Hi, Everyone!
Many years ago, when I was just starting my business, I became aware of and very impressed by the unique mind and powerful writing of Edward A. Filene, pioneer of the American credit union movement. How I came to own this book, I simply cannot recall. After having misplaced it in years gone by, I went on the hunt for it in light of recent reports of the catastrophic decline in credit union member satisfaction, hoping to find some gems of wisdom that I could share with our clients, my readers and the credit union industry in general.
Today, I found it!
Published in 1938 (shortly after his death), Filene titled it himself: Speaking of Change.1 Few today realize the extent of the influence he had on America! Edward Filene was a businessman, innovator and philanthropist — who started as a diligent and responsible son, setting aside his personal dream of attending Harvard University so that he could take over his family’s business (Filene’s Department Store) after his father’s death. Although never attending Harvard was one of his life’s greatest regrets, the opportunities he had to positively impact customer service and employee satisfaction revolutionized the industry.
Filene was self-taught and a genius at “finding things which must be done” that were hidden to other business leaders of his time – especially things that require immediate action: “Although not a polished speaker… this ‘shopkeeper,’ without any background of academic education, has frequently set great audiences, especially of university undergraduates, on fire. Yet he doesn’t preach…He does it by talking business, in terms of changes now in progress, and unveiling for them the ‘better world’ which must inevitably arrive when those in control of business once act upon the business facts.”
I like this guy!
The opportunities he had to positively impact customer service and employee satisfaction revolutionized the industry.
While the credit union industry of today owes its very existence to Edward Filene, I am concerned that his name and many of the mission-critical lessons he taught have been lost. Now more than ever, it’s time for credit unions to remember what made them different and HOW that difference will lead them to becoming a powerful industry in a saturated financial services space.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing many of Filene’s most valuable lessons — those things seemingly “hidden to business leaders” today. I’ll bring to light how those hidden lessons are even more valuable today for you and your credit union’s future in terms of influence, market share, and growth. But that future will not come into being without careful and thoughtful action to engage, understand, and respond to the consumer mindset. The change to a “better world” demands attention to the facts about how you are being perceived, as unpleasant as they may be.
