“You rarely hear someone say they love their bank. When it’s a credit union, you hear it a lot. Here’s why.”
In his newest book, The Credit Union Way, author Lee Silber brings together credit union leaders from across the country to share defining stories from their careers and meaningful interactions with members, when their credit unions made a real impact. Inspired by the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, the book is a compilation of authors and viewpoints featuring nearly 30 credit unions and credit union advocacy groups.
In his introduction, Silber notes that he hopes the book will not only help spread the word of credit unions but also reaffirm those in the credit union world of their choice through heartwarming testimonials, and it certainly delivers in that aspect. Chock-full of feel-good and inspirational credit union moments, The Credit Union Way highlights the credit union difference and exactly how credit unions are living that out each day.
From Pearl Hawaii Federal Credit Union’s story about going the extra mile for a member whose husband was about to pass, solving her legal troubles and saving her thousands in lawyer fees, to WESTconsin Credit Union’s story of saving a member from a 203% interest rate and helping them get out of debt, to Silber’s own tales of his time in the indsutry, The Credit Union Way is a great reminder of why we do what we do, and that is something our movement definitely needs a good dose of these days.
A refocusing on what matters
In our modern credit union landscape, much of our dialogue is directed towards mergers, growth strategies, and revenue. The industry is focused on becoming larger—both in members and asset size. Many have started wondering if our movement was losing sight of its original purpose and morphing into a financial services industry not unlike the rest.
But if credit unions have lost their way, then the Credit Union Way serves as a fantastic reminder to credit unions about what exactly our “way” is meant to be, and how we can get back to our roots: not by focusing on revenue and maximizing fee income, but by supporting members through the good and bad. Those small and simple interactions can make all the difference to a member and define our movement.
Lee Silber
Telling the credit union story
With The Credit Union Way, Silber does something amazing in that he manages to bring credit union advocates together to tell these tales. Advocating for our industry through storytelling is critically important, but it’s also something we struggle with the most, as credit unions hate to brag about their good deeds.
Credit union stories need to be shared, not only to keep our movement’s purpose at the front of our minds, but to keep a record of our industry’s impact. Our silence won’t bring people to the movement or support advocacy work. The Credit Union Way is a shining example of how we, as an industry, can begin to tell our tales.
Silber closes the book with this final thought: “There are thousands of credit union stories out there to share, and this book is just the beginning.” It’s our job to make sure The Credit Union Way truly is just the start of our storytelling work.
