CUES Podcast

The U.S. economy may soon be poised for takeoff, according to Dan Berger, our guest on episode 113 of the CUES Podcast. The efforts of credit unions to serve members at a time of need will continue to be a key factor, says Berger, president/CEO of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions , Washington, D.C. “I think that we got some more stuff to get through in 2021 in regards to...

Governments around the world have spent more than $14 trillion to try to offset the economic damage of the pandemic, says Bryan Yu, in the latest episode of the CUES Podcast. “In Canada, I think we moved pretty quick,” says Yu, director and chief economist with Central 1 in Vancouver, British Columbia, which leverages its scale, strength and expertise to power progress for more than 250 credit uni...

As is always true with the economy, there is both good and bad news at once. On episode 111 of the CUES Podcast, Steve Rick says some of the good news is that the jobless rate has dropped back to a rate of 6.3%, after spiking to 14.7% at the height of the pandemic shutdown last year. Director and chief economist at CUESolutions Platinum provider for executive benefits CUNA Mutual Group , Madison,...

“For some reason, people just love pineapples,” says Bolun Li in this episode of the CUES Podcast. As a result, pineapple emojis are the points in Zogo , the gamified smartphone app that Li co-launched in 2019 to better teach personal finance to members of Gen Z. CEO of CUES Supplier member Zogo Finance , the sponsor of this show, Li says that pineapples tested extremely well during the app’s deve...

There’s a growing trend of credit unions hiring chief diversity officers, says Renee Sattiewhite, CUDE, CDP, president/CEO of the African American Credit Union Coalition . “It is amazing that so many credit unions are calling or asking about what should they do, what should they be looking for,” Sattiewhite says in this episode. “I’m happy to report that the credit unions that are larger are doing...

When people join a board, they don't always get the opportunity to understand what exactly the job entails—and what a board is really for, says Matt Fullbrook in this show. Manager of the David and Sharon Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation at the University of Toronto and a board effectiveness researcher and consultant for Fullbrook Board Effectiveness , Fullbrook says provid...

It’s interesting that as the unpredicted, unprecedented year of 2020 was closing, Rodney E. Hood identifies this quote as a professional mantra he lives by: “Proper preparation and planning can prevent poor performance.” Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board, Hood says in this show, taped Dec. 8, that this quote he learned in high school helps him remember to always put his be...

What does it mean to be CEO-ready? How can candidates know when they’re ready? How can boards know a candidate is ready for the top slot? Some key things candidates should have if they’re really ready to lead an organization include a deep understanding of cross-functional leadership, solid knowledge of the business and how to work with people; and experience with effective board governance, expla...

The pandemic came to the fore while CUES and Industry Insights were fielding this year’s compensation and salary surveys. But fortunately, great data was still collected that can form an excellent foundation for credit unions making decisions about executive compensation and staff salaries. “It provides us a great base for moving forward, for understanding the true impact of COVID, says Michael Be...

Even before the pandemic, credit unions were the most empathetic collectors around. While credit unions clearly need members to pay their loans and credit cards, they have always approached collections with an eye for helping the member through financial difficulty and educating them about personal finance. Enter the pandemic and many members were suddenly unemployed. Credit unions were on the fin...

Laurie Maddalena’s vision is to create a place where people love to come to work. Gallup has found in its most recent workforce study, she says, that only about 34% of American employees feel engaged at work. “Most people don’t enjoy their work and I think a lot of that has to do with leadership, the quality of leadership we have in our organizations,” says Maddalena, CEO of Envision Excellence ,...

In the Tampa Bay, Florida, region, migration from Spanish-speaking countries has increased more than 200% in the last two decades and that number continues to rise, creating social and economic change in the area, according to Lindsey Walker, executive assistant with $259 million/32,000-member Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, Tampa Bay, Florida, and the 2020 CUES Emerging Leader , the first-ever wi...

In this show, Patrick Donohue tells the story about going to Home Depot to buy a power drill. He emphasizes that he didn’t really want a power drill. But rather he wanted to make a hole in his wall. And actually, his purpose wasn’t truly the hole. Instead it was to install his family’s new Ring doorbell . At bottom, it wasn’t that Donohue wanted to buy a power drill. It was his wife who wanted a b...

For this milestone episode, CUES Podcast listeners submitted their questions for experts to answer. So instead of featuring one or two experts, this show features seven! Instead of being centered on just one idea, this show covers three areas of major interest to credit unions and their leaders: reopening physical branches in light of the pandemic, reaching and engaging young members, and the futu...

In the best of times, it’s a big job for leaders to demonstrate the kind of empathy that builds trust with their followers. Showing the kind of empathy that builds trust is even harder in this era of remote work and social distancing brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, says episode 99 guest Sean Martin , Ph. D., associate professor of business administration at the Darden School of Business at th...

The pandemic has accelerated trends that have long been underway, including consumer adoption of mobile services. That means that credit union leaders need to shift their thinking, possibly shifting their strategy for meeting and supporting digital demand. “In order for them to manage and go forward with their physical and digital relationships, they’re going to need to change,” Kevin Blair says i...

“The cloud brings a lot to the table when it comes to what you can offer your members,” Steve Comer says in this show. That’s a key reason that credit unions are embracing the use of the cloud these days, explains Comer, director of financial services & insurance sales at Hyland Software Inc . Hyland OnBase is a CUESolutions provider for enterprise information systems and the sponsor of episod...

The job of board liaisons today is multi-faceted and evolving—and it’s a good idea for organizations to foster their development, according to Julia Patrick and Michael G. Daignealt, CCD, in episode 96 of the CUES Podcast. “It really is proving to be a pivotal position, more so than I think a lot of people realize,” says Daigneault, CEO and co-founder of CUES strategic partner for governance, Quan...

In this episode, James Robert Lay tells the story of how the CEO of Tower Records once said that kids “would always” want to come into the stores and listen to music. But Tower Records went out of business in 2006. “Music was digitized,” explains Lay, the author of a new book, Banking on Digital Growth and an instructor for CUES School of Strategic Marketing , slated for September. “We went from t...

It’s OK for credit unions to be strategically planning for growth during these uncertain times, Sarah Szilagyi says during episode 94 of the CUES Podcast. “We as humans as maybe even … as women, we tend to think when we’re in a time of needing to help people, it’s not a time to think about growth or opportunity,” explains Szilagyi, SVP/experience and chief of staff for CUES Supplier member CO-OP F...

Connie Miller recalls an episode of late-night TV when the house band didn’t have a drummer. The host appealed to the audience asking, “Hey, do we have any drummers in the audience?” One man raised his hand, came up on stage, played really well and so launched his career as a professional musician.   “I often wonder how many other drummers were in the audience that talked themselves out of raising...

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act or “SECURE” Act that became law on Dec. 20, 2019, includes “many provisions to encourage employers to adopt new (retirement) plans or enhance their current plans and to provide more savings opportunities for employees,” according to Sharon Severson, CPC, consultant with CUESolutions Platinum provider CUNA Mutual Group , Madison, Wiscons...

 When people think about marketing departments, they often think about a group of people that create ads and brochures. But, according to Amy Herbig, the marketing department is, at its core, the “key communicator” for a credit union. And that is a very central and very important role as credit unions respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Everything that is going on right now is being channeled throu...

When Tim Green first heard—back in January—the news about the spread of COVID-19 overseas, he decided to lead his credit union to prepare for a scenario in which the disease would shut down the whole county where his credit union is located.  He says he thought at the time that if the situation turned out to be less dire, his team would still benefit from the exercise. When Los Angeles County, Cal...

Early on in this show, Nick Coleman explains why he’s passionate about his work as the director of strategic relationships for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals . He also describes the longtime support credit unions have offered CMNH. While those stories alone are compelling enough reasons to listen to this show, this episode of the CUES Podcast also goes on to talk very practically “cause mark...