The CUInsight Experience podcast: Julie Ferguson – Be memorable (#47)

Picture this, warm sunshine, sand running through your toes, and the breeze from the Indian Ocean gently ruffling your hair. Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com, is on location with his guest Julie Ferguson at the 20th SACCA Congress in beautiful Mombasa, Kenya. Listen in as they have a friendly conversation about their experiences in credit unions and beyond.

Julie is a small business owner, and a consultant in the credit union movement, with a focus on business development. Her goal is to work herself out of a job by teaching credit unions the tools needed to evolve and grow their businesses.

Do you have a travel bug? Listen as Julie and Randy discuss their love of travel, the things they have learned, and the camaraderie they have with all the attendees at the conference. The talk about what it means to be location independent and the joys and struggles that come with it.

Julie shares three tips to increase member engagement; ask smart questions, listen, and stay in the driver’s seat of the dialogue. For credit unions to remain relevant in today’s market, Julie believes the key is engagement. The more engaged your employees are, the more engaged your members will be. Leading with the heart is critical.

This is a fun episode with many leadership tips and hacks that you can apply to any area of your life and career. You can tell from the joy in her voice that Julie loves her life and how she gets to live it. She will brighten your day, so plugin, and enjoy!

Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher

How to find Julie:
Julie Ferguson, owner of JRF Consulting Services
www.julierferguson.com
julie@jrfconsultingservices.com
Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram

Show notes from this episode:
Julie has a great new website. Check it out here and all the good she does for credit unions.
Shout-out: to George Ombado and our friends at ACCOSCA
It took only minutes to mentions DE. Are you a CUDE? Just do it. Sign up.
You can find more about the 20th SACCA Congress and the Don Bosco Special School project mentioned here: Asante Africa: My heart is full from your cooperative spirit
Shout-out: Lois Kitsch
Shout-out: Bert J. Hash, Jr.
Shout-out: Michael Ray
Shout-out: Brent Rempe
Shout-out: Bill and Crissy Cheney
Credit union shout-out: First Tech FCU who let Julie take a month off to travel.
Shout-out: Rick Steves
Shout-out: Jill Nowacki
Credit union shout-out: Wauna Credit Union (Julie’s first client)
Shout-out: Denise Wymore
Shout-out: Lauren Culp (Thank you, Julie!)
Shout-out: Neen James
Shout-out: Gretchen Wakem
Pandora Station: Hot Child in the City
Book mentioned: The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
Book mentioned: Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts (a personal favorite of mine too)
Shout-out: Kelley Parks and the crew at gira{ph}.
Previous guests mentioned in this episode: Lois Kitsch, Bill Cheney, Jill Nowacki (4, 18 & 37), Lauren Culp, Neen James
You can find all past episodes of The CUInsight Experience here. 

In This Episode:
[01:41] – Welcome to the show, Julie!
[02:09] – Julie have you had a good time this week?.
[03:55] – She speaks about marrying her love of travel and her work with credit unions.
[05:48] – Julie discusses the challenges around work and travel. She calls it being location independent.
[08:18] – Getting new members and maximizing the existing relationships is the focus of her company.
[10:32] – Julie says she wants to work herself out of a job, by giving the tools to the team so they can evolve and grow.
[11:29] – Three tips for member engagement are; ask smart questions, listen, and stay in the driver’s seat of the dialogue.
[13:38] – She believes that the more engaged your employees are, the more engaged the members are.
[14:39] – Why did you leave First Tech Credit Union to start your own business?
[17:41] – Her inspiration over the last ten years has changed from helping herself to helping others.
[18:36] – Collaboration, being genuine, leading with heart are some things she admires in the leaders she has met.
[19:26] – How has leadership styles changed over the last ten years?
[20:15] – Be memorable are two words that Julie says all the time
[21:17] – Being afraid of taking risks is a mistake she sees young leaders making today.
[22:47] – You have two choices, you either figure out a way to make it work or you make a change.
[24:35] – Running and sitting at a coffee shop eating pastries afterward is what Julie does to reset.
[25:32] – What was the first time you got into memorable trouble?
[26:21] – Coffee and running are two things that she needs to do to make her day feel right.
[26:40] – She doesn’t have a favorite album. She listens to a Pandora station called “Hot Child in the City.”
[27:21] – What is your favorite book?
[28:36] – Stuff has become less important to Julie, and time has become more important.
[29:16] – When you hear the word success which person that comes to mind.
[30:02] – Final thoughts or asks for the listeners?