By Lisa Hochgraf
When Bonnie Raitt sings the line, "Let's give them something to talk about," she surely doesn't mean that the something discussed will be good companies and their characteristics.
But check this out.
Recently, Dianne Ballesteros, CUES' director of member relations, came back from visiting a CUES member who recommended the book Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham, because she believes (as I do) that credit unions are perfectly poised to be small giants.
I got a copy and skimmed it yesterday afternoon to see if there were any great ideas for a story about growth I've been considering for Credit Union Management magazine. But it turned out that wasn't all the book was good for.
Last night my husband returned from a consulting business trip--a visit to one of his client's vendors in New Jersey. He was all excited about just how small this vendor's factory was, how great the products were, how diverse its workforce was, and how clear of purpose its CEO was.
Well, let's just say those features mirrored the characteristics of small giants described by Burlingham in his book. Because of my reading, my husband and I had something extra to talk about.
On CUES Net recently, the discussion included a thread about CUES members' "reading programs" for staff. These included a monthly Breakfast Club, a coupon for any book, and providing the same book to all staff members.
When was the last time you gave staff "something to talk about"? What books would you choose to help you facilitate a dialog?
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
Learn more about the CUES Net members-only listserve and other benefits of CUES membership.
