Lead, follow...or Get out of the Way!

Greetings...

The turn of the calendar as we near mid-year...that always brings questions of "where are we" and "are we on course?"... both questions generate the need for a leader to answer. The time to enact change and lead a course correction is now!

Leaders can either be born or created...and great situations create great leaders.  Times or war, internal conflict, economic challenge or simply product maturity all create situations that leaders must prevail if the company is to prevail.  Leaders are ones that are willing to make the hard decisions, ask the tough questions but more importantly they are the ones that get everyone to rally together and great momentum forward.  Is that you?

The one great question to ask of yourself?   Here it is...

Five Qualities of an Effective Leader

Barry Overstreet outlined several qualities that all leaders posses, a few of the most important are:

• Vision- A leader is able to see where they’re headed far into the future.  They stay laser-focused on that vision.
• Attitude- Leaders maintain a positive attitude.  They realize life happens, but they don’t let the bad or negative things affect them long-term.
• Passion- Leaders bring excitement, passion, and intensity to whatever task they devote their time to.
• Servant Mentality- Leaders understand that to get what they want out of business and life, they have to meet others needs and help them to be successful first.
• Perseverance- Leaders don’t quit. Ever. They latch on to their vision and don’t let any obstacle get in their way.  They live by the theory that a failure is simply one step closer to success, and that you just have to get up one more time than you fall down.

Your question for a Monday morning...ready to step up?  Ready to lead?  Ready to make a difference?

Your organization is calling...answer the call!

Cheers...

Bruce

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Embrace the change

I've been around since the early days of Facebook. I've watched it go from a network of fellow college students into a network of well, everything and everybody. It's undergone lots of changes and every time they change anything I read a lot of "I hate this new facebook" or "I want the old facebook back." But a few months later, people get used to it and even begin to like it. Currently, this rings true for Facebook Timeline.

Now all pages have been switched over to Timeline, it may be time for you to explore some benefits your business page will have in this new format. I'll highlight my 3 favorite aspects:

1) The Cover Photo

Talk about real estate for branding. Instead of one tiny photo in the corner, you now have an 851x315 pixel area to showcase your company. As a visual person, I absolutely love this feature. It's like a free billboard dedicated just to you. Visit the pages of other businesses to see what they're doing. A few of my favorites include Folgers Coffee and Old Spice. Remember though, Facebook says you're not supposed to place calls to action or promotions in this space.

2) Profile Picture

No need to just have a logo anymore. This is another great place to get creative. Have the profile picture mesh with the cover photo, or have it contrast with the cover as a way to add visual interest. Think about your audience and your brand because this is the image that will show up on the newsfeed.

3) Pin a Post

Tired of your message getting buried in the Facebook listing? Well fret no more, you can now "pin" a post to the top of your timeline where it will stay. This is a great place to showcase promotions, contests or other calls to action. You can keep it there for up to 7 days at a time and you are now sure that everyone who visits your page will see that message.

These are just 3 of the many benefits of Timeline, so explore, research and most of all embrace the change. It's good for business.

Until next time,

Gail

Change is the Word

If there’s one word that can sum up 2008, it might be “Change.”

Not only was it the steadfast motto that helped to win a historic presidential election, but it also is inherent in so much of our industry.

Now, it would be easy to talk about the change in the government’s increased roll in banking or the change in how mortgages are looked at.  But, let’s be honest … those topic have been beat to death.

What may be the most important change to anyone who’s reading this blog is the change in consumers PERCEPTIONS of the banking industry.

When I was a credit union marketing VP, I preached to management and my Board that consumers only wanted good acces to their money, a good deal and for the staff to smile at them occasionally … they did NOT, in my opinion and in very general terms, care about our involvement in the community or in the not-for-profit “credit union difference.”

I’m not saying that I was wrong – because I wasn’t – but times have changed.

With buzz phrases like “golden parachutes,” “sub-prime lending,” “predatory lending,” and “bail out” flying around, it is no wonder that the country’s perception of banking has changed … particularly BIG BANKING.

If you’re a credit union – the “not-for-profit” message will differentiate now.  If you’re a community bank, the “good neighbor” message will strike a cord.  In short, we should get back to the fundamentals and directly address this change in perception.  Are your bank’s decisions made locally with the customer’s and community’s best interest in mind?  Now consumers will care.  Have you helped local small business to start and flourish?  Now consumers may listen.

In short, CHANGE IS GOOD.  And as small to mid-sized financial institutions, we should not only embrace it, but capitalize on it.

Take care,

Eric