I recently tuned in to Nala Henkel’s first Cuckoo Podcast and was surprised to hear her speaking to her 13 year-old daughter about the financial institution that her daughter was considering. Come to find out, she wanted to join this particular FI because of the color of their debit card… I read a lot of blogs and see many in the CU industry talking about what products and services we can offer to differentiate ourselves, define our niche, be the preferred financial institution…you get the picture. Now one thing I haven’t seen (maybe I am not reading the right blogs), is how organizations are making product decisions based on “how cool their debit card looks to a 13 year old” (this is Gen Y folks!)… This teen didn’t care what the bank offered, just that she could use the debit card and that it looked cool when she was with her friends. Something to think about…

For Better Banking, Check Out a Credit Union written by Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal. Some great stuff in the article and credit unions are grateful for the coverage. One suggestion that credit unions should consider – developing a better web site for readers and potential members to check out the concept of credit unions and/or to find a credit union. In my opinion the creditunion.coop website is lacking the image and substance we want to portray when we get such national coverage.

I’ll be finishing up a soda provided at the refreshment break of the Partnership Symposium and getting ready to engage in the event’s first ever Idea eXchange. The cool thing is that the participants actually get to do the talking…Don’t get me wrong, a conversation line up including a Warrior, a Skeptic and someone excited enough in today’s economy to talk about the joys of being Young and Free in the same context is truly some exciting stuff; however, talking with bloggers, speakers, credit union space veterans and novices alike about topics of interest in today’s world is pretty exciting too. So, will you be there with us to engage in the conversation? Space is still available to sign up for this year’s Symposium so click the link to register and be thinking about what you are looking forward to trading info on at this year’s Idea eXchange…(note: even if talking isn’t your thing, just wait until you see what is happening at Dinner on Wednesday…Guitar Hero and Rock Band return with a night of fun, games and good conversation…with a little bit of Oktoberfest, FORUM Solutions style.)

See you in October…

A few years ago CUES published a report with the help of Decision Strategies International entitled 2010 Scenarios for Credit Unions. If you can get a copy, I highly recommend reading it. One of the scenarios involved rampant disintermediation of financial services. Or in other words unbundling (unlike the cable and telco companies are trying to do with their services) of services to best of breed providers. I believe we are on the cusp of this in the financial services world with more and more non-traditional financial companies entering the financial services arena with unique and compelling services. Might I say, unique and compelling services that can make the financial lives of consumers easier. Last week, I was reading my Springwise trend spotting email and there was another fine example in Facecard. An offering directly targeted to young consumers. You might want to check out their YouTube videos. I am hoping Jim Bruene does a review on Facecard. Something to think about as you enter your 2009 planning sessions.

I was reading the July edition of the Callahan’s Credit Union Report and there on page 6 was a great credit union friend of mine, Diana Dykstra – CEO at San Francisco Fire Credit Union, with a piece she wrote on an idea she has – Member Capital Accounts. First, a little story about Diana one of the smartest and most innovative people I know in any industry. Eighteen years ago I was a young whipper-snapper just in my second year at the credit union and out of college. I was trying to learn all I could about consumer lending and Diana was frequently in the credit union trade publications with fresh ideas and talking about the success she was creating as the person in charge of lending at Golden 1 Credit Union. Well, I had an upcoming conference in San Jose that I was attending and not being the bashful type I called her up and asked if I could stop by for a visit to meet her and see what I could learn from her. I didn’t expect this busy executive and credit union icon to say “yes” to my request. Well, was I wrong. She said come on out and then proceeded to spend an entire day with me answering my every question. Wow, what an experience that I haven’t forgotten about to this day. She continues to amaze me with her leadership and her innovation. Now, back to the article and another great Diana idea.

I am a loyal Fast Company reader and I am talking cover to cover reader and the magazine comes to the house instead of the workplace. Read a lot of stuff on the Internet and in electronic format, but something about Fast Company makes me want to read the paper version. In this month’s issue on page 80 is Matt Davis, aka the CU Warrior, with his what are you saving for program. Love it. Have been waiting for a credit union innovation to be featured in these pages and Matt delivered. Oh and by the way, the CU Warrior will be hosting a session at our symposium – just another reason to come to Indy on October 1-2. Bring your magazine and I am betting he will sign it.

Each week I read the Indianapolis Business Journal and I have been following the start-up ventures of personal financial management offerings like Mint. The two intersected last week as I read the August 4-10 edition of the IBJ and specifically Jim Cota’s review of Mint. It is a solid review and like many Mint users Jim was impressed. The only thing that I wish Jim would have pointed out is Mint’s revenue model. The fact Mint earns revenue from financial service providers that make offers via recommendations in Mint should be fully disclosed. Users should understand this as they sort through the offers. Yes, they might getting a better deal than what they have which is a good thing. You just have to wonder if they are getting the best deal they could or if all of the offers are in the consumer’s best interest?

Here is a post on the NACUSO blog regarding a conversation I had with Jim Jerving earlier this week. I am not an expert on the topic of innovation – just trying to add value to our members here at FORUM – anyway I can. I invite you to join the conversation – we all need to get better in serving our members – our future depends on it.