Musings from the CU Suite

Sep 25, 2019

Planes, Armor and Survivorship Bias

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

My boss, Dan Berger, shared the following post on LinkedIn.  I love history, so the story caught my eye. And I wondered - how many lives did this gentleman save?

Awesome

If you want more information, here's a nice story about Mr. Wald and his memo. 

As usual, it got me thinking. Any time you look at something, you are seeing the "survivors." 

  • At a NAFCU conference, you see the people that choose to be there. Not the ones that chose not to come.
  • Perhaps at your branches, you are seeing the folks that want to come into your branch. But not those that left because of the lack of parking. The hours. Or those that would rather use mobile.
  • For loans, the completed applications come from those that made it through the process. How many didn't? Or were turned away due to friction? Or because they didn't think they were eligible to join? Or didn't know you exist?

So often, we focus on the choir. Those that are sitting in the front pew. What can we do to make them more comfortable? To reinforce what they want? But what about those that don't attend? 

How do you measure them? 

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.

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