Do No Harm

“Primum non nocere” is a Latin phrase that means “first, to do no harm.” It’s a phrase associated with the medical profession; an oath taken by doctors. What if we all took that oath and lived our lives dedicated to not hurting others; essentially eliminating all forms of violence, aggression and abuse. That’s probably a utopia we’ll never see, but we should certainly work towards this ideal and, until that day comes, try and make sure the ones who don’t want to harm outnumber those that do.

There’s another equivalent phrase found in the Hippocratic school: “…either help or do not harm….”. I think this speaks to what we do at Freedom; helping and/or preventing things from getting worse. At Freedom, our priority is certainly to serve the needs of our members, but we can also help improve their financial condition by providing education, reducing expenses, creating budgets, helping build savings, and so on. There is more to Freedom than just cashing a check or approving a loan. We can help members avoid problems or prevent a worsening financial scenario. In this regard, Freedom is not only a financial institution, but a financial health provider.

Stop by for a checkup.

Who is Freedom?

We live in a society that likes to labels things. Some, like nutrition labels, are good so you know what you’re putting in your body. Of course, they can be misleading if you don’t watch out for the “per serving” deception. That’s where you think something is good for you then realize you have to multiply the calories, fat, carbs, etc., by eight. Not so healthy after all. There are other labels that are not so innocuous. They try to define people we don’t know anything about or define something with which we have no real experience. Those labels are an attempt to make sense of the things based on preconceptions, assumptions or emotions rather than a genuine understanding gained from engaging, listening, and learning. Consider this for those who would label Freedom “just another bank” when nothing could be further from the truth. Banking is what we do not who we are; so rather than accept this label let me tell you who Freedom is.

Freedom is over 75 employees who care about our members, the organization and each other to the extent that we focus on a positive experience for the benefit of all. They are Freedom. Freedom is over 30,000 members who want and need a safe and reliable resource for financial products, services and help. Members appreciate our efforts and the role we play in meeting their needs and, in turn, provide the deposits, income and sustainability for continued growth. You are Freedom. Finally, the relationship we build and common goals we share as a member owned, volunteer run, cooperative, support the credit union philosophy of “people helping people” and is what makes us not just another bank. We strive for value, we deliver a personal connection, we provide a commitment to community and we emphasize doing what makes sense to put members first rather than profit for shareholders. We are Freedom.

Therefore, with your active membership, when you share your experience, Freedom can and will continue to evolve, thrive and grow. Rest assured, we ALL are Freedom. As a cooperative, WE make Freedom different, WE make Freedom matter, WE reject any label that suggests Freedom is just another bank and WE make Freedom stronger. Because strength doesn’t come from what you can do; strength comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t do.

Mike

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