ThrillBill

Comments at Annual Meeting

I want to talk about leaving Alternatives in the way the question was phrased to me "Why leave paradise?"

I try to construct a story of my business life.  How did I become a financial hobbyist?  It was not really in my background.  I enjoyed financial and creative  work.  I wanted to work with a group of people to try out ideas, to experiment with mission.

People asked, "Did you expect this to happen?"  There was never a goal of achieving a certain size or a certain level of profit.  It's always, "Let's create a place to work that's going to be a lot of fun."  These ideas may be successful or not.  The experimenting was the point.

One of our first examiners, Lance McAllister, captured how I work.  His statement was critical but I took it as a compliment.  "The problem with Bill is that he decides what to do before he looks to see what is possible."  Although I can see that would cause some problem with a regulator, I'm proud of be able to keep up with that vision.

But, more to point, why would I want to leave such an institution?  I used to swim at the University.  There was an older man who swam two miles daily, quite a rapid pace.  His swimming style exaggerated breathing stroke, nearly rolling over at the shoulders.  I've developed strength through years of repetition, but I've also collected business habits that are pretty poor form.

I want to regain my balance by taking another position, working against my habits, learning anew. I recognize that taking another position is not going to be easier.   Leaving will actually be quite a bit harder.  Unfortunately, Alternatives picked up some of my bad habits; perhaps the dress code is the clearest example.

I've also thought about what I do as a musician made famous for a particular song that was invented in youth.  I am being asked to sing that same song that represents someone that's not me anymore.  Success pins me into performing that role again and again.  Running this institution that is successful pins me into that role again and again.  I want to move forward from Alternatives, not in any sense negative, but that I have another side of myself to explore.

Beyond that I picked this time for personal reasons.  My youngest son Ben just graduated from high school, thank goodness.  My youngest daughter Tessa finished college last month.  My oldest son Blake is out on his own.  My oldest daughter Anna will soon make me a grandfather,

So, when I am asked, "Do you feel sad about leaving?"  Frankly, No.  It's time.

I do appreciate what's good about Alternatives.   Alternatives is Best of Class nationally.  Part of that is at the mythical level.  Every tribe knows its own community as "The People."  Their local hill is the center of the universe.  We who work here believe in the vision of this institution as the center of the universe.  That is not contradicted with other people in other places who feel similarly about their own lives.  It is consistent to be centered in your own life and community.

After my "retirement" I'll be staying in Ithaca, but moving on to a Senior Fellowship at the Aspen Institute, Economic Opportunities Program.  Part of the attraction of that job is that I don't have to leave here.  I really appreciate that.  The work I'm going to be doing is strongly related to Alternatives' work.  We've talked about partnerships in development with Alternatives, giving me the opportunity to work with these fine staff as I move on.

I'm proud about what we've accomplished with Alternatives.  Many members have come up to me with just two themes.  A whole group of people ask if their account number is the lowest; they're proud to have been with Alternatives the longest.  We appreciate the loyalty of members.

I have heard more about the way our work changes people's financial lives.  The loans we made or financial counseling or the way we talked about developing a financial life.  Doing the work the way we do it lets people change their lives.  That's where the value is.

One of the things we started talking about in the beginning of Alternatives was economic democracy.  The core principle is that you vote with your dollars.  Not only a  vote in an election but a vote with every dollar. Where you spend your dollars determines what kind of future you're going to see.

Thank you for investing your dollars with us and making this part of your future.

50 Ways to Leave your CU

There are lots of models of leavings. I always liked Paul Simon, was glad when he split from Garfunkel. But I was annoyed by Simon's song "50 ways" which in fact only contained five ways to leave your lover, count  'em (don't need to be coy Roy, drop off the key Lee, hop on the bus Gus, make a new plan Stan, and slip out the back Jack). I'll triple that number.
1. Juggler, working up to knives and chainsaw, but how to stop?
2. Bilbo Baggins throws the ring of power into the volcanoes of Mt Doom. The one ring corrupts and makes a shadow out of bearer.
3. Walking away quietly. The second US President, John Adams, had already absented himself to Massachusetts when Jefferson claimed the office.
4. Pretending to walk away quietly while making a scene. Hi Ho Silver
5. Leave a note on the Bath Room mirror.
6. "It is time I stepped aside for one less experienced and less able." - Professor Scott Elledge on his retirement from Cornell
7. Relay race, passing baton to next runner.
8. As Shakespeare's King Lear said (offstage), giving away his kingdom, eschewing his past, "What the hell was I thinking?"
9. Titanic, sinking into the waves.
10. My spouse Nancy thanks Alternatives for my absence from home, an important factor in keeping our marriage together.
11. "I'd like to get away from earth for a while and then return and begin over." Robert Frost
12. When I go to make my maker, and am asked to explain myself, I'll have to say, "You've seen it all before"
13. Jean Paul Marat had the luxury of writing in his bath and was not entirely disappointed by Charlotte Corday and death.
14. "Ring in old age which adds as it takes away." WC Williams

Make New Mistakes

Alternatives Federal is 28 years old. We have an unequaled staff, a solid board, a standing in the community. I’m confident now is the time to separate and start my second career.

I want a mark to measure how far halfmy-life-spent-in-this- institution has brought us.Was it enough? Good enough

... for what we all have invested in this experiment that’s now Alternatives Federal?

We started out as a group of small businesses looking for financing. I was there at the beginning, before the beginning, the first tryst. Our concern was with fairness and opportunity, with building blocks for some future society, in serving, in earning a living, in living a life, in passing time, in amusing ourselves.

My ambitions were modest: to end up on the positive side of the cosmic balance sheet and find an engaging way to spend a day, or more.

I was never a careerist—more an impassioned amateur. Staff development meant finding people to share a passion for this work.

I was never that concerned with making money, certainly never victim of the quarterlies obsession.

Praise makes me nervous. I rarely stop to praise many jobs well done. I’m already on to the next project.  I’m a pessimist who puts everything in the complaint file. (Complaints always are honest). I didn’t even set up a compliment file. I see opportunity in every disaster.

We found underserved niches: small business, low-income people, youth.  Our key understanding was to bring a civil rights agenda to banking and to build community organizing partnerships.

This focus on the underserved has its downside, like the pirates of Penzance, who make a point of never attacking a weaker party (but who inevitably get a thrashing when they attack a stronger party). Certainly there’s nobility in this posture, but it doesn’t seem to be the quickest way to success.

Our approach has always been to resist the obvious solutions, to look more carefully, to not bet on the frontrunner.

I had a small and limited idea, the Credit Path. It’s not the Theory of Relativity but ... in a staid field any innovations appear substantial.

Why leave? Start well; end well. The middle will take care of itself. My retirement is my attempt to end well.

I find myself increasingly relying on a liturgy of prior decisions, playing a wellworn tune to an appreciative audience.  Some small strength has been exaggerated.  I’m still singing the tune that earned me a living in the 1980s.

As I grew up with Alternatives Federal, my foibles became its foibles. Personal preferences became policies, and in the process of becoming policies, rational underpinnings were developed. The credit union’s dress code is a clear example.

What will Alternatives Federal do? The credit union’s succession plan is a development plan, not a replacement plan. The new CEO will tackle branching and growth. I trust our excellent staff and board to map a worthy future.

I can leave behind an enduring mission. I’m proud of the past, hopeful for the future. My single instruction to the new CEO: “Make new mistakes.”

Bill Myers

What's next for Bill?

I'm retiring from CU management at the end of June http://www.alternatives.org/billmyersretirement.html

And moving on to a Senior Fellowship at the Aspen Institute, Economic Opportunities Program http//www.aspeninstitute.org/site/c.huLWJeMRKpH/b.612033/k.47E4/Economic_Opportunities_Program.htm

and working for the National Credit Union Foundation, REAL Solutions program http//www.ncuf.coop/render_site.asp?sectionpath=3/215

My retirement email is RunOnTheBank@gmail.com

Bill Myers