Nothing is certain (maybe)

They say nothing is certain; there are no sure things. The expectation then is that you can’t count on anything. This can be good or bad, but what people lose sight of is that it’s not about that expectation; it’s how you react when expectations are, or are not, met.

At Freedom, we do our best to set the right budget, hire the right people, approve the good loan, cash the safe check, but as the Scottish Poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley” (the best laid plans often go wrong). Foresight, planning, the best of intentions can all work perfectly or, at times, be in vain and not reap the intended benefit. However, it’s these little hiccups that can also bring out the best in us.

When things don’t go as planned we must have the ability to regroup; to objectively listen to other points of view, heed advice and, as necessary, change opinions, shift priorities or start over. Obviously no one likes to get it wrong, but that does present an opportunity. That’s the key. It’s not about making a mistake, it’s about learning from it and not repeating it.

Monitoring products and processes, evaluating performance, listening to valid feedback isn’t about finding fault. Those things let us build on the positives and isolate the negatives in hopes of becoming better. We will all have occasion to be a mentor and a student, to lead and to follow. We count on each other every day. It is, therefore, the mindset of the individual, the willingness to focus on the good, the desire to improve and motivation to serve others that will drive the ability to switch between such roles and successfully adapt to a changing world. That’s certain.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” — Charles Swindoll

The Importance of We.

Face it, none of us has all the answers. I mean we know stuff, we’re good at stuff, just not everything.That’s what makes collaboration, teamwork, so important. I was watching Star Trek Beyond one night and there was a line spoken by Scotty that went something like, “My wee granny used to say, ye canna’ break a stick in a bundle.You’re part of something bigger now. Don’t you give up on that, because we’ll sure never give up on you.That’s what being part of a crew is all about.” I think that represents the culture we’re building at Freedom.

Obviously if this were a comparison to the Enterprise I would be the dashing Captain Kirk, but more to the point, it would refer to the idea that we embrace our differences and abilities in order to be stronger as a team. We train, we support, we communicate, we evaluate, and we try to make things work until they just won’t and then we try something different. Sometimes we’ve held on to things too long, looked past flawed ideologies, accepted under performance in equipment and people more than we should, but if the “why” for that was because we hadn’t done everything in our power to get things right, then we still held true to that belief in the team. We can be insightful, creative, infuriating, entertaining, surprising, inspirational, confusing (and a dozen other adjectives), but that makes each day a thrilling, challenging and satisfying experience. We are what makes the difference and it’s exciting to think about where we can go and how we will positively impact members and the community.

This goes well beyond meeting needs with financial products and services.It’s about how we provide financial education, volunteer in the community, support charitable causes and continually strive to be a better neighbor. It’s also about how we protect our members and our enterprise (see what I did there?) from the things that would seek to damage our reputation or take advantage of people.This takes more than just one person or department. Because of the abilities of our crew we can raise our shields in defense of our members and boldly become a better business/community partner.

What I’m saying is simply this; in unity there is strength and together we are breakable. Scotty’s quote was based on the following fable by Aesop (a Greek storyteller):

The Bundle of Sticks

An old farmer had three sons who quarreled among themselves from dawn till dusk. One day, the farmer fell gravely ill. Wishing to make peace among his sons before he died, he called them to his bedside and asked them to bring a thick bundle of sticks.

“Can you break these in two?” asked the farmer, handing the sticks to the oldest son.

“Of course!” the young man answered scornfully. But even though he tried until he was red in the face, he couldn’t break the bundle of sticks.

“Why, those sticks are no thicker than my finger,” mocked the second son.

“I could break those sticks like straw,” boasted the third. And they both tried with all their might, but neither could break the bundle of sticks in two.

Then the father drew three sticks from the bundle and handed one to each of his sons. “Can you break them now?” he asked. And they did so easily.

“Let the sticks teach you,” said the father to his sons, “how strong you are when you are allied together, and how easily you can be broken on your own.”

Mike

What’s Your Message?

I was watching TV the other day and a commercial came on for Jolly Rancher Pop Tarts; at least that’s what I think it was. I’m not really sure and I’ll tell you why. It’s the one where three happy-go-lucky Pop Tart “people” jump into a bowl of Jolly Rancher candies. The first one pops up and yells a flavor, the second does the same, but then a lizard pops up holding the bottom quarter of what’s left of the third one. Basically, the lizard ate the Pop Tart “person”. Now here’s the thing; that lizard is holding up a piece of the third Pop Tart “person”….which has a leg dangling from it…AND IT’S TWITCHING! See for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYUFDZjLEu8.

Of course, that’s not the only time you will see inanimate objects given human characteristics (mostly geared towards children). Krave cereal; where little squares with monster like teeth chase pieces of chocolate as they run away screaming as parts of them are being bitten off. Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal where they basically eat each other. What message are these commercials sending? Violence? Cannibalism? And let’s not forget all the commercials geared towards adults. They try to convince us that people buy luxury cars as Christmas presents all the time, only beauty and youth matter, or that the slightest malady deserves a pill despite the side effects of night terrors, depression or various leakage. I know that’s all advertising and the rules, if there are any, are different when trying to convince someone to buy a product. Sometimes the message conveyed in a commercial or marketing piece can be funny, sometimes they can be moving and sometimes you just scratch your head and ask yourself what in the world is going on.

I guess these are successful in one regard. While I never bought the products, I remember them. If you stop and think about it though, we all send messages every day. How we act, what we say, how we do our job, says something about ourselves to anyone watching or with whom we are interacting. It also affords you the opportunity to be remembered. Whether that’s good or bad is entirely up to you. Do you say good morning to people or just grunt? Do you smile and make eye contact or look away? If you’re providing a service do you say things like,“my pleasure”? Do you make people feel appreciated or that they are a burden? There are number of examples I can give, but you get the point. It all comes down to what experience you are creating for the other person; what message you’re sending. You can be the absolute best at what you do, but if your demeanor is contrary to making someone feel valued in the time you spend with them, the experience will not be memorable. Oh, they’ll remember the transaction or the loan, but they won’t remember you; they won’t remember us.

In a world of sensory overload, where choices are abundant; we are the differentiator. We can make a mundane task memorable, we can make a member feel welcome, we can make a coworker feel appreciated, we can make people feel like they matter. The simplest word, subtlest nuance, slightest effort, smallest gesture, can make a huge difference and have a positive impact which, very likely, will be returned to you in kind.

“Some believe that it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I’ve found. I found that it is the small things, every day deeds by ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay” — Gandalf.

Mike