of issues credit unionscontinue to face these days, winning against the odds isobtainable.
That's the message shared by Walter Bond, a former Dallas Maverick,Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons player in the National BasketballAssociation. Now a motivational speaker, Bond brought his SouthsideChicago brand of wit and life lessons to credit union executivesand volunteers at Georgia Credit Union Affiliates' annualconvention.

Bond, who played at the University of Minnesota, said he spentmost of his college career on the bench and broke his foot twiceduring his senior year. Still, he kept his eye on the dream ofplaying in the NBA despite his college coach telling him he neededto work on dribbling, shooting and rebounding. What helped propelBond forward was the belief that he could accomplish hisgoals.
"Confidence separates excellent people," Bond said. "Confidence isarrogance under control. Arrogant people stop growing because theythink they have all the answers."

Comparing his basketball career to credit unions, Bond said asin any industry "90% is good, 10% of the industry sucks."
"The challenge is do you focus on the 90% or the 10% that sucks,"Bond said.

Bond urged credit unions to make a sincere connection withpeople because in the end, "you're dealing with their money."Identifying who makes the financial decisions in the family ["Imake a lot of money but I haven't written a check in 12 years. Mywife handles the money."] can help credit unions improve theconnection.

Hiring people who can connect with members is equally asimportant, Bond said. "Never hire someone at a credit union who isnot likeable," Bond suggested. "You can teach the technical aspectsof financial services but can you teach someone to belikeable."

One of the quickest ways to drive away those "likeable" peopleis to micromanage, Bond said. "When you micromanage someone, youare trespassing and violating their space. Employees become aflight risk."

Bond echoed what many in the industry have been urging creditunions to do: "make up your mind to become something different," hesaid to a standing ovation.