Leadership: Don’t leave it to Amateurs

If you were to describe your leadership style, what would you say? If you were to define the leadership style of your credit union, what adjectives would you use? Like it or not, we all have a leadership style, and if your credit union has not defined their preferred leadership style, you have many varieties,…

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Your Digital Strategy is Probably Wrong

Competing in the digital space is getting more difficult and more and more essential to the credit union’s sustainability. Chances are, your current digital strategy is missing these five things. Organizational Alignment – most credit unions have all their data in silos. IT is doing one thing, marketing another, branches another, call center another, remote…

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The Basics of a Successful Career

We enter the business world with the expectation that we are starting up a trajectory that will always climb to the next promotion, a continual progression of responsibility and authority. This belief is a myth. Rarely is a career path a constant climb up the ladder? A career path is a “hero’s journey,” one beset…

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Leadership and GPS – “Recalculating”

Life would be great if we had a “life GPS.” You know, “Darn, I missed that exit,” followed by an immediate “recalculating” from a calm voice. It didn’t matter how I failed to follow instructions; the beautiful GPS voice kept me from losing sight of my goal and helped me readjust my tactics with that…

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Trigger Points = Leadership Fails

Trigger points are those moments when our brain turns off, and our actions and reactions become “instinctive.” You know them, and you have them. Something happens that “sets you off.” It is a response that comes from deep inside, and it happens without you even thinking about what is happening. It is very visceral. Your…

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Getting Your Ducks in a Row – Strategic Planning

We often think about strategic planning as a one or two-day event that involves some crucial steps: Validating your mission, vision, values Doing a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis Thinking BIG about what you want to become Identifying 3-5 vital strategic initiatives that will take you to this future place These four steps are…

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Branching Strategy, It Starts with the Member

Historically branches are seen as transaction channels. Today, this view of branches has changed and continues to evolve. Members and potential members like the convenience of brick and mortar, they like the demonstration of financial strength and security. Still, the truth is, they rely less on branches for their daily, weekly, and monthly transaction business…

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Career Setback or “The Sky Is Falling”

If it hasn’t happened yet, it will. Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, you get; pick one: Demoted, laid off, fired, passed over, or criticized for your execution of a project. What happens next will determine your future for a long, long time. When a career setback happens, it will most likely be very emotional.…

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