The CUInsight Experience

Tom Kane - CIA to CEO (#51)

December 06, 2019 CUInsight / Tom Kane Season 1 Episode 51
The CUInsight Experience
Tom Kane - CIA to CEO (#51)
Show Notes

“Never show up with a problem without at least one solution.” - Tom Kane

Welcome to episode 51 of The CUInsight Experience podcast. Hosted by Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. Today Randy welcomes Tom Kane to the show. Tom is the President and CEO of the Illinois Credit Union League, as well as LSC and other organizations. Tom received a Masters Degree in International Relations with a focus on the Soviet Union, and that led him to a job with the CIA. But lucky for us, sixteen years ago, he got into the credit union movement, and hasn’t looked back.

Tom speaks about the three things that credit unions need to do to stay relevant. He talks about consolidation being the trend and how small and medium-sized credit unions need to collaborate more.

We discuss the CU Kind campaign and how they got more than 61 credit unions to come together across the state giving more than 5000 volunteer hours in one day. And discuss Tom's desire to see how doing this on a national level would benefit so many.

Tom talks about his inspiration to take the CEO position and how the motivation has changed in the four years that he’s been on the job. The enemy is the perfect good is what he tells his team all the time. Tom believes that you can’t wait to be perfect before you act, or nothing will get done.

Have you heard the saying ‘people don’t leave companies they leave people’? Listen in as Tom speaks about being a good employee, but most of all, being a good boss. He gives us many nuggets we can learn from. Enjoy!

Find the full show notes at CUInsight.com.

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How to find Tom:
Tom Kane, President and CEO of the Illinois Credit Union League and LSC
www.ICUL.com
www.LSC.net
tom.kane@icul.com
LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

In This Episode:
[01:23] - Tom, Welcome to the show!
[02:01] - Tom talks about his life and what led him to the credit union industry.
[05:15] - Are there any other CEOs with a tech background in the league system?
[06:40] - Tom speaks about being an optimist about credit unions and that he sees consolidation as being the most significant thing happening right now.
[09:57] - Tom says three things can be done to keep credit unions relevant. A basic set of products and services, plan to grow membership and succession.
[13:06] - Unless you are part of a substantial credit union, collaboration is the way to grow.
[15:20] - Do you have five different boards you have to deal with?
[16:28] - Tom discusses the CUKind Campaign that he was instrumental in putting together.
[20:29] - What was the inspiration to go for the position as the President and CEO of the League?
[21:51] - He tells us that he was passed over for the job a year earlier, but he kept his head in the game and was asked to take the position.
[23:51] - The inspiration since he took the position has shifted from making changes to strategy.
[25:41] - How would you describe your leadership style?