When I was five, my family and friends gathered to celebrate my birthday.  I remember on that day, my mind wasn’t focused on fun and games, cake, gifts – things most five-year-old kids relish in. Instead, I was focused at this early age on change.  I ran around the yard approaching everyone with the dramatic presumption that after next month, I would never see them again.  My family planned to fold-up the farm which I had spent the past five years of my life growing up on.  We were moving West, to the land of sunshine and The Beach Boys.  I had just started Kindergarten and, being a kid, I obviously didn’t want any part of this.  I was angry at my parents and unsure of what lay ahead.

Thinking back on it, my experience as a five-year-old is not much different than the experiences of many in today’s workplace when change is imminent.

Reality is: we get comfortable. We make friends, become competent at our jobs, create routines and stick to them. This comfort, however, breeds stagnancy when it comes to evolving as a human or as an organization. People become set in their ways, innovation falls by the wayside, and, for the most part, people drudge through their workweek,  dodging corporate bullets and looking forward to their upcoming vacation. And retirement.

Seth Godin begins LINCHPIN by proclaiming “You Are a Genius”.  This is a concept that gets lost when we become comfortable.  And, worse yet, most corporate systems are not set up to foster change toward embracing one’s genius.

What if it were different? What would happen if you embrace change when the opportunity arises instead of hiding or running away from it? We would love to hear your thoughts and join you in conversation around this topic.

• How can you harness change for the betterment of yourself?
• How can you embrace change to help transform your organization?
• What can you do to demand change in a toxic, un-evolving organization?

Image: Courtesy of farm4.static

I remember the glory days of working for a digital agency: We got the technology. We had a quarter of an ounce of an understanding how changes in technology would impact our lives. (And only got 0.1%). We talked about SEO, we talked about SEM, we developed Rich Media ads, included Behavioral Targeting. These traditional guys just didn’t get it with their TV obsession and focus on print ads. And, a few years later, we walk into a client meeting, explaining the average CTR of 0.15% (Hey, better than industry benchmark!) and the client looks at us and their stare says: “You know, you were selling me a bill of goods all along. And I thought you were the guys that got it.”

Kristi VandenBosch from Hal Riney spoke at her keynote at ad:tech about the difference between traditional and digital agencies. Traditional agencies think in objects, digital agencies in systems. I would argue, most agencies (no matter traditional or digital) primarily think in objects and regard systems as an afterthought. That’s why the majority of agencies have problems delivering a real social experience. Instead, they build giganormous websites, intrinsic banner ads and buy Facebook fans for their clients. And, nobody cares. (Oh, 0.1% clickers care. Supposedly.)

I have seen numerous banner ads and none of them created an emotional connection. Compare that non-emotional connection to the ad below. I still remember how I felt when I saw it the first time.

The medium has changed and it’s still evolving. The Hub and Spoke model has been replaced with the networked model, technology enabled people to return to their social roots and behave like humans again. Clearly, we have to understand technology and how it’s changing and evolving. But the digital part is not enough.

We have to understand people. How human behavior is changing. When it is appropriate to show up, how we should show up, what makes brands interesting and relevant to people. And when brands should retreat. And just be quiet.

That’s not a new thing. Good agencies always tried to understand human behavior. They always tried to find ideas that connect brands with people in a human way. Very soon in the future, traditional and digital agencies will disappear. The term “advertising agency” might even disappear. At the minimum, the good advertising agencies won’t do a lot of advertising anymore. Their real value will be delivered outside of advertising.

And the real success stories will be human agencies. Basing their strategies and tactics on human behavior, human insights, human desires and needs. Human agencies will help companies and brands to behave like humans, with their own authentic story and a clear sense of purpose. Only a clear sense of purpose is the key to driving sustainable commercial success. And develop sustainable relationships between brands and humans.

The first Credit Union was established 158 years ago. The need for Credit Unions arose out of the fact that rural communities in Germany faced a severe shortage of financial institutions because these villages and small towns were viewed as unbankable: the flow of cash was slow and seasonal, and human resources were very limited. Since their first inceptions by Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch and Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, Credit  Unions always levered social capital to organize themselves. More importantly, credit unions were always seen as an integral part of the local community.

While the trend of globalization will continue, we experience a need from consumers to develop stronger connections within their community. At Farmer Markets, local produce stands get more traffic than any organic stand. This is another Wall-Street-Tarp backlash: Would you rather support a faceless corporation with your hard-earned money or a local store that has been a mainstay in your community for years?

I would argue this trend is  just getting started: We will see businesses focusing on hyper-local communities. Do I feel an affiliation with Los Angeles? Sure, I live in this aggregation of small cities. (And love the LA Dodgers.) But my real connection is with the Eastside of Los Angeles: Silverlake, Los Feliz and Eagle Rock. More specifically, Mt. Washington.  I want this part of Los Angeles to prosper. I want the streets to be safe, my kid to grow up happy and healthy, and for all that to happen, I need a lively and prospering community.

And, that’s where Credit Unions come in: While we create this global village through new technologies and interactions, Credit Unions have a unique opportunity to tap into our desire to revive our local communities. I’m not asking them to change lending standards or business practices. But I’m asking Credit Unions to become a beacon in the community. Wherever that community might be: offline, online and mobile. Show your commitment to community by helping people:

• Host networking events for entrepreneurs and start-ups
• Develop a site with the goal to  crowd-source ideas how to improve the living experience in your community
• Team up with Angel Investors and help launch start-ups with micro-loans (ok, maybe I’m asking to change lending standards just a little bit)
• Work with local artists to beautify the neighborhood. Maybe one artist can paint the outside of an empty, ugly building in exchange for showcasing his work in your local branch.
• Convert your parking lot once a week into a lunch place where people can buy local food, hang with the neighbors and develop closer connections.
• Use Social Media to aggregate local content. Whenever people in your community try to find out what’s going on in their community, they should be able to find it on your Facebook page and in your Twitter stream.
• Why not turn your local branch into a community hub?

If your local credit union is the place where your community congregates, do you think anyone cares anymore about glossy advertising from Wall Street banks?

Helping others, delivering value, becoming an integral part of the community. That’s what Social Marketing is about. Actually, that’s what the future of business is all about. Is there any business better positioned to become a beacon in the community than credit unions? I would argue not. It’s time for Credit Unions to seize the day.

(I wrote these initial thoughts on my flight to San Francisco after having had the pleasure and honor to attend the Think 10 Conference in Scottsdale, curated by CO-OP. I was asked to speak with Fabian Geyrhalter from Geyrhalter Design and Thomas Woerner about Social Media 101.)

All this talk about branded experiences makes me wonder why upstarts like redbox are so successful. Sure, there’s a time and a place for branded experiences, retail experiences and experiential platforms. But there’s also a time when I just want to buy a product/service and leave. That’s why I’m so annoyed when I have to listen to upsells and I just wanted to activate my credit card. Or when an associate tries to sell the Best Buy warranty while I just want to go home and use the product.

Superior customer service doesn’t always mean eye contact, smiles and a human connection. Superior customer service sometimes just means help me get my task done quickly. And let me go my merry way without some brand blah blah, handshake and efforts to sell me more.