Acedia
I started reading a book awhile ago by Kathleen Norris called Acedia & Me. She expands and defines in terms of our modern day what acedia is. It has been often understood as spiritual sloth. What it means to most would be the serious malady of being unable to care. After Christmas this seems to be something we all are aware of.
Acedia has a clinical cousin called depression. Norris traces acedia’s path through history to expose the damage to not only our own lives but also to our culture as we become desensitized by never ending distractions and our loss to care about anything that is really important. She finds that “restless boredom, frantic escapism, commitment phobia and enervating despair” that we have problems with today are “the ancient demon of acedia in modern dress.“
This is not a new concept. It is first encountered in the 4th century by the Christian monk Evagrius Ponticus. This is what makes the challenge so interesting. How can a 1600 year old concept be so relative in today’s world? We are so enamoured in the newness of the modern age that our view of history and what it has to offer is so easily forgotten. We should realize that the paths we currently walk are not always ‘new’ but sometimes very worn with previous travellers.
What happens when you hang around a water cooler
Coming back from the CU Water Cooler Symposium in Indianapolis on Saturday I began to try to piece everything together. If you have never attended, it is an event that really stretches your outlook on what the credit union movement means to so many different people.
There was an underlying theme that we needed to pay attention to our membership and move away from the constant rehearsal of paying attention to ourselves. The culture of each credit union should be directed by the board who are representatives of our membership. That being the case our cultures are dictated by our members. We need to be inclusive but not necessarily homogeneous. We include everyone in a common bond but that doesn’t make us ‘all things to all people all of the time’. And in this lies the difficulty.
By having a common bond it made credit unions easier to be part of the free market system. Are those that use credit unions understanding that a free market association creates challenges for us to remain a financial community of sorts. If they are only there for the “free chequing” what does it matter that credit unions have a social conscience?
The Symposium allows everyone to think and discuss issues that are relevant today and tomorrow. But we tend to get bogged down in the ‘good old days’ stuff and need those dialogues to bring us forward, screaming and kicking, into the future. The credit union I work for supports this event because this is one of the few remaining places where we can discuss the emerging culture of credit unions. We can begin to formulate what this will look like.
We do need a Manifesto or Accord sometimes when the dust settles. I would offer a few points.
1. The movement needs to reconcile that it is multi-generational. All contribute to the end result.
2. Credit Unions are formed with many dimensions. It is not all marketing, not all management, not specific to one domain. We are defining a new language for what we are and what we do. That takes time.
3. We are generalists that have been formed from exceptions not norms.
So just wait until next year when we go at it again.
Finally, Paris
We arrived Saturday night and spent an hour or so lost in Montmatre trying to find the parking garage. Being in the backseat and not driving made the incident stress free.
Yesterday was spent walking around the Sacré-Coeur Church along with a lot of tourists. On the way back there was an organ grinder in one of the squares. He pushed through this long folded cardboard sheet as he wound the handle which produced the most wonderful sound and music. It must have taken a lot of effort to keep that wind going in the small bellows to get the accordion like sound. But the notes were many and the pieces complicated which made it so interesting.
After supper (Normandy Brie, paté, fresh bread, proscuitto, etc.) we walked around the Cimetiere de Montmartre and ended up having crêpes Grand Mariner and Noisette. Of course we sat there for over an hour watching everyone.
Paris is a city of people, history and of course food. You can’t help but be amazed at the selection in the stores. Being in an apartment gives us the advantage of buying and trying out everything we can see. And this morning just after 10:00 am the church bells were ringing. Sacré-Cour has one of the heaviest bells in the world. The bell itself weighs 18.5 tons and the clapper 1,900 lbs.
Glasgow – Day 1
We got into our hotel room yesterday in the late afternoon and slept for a bit. It was 29 hours door to door and doesn’t get easier it seems. The weather was perfect for a walk into town to get supper. We took the pathway along the river into the middle of town and ended up eating at one of the oldest restaurants in Glasgow called Rogano. The menu looked good and we both had plaice (which is a right-eyed flounder). It is a common dish in Denmark and I haven’t had it for years. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t fresh. For what it lacked the Guinness made up for. The walk back was in the dusk and it was beautiful.
This morning we had a great buffet breakfast and I got to try the black pudding, haggis and square sausage. All of it wasn’t bad but with the haggis it must be an acquired taste. After breakfast we registered and signed up for a credit union visit on Tuessday to Dalmuir Credit Union. We noticed that we are getting a ‘wee dram’ at the end of the visit. Tonight is WOCCU’s grand opening and reception.
Weekendavisen, 10 Jun 2011. Page12
Weekendavisen
10 Jun 2011
An extremely interesting letter from Barry Neville.
This years Northern Voice 2011 poster
Every year since the start of Northern Voice, the credit union I work for has been part of a group of people and businesess that volunteer and sponsor the event. We’ve been doing it for 7 years and attending the two day conference has always been interesting.
As part of the event we contribute buttons and a poster which has been done by my son (an artist who lives in Copenhagen). A few months before the event we kick around various ideas of what it should look like. This year’s poster has a bit of a story around it.
Derek Miller (Penmachine) has always voiced how much he liked the posters and has contributed ideas of what they should look like. I wrote him back in March asking him for input. He sent a short email with some neat ideas that went off to Copenhagen. Just before we went to print the news came of Derek’s passing away. It was a sad moment to hear that. We never told anyone until now that at the last moment the poster was changed to add some small print on the boat which reads “In memory of Derek”.
In some ways those two characters in the boat express how when we receive news of someone’s death it shapes us — we look forward and we look backward at a point when we really can’t move at all.
A trust fund has been setup for the Miller family by our good friends at Vancity Savings Credit Union
What happens when employees YouTube the boss
I really didn’t think the social media bunch at the credit union would actually go ahead and produce a video about me, but they did. It is humbling to say the least. But beyond the clip it got me thinking — would this have happened 25 year ago? Would it be allowed to happen now in certain credit unions or businesses?
The transparency, or whatever you want to call it, of social media has made some significant changes in various stratas of society and definitely between various demographics of the citizenry. It has a “no prisoners” approach and no matter how much some would love to stuff the Genie back in the bottle it doesn’t look like it will be returning to the old way anytime soon. This morning the Globe and Mail had an article on how the TV networks and cable companies were complaining about Netflix and that they were not contributing to Canadian content. These were the same guys that were trying a year ago to get out of paying for Canadian content and now they use it as a means to try and stop Netflix. They forget to realize that Netflix offers something they don’t – complete choice of what to watch and when to watch it.
Being part of a financial cooperative that creates a culture that gives staff the ability to produce a clip about their boss for the world to see is extremely satisfying. We can talk about transparency, openess, relationships, empowerment or whatever buzz word you want, the fact remains, people have to be able to do something they see as positive, fun, and an extension of what they do in their everyday lives at work. That’s regenerative. That’s intentional. That’s socially responsible and sustainable. That is this new world emerging as we speak. The byproducts are a healthy and well run credit union.
Thanks gang. And by the way I do leave the toilet seat down. Leaving it up is nothing more than a freudian slip.
When credit unions change their names
First and foremost this entry is not meant to offend any credit union. What a credit union chooses is their domain, not mine.
In a recent issue of Business in Vancouver (a weekly business journal produced in Vancouver B.C.) there is a section titled ‘Hats Off’ which lists donations by various businesses to worthy charities. This week caught my eye. Listed were three credit unions. But to the untrained eye they were not ‘credit unions’ they were ‘Financial’, ‘Savings’ and ‘Financial Group’. So what happened here?
In the Lower Mainland of B.C. are a large number of very large credit unions. In fact the total of these large credit unions amounts to an excess of 60% of the total deposits for all credit unions in the province of B.C. It runs into the billions of dollars. The competition is fierce amongst all financial institutions and there is this marketing mantra that says any FI needs to differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace. That mantra has carried into the credit union system by pushing some credit unions to have their names presented in the public arena sans ‘credit union’. This supposedly is the way to be different.
The problem that I see is even if I am not a member of a credit union I do have some remote idea of what it is. But do I know what a ‘Financial’, a ‘Savings’ or a ‘Financial Group’ is? That is even more confusing.
I would ask any group of credit unions to consider what they would do in a similar position. Would you keep ‘credit union’ or drop it? It seems once you drop it you become something entirely different. Don’t ask me what, because as noted, it becomes confusing.
It’s magic!
One of my favourite people in the credit union movement is Denise. She works for the Credit Union Association of New Mexico and has been associated with credit unions for years. Denise tells it like it is.
Her blog post today does just that. When I began reading it proved interesting from the fact that the 4 minute mile was a record broken in Vancouver during the Empire Games in the ’50s. There was a bronze statue commemorating the run erected at the site and as a kid you always wondered about how magical that moment was. Back then those types of events didn’t seem to happen as often as today so they always seemed magical.
The blog post points to something similar. But many, instead of experiencing that magical moment, will begin to sense a moment of dread. The key to exist as a business in this world is to be aware and be nimble. If you aren’t good at keeping your balance with the winds of change you’ll end up falling a lot. And getting up gets harder to do. Being aware and nimble should give you your greatest advantage which is the use of time. The new iPhone and possible iTunes payment system isn’t hard to see as a concrete possibility. It will be used but it won’t have everything that people will want. Those FIs that understand that and are prepared for change will find they will continue to exist.
I tend to see technology as pure technique. This is just another refined technique to be aware of and to see as a possibility to play to. Don’t forget ‘magic’ is a noun, adjective and verb.
One of my favourite Twitter features
One feature of Twitter that I have been using extensively and find very useful is to ‘favourite’ a Tweet. (whoops – for all those down south ‘favorite’). Depending on the program you are using to get your Twitter feed, ‘favouriting’ a Tweet is usually very easy. With the constantly expanding number of people that you follow you need some way of following up those URLs that are being given. You wouldn’t be following them if they weren’t right? I have 2,877 favourites at this point and they give me a huge resource to followup whenever I get a few minutes. Anything that is valuable gets moved to Evernote for future reference. (Evernote use is another story). If you have an iPhone or iPad then the movement and view of resources is ubiquitous. Any place, any time. A very good learning experience.
Expectations of the CU Water Cooler Symposium
Next week CU Water Cooler Symposium happens in Fishers, Indiana. This symposium has its roots in the Forum Solution Symposium of the past. For me it had been one of the best events in credit union land and next Thursday this new hybrid should establish the CU Water Cooler Symposium as one of the best symposiums ever.
Before anyone attends anything they have probably weighed what it costs versus what they would come to expect from going. Compared to most events here in Canada this event is a bargain. The list of speakers shows people who are working experts and the topics which are near and dear to their hearts. There is no official ‘theme’ but the speakers topics display a large variety of what will presented. How the speakers were chosen, the t-shirt contest, to the type of name tags to be used, shows an open and very workable approach to getting something like this going.
So here are a few of my personal expectations.
- To be able to re-connect with colleagues. There are a number of people going who I haven’t seen for a few years. Even though you know key events in their lives from twitter, facebook and blogs it is always neat to re-connect face to face.
- Finally being able to put a face and a voice to some avatar on Twitter. You follow people for years and now you actually get to meet them!
- Hearing some non-mainstream speakers. Just being able to hear new voices and pertinent topics for a change. So many conferences are almost mainstream in making sure the speakers are vocalizing the ‘flavour of the month’.
- The debates. If the past is any indication, there should be some lively discussions around just about anything credit union related.
- Social media is in everyone’s mind and it will be interesting to see where everyone is at, beginner, experience or expert.
- The last and probably most important. To learn, learn and learn. I never hurts to go with an open mind and act like a sponge.
And don’t forget to make your own name tag!
Work exemption
So what happens when you start a month long holiday? You begin a long list of things that you want to do. This list proceeds to be longer than one page and seems to grow like a bad fungus. One the second day of your holiday you realize something. You are using typical work processes, such as lists, to begin to define the time you will spend on a series of supposed important events. You question yourself as to why are you doing this. This is a holiday. It is meant to be something that isn’t work.
Here is one of the OED’s definition for holiday:
- a. A day on which ordinary occupations (of an individual or a community) are suspended; a day of exemption or cessation from work; a day of festivity, recreation, or amusement.
That said, how many of us can quickly flick on the ‘no work’ switch? It seems to me we are creatures of habit and when you are constantly refining your scope of work for a year you tend to get habitual in what you do. The question will now be how long will it take me to move from these structured work patterns to one of ease and serendipity. (Even that question has the attribute of a business decision – how long?).
Then there is the defining moment. Does it really matter? Time for another coffee. It’s work exemption day!
Basic fundamentals
My good friend Morris over at everythingcu.com cc’ed a tweet to me about a discussion they were having about CUs and Cooperatives. I was reading it and didn’t think there was much to say until someone writes from the viewpoint that “we need to make money”. That led me to respond.
It does seem a little crazy that whenever the topic of the 7 cooperative principles is brought to light, people will point to what they see as the greatest need – ”to make money” and neglect what the real debate is about. It is like someone asking how you are today and your first statement is “I need to breathe”. Of course we need to breathe but does that end the discussion?
Here is the post.
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