Plan B Mindset

No one likes losing their job, even less getting fired. But I have to say getting fired was probably the best thing ever to happen to me. Thankfully, this happened nearly 30 years ago, not today! I think the story is worth telling to think about how we work in our business and with our customers in the “real world.” When I was in 5th grade I really wanted a new red 10-speed Schwinn bicycle. For a variety of reasons, most of them economic, some of them to motivate me, my parents said that the only way I was going to get the bike was if I earned the money to buy it. So I went off around the neighborhood selling my lawn-mowing services, with an average price of $5 per lawn. The venture was successful, and soon I had 5-10 lawns that I mowed on a weekly basis. At the end of the first summer, I was able to buy the bicycle. And I continued on mowing lawns. One of my most profitable customers was Mr. Pancake, who lived on the street behind us. He was older and was connected to an oxygen tan...

Sorry for my absence during the past couple of weeks (have you missed me?) It's amazing what happens when our professional lives get busy and then you look up and realize you've missed your last two scheduled posts! Thought I would share my blog post for the Credit Union Times after the big credit union Governmental Affairs Conference that happened in late February / early March. Embedded in this blog are my thoughts on how the credit union industry needs to keep moving forward and do something today. There's a message even for those not in the credit union or financial services industry. Like many businesses, it's easy for us to hope things get back to normal in financial services. The reality from my perspective is that we are in the new normal and our ability to succeed is dependent on our ability to navigate the waters of change while keeping our focus on the vision. http://www.cutimes.com/2011/03/15/again-now-is-the-time-to-re-evaluate-product-poten Happy rea...