By Lisa Hochgraf

People often ask how I manage to get up at 5:45 a.m. at least once a week to go swim laps. The answer is simple: "It makes my life better." By improving both my mood for the day and my sleep for the night, my regular early morning swims make me a more capable editor (and parent).

By Theresa Witham

Each August, I have the great pleasure of reading and editing profiles of the CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec Top 15 Finalists. These 35-and-under CU employees are a diverse bunch, but they all have a passion for their work and the industry. Reading the profiles, I feel inspired and energized. And I am frequently impressed by each finalist’s well-thought-out credit union project.

By Fred Arnold

If you’re hoping to dramatically increase your mortgage origination production, you’re going to have to look at your efforts in an entirely new way.

By Theresa Witham

I watch a lot of competitive cooking shows. On them, the chefs frequently talk about elevating a dish—for example, taking mac and cheese and elevating it to a gourmet level. I personally enjoyed the nacho challenge on a recent show. Who would think that nachos could be elevated? They seem pretty darn perfect already. But I have to admit the successful chefs were able to recreate nachos into something even more interesting.

By Karen Hodgkiss

Benchmarking against other similar institutions can be an excellent reality check for any business. Credit unions that regularly compare their results to others can capitalize on strengths, shore up weaknesses and indentify potential opportunity and pitfalls that may be on the horizon.

By Theresa Witham

By Dan Kaiser

Sponsored by CUNA Mutual Group.

I came across an interesting stat the other day and had an enlightening conversation soon after. I’ll get to the conversation in a bit, but first the stat:

By Erin Templer

By Karen Hodgkiss