Musings from the CU Suite

Mar 31, 2023

The Line in the Sand; And this week's reading pile

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

Since leaving NAFCU’s Strategic Growth Conference, I’ve been thinking about what makes a credit union excellent.

We talked about culture, technology, marketing, service, strategy and more. But as I’ve thought about it, I keep coming back to a “line in the sand.”

All the great credit unions I saw at the conference had a line in the sand.  A standard. A level of excellence. And they defended that line.

It takes intestinal fortitude. Not everyone will be up to it. People will want to cut corners. But the good shops defend that line and hire people who will join that line of defense.

Now, on to this week’s reading pile.

  • NAFCU-Gallagher Executive Compensation and Benefits Survey closes today. (NAFCU)
  • The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future – and its past. (Vox)
  • Your members are happy because your employees are happy. (eRep)
  • A tale of two housing markets: Prices fall in the west while the east booms. (WSJ)
  • One CUs experiment with a four-day work week. (American Banker)
  • Apple launches BNPL service. (CNN)
  • A slow recovery for the subways. (E21)
  • NAFCU annual awards nominations close May 12. Nominate an awesome CU, CEO, professional or volunteer. (NAFCU)
  • Disney hits the breaks on the metaverse. (FastCo)
  • Employees are growingly unsatisfied with their benefits. (SHRM) As I read it, it isn’t a deterioration of benefits behind the trend, but rather higher employee expectations.

About the Author

Anthony Demangone, Executive Vice President and COO, NAFCU

Anthony Demangone, NCCO is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at NAFCU, where he oversees day-to-day operations and manages the association's education, marketing, membership, human resources, building facilities, finance and information technology functions. He also authors NAFCU's executive blog, Musings from the CU Suite and co-authored "Managing and Leading Well," a book for credit union leaders, with NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger.

Read full bio