By James M. Warren

As a credit union CEO for 20 years, I can emphatically say that having the right volunteers and providing them with ongoing training is a critical element of the success of every credit union. It helps each director live up to their potential and funnel the expertise they bring from other industries to best serve the members.

By Kim Sponem

By Lisa Hochgraf

I got a big surprise a few weeks back when I got a PDF press release from a credit union public relations person. Since I was interested in the content of the release, I wrote back, asking for the release in Word, which I find easier to copy and paste into my electronic ideas files. (I also find Word files more editable if I'm directly using the release in one of CUES' publications.)

The PR person granted my request, but surprised me by writing back: "Typically we release them in PDF format so they're uneditable."

By Barb Kachelski, CAE

"How could the designers of the World Trade Center be so stupid?" was my persistent thought when I listened to Chief Richard Picciotto.

By Theresa Witham

Last Monday we published 2010’s top 10 most-read articles on cumanagement.org. Not surprisingly, the top article was about the NCUA assessment. Compliance was also popular, showing up in a couple of spots, as was leadership.

But we had many outstanding articles that didn’t make the list. It was, after all, the top 10 not the top 300.

By Barb Kachelski, CAE

We all make mistakes. A common reaction is to "put the mistake behind you and move on."

This reaction would be a mistake, in the eyes of Joseph Hallinan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Why We Make Mistakes.

by C.J. Stevenson

There's been much hoopla about the final rule for credit union directors. I've had friends and colleagues sending me emails with messages from professional development providers--both for-profit companies and associations--touting their solutions to the newly formalized rules regarding credit union directors' fiduciary duties and financial literacy. One question: why now? 

In the past few weeks, I've heard of credit unions blocking their employees from Google as well as url shorteners (tinyurl, bit.ly, etc.). While I understand the need for some boundaries for the safety of the credit union's hardware and keeping my money safe, I was surprised at the black and white thought process--punishing all for the bad habits of a few. But it has me wondering: What's the craziest thing your IT department blocks?

By Henry Wirz

By Tom Randle, CCE

According to WOCCU, at the peak in 1969, there were 23,900 U.S. credit unions. Today, roughly a third remain—and mergers reduce the ranks almost daily.