When doing a strategic plan, most organizations really are good at thinking with aspiration, hope, and promise. Where the “failure” happens is on the execution of the plan. If you think about engaging movies, they all seem to be stories that include a variation of the hero’s journey. “Lord of the Rings”, “Star Wars”, and…

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It’s a strange time for credit unions. Credit unions are facing unprecedented pressures from regulators and examiners, and capital pressures for net interest margins and fee income. Often they don’t have the benefit of “economies of scale” or the resources, people, and capital, to invest in the infrastructure demands of vendor due diligence, regulatory compliance…

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Mobile utilization is now the preferred method for consumers to manage their money and make deposits, transfers, and payments. Too often, credit union staff is not keeping pace with member adoption of the digital channels. What can a credit union do to prepare their team to support their member’s digital needs? Nurture a digital culture…

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Working with organizations across the country, I see a familiar miss-step in their strategic planning process. The process I’ve observed is as follows: Once a year a strategic planning event is scheduled with the Board and a few key executives The event starts with a “state of the industry today” presentation, typically by a consultant.…

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An increasing trend in the financial services sector is “pay for performance.” This practice shows up in several formats: Commission – rep is paid a percentage of balances acquired Incentive – rep is paid per closed referral Bonus – rep is paid based on goal performance over a set period (per month, quarter, bi-annually, annually)…

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#Metoo has created a new world of awareness and change in our society. After reading multiple posts from family, friends, and co-workers, I was shocked at how widespread gender and sexual harassment was in the workplace. When you see #metoo posts from your daughter and daughter-in-law, it saddens me to the core. Everyone needs to…

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Is your credit union organized for today’s consumer? All too often credit unions are “stuck” in an organization chart that reflects the business of the past not the company of the future. But what needs to change? Is your credit union organized for today’s consumer? Too often, credit unions are “stuck” with an organization chart…

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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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All teams have three participants: change agents, change neutrals, and change resistors. The key to leading change is empowering the change agents, influencing the change equivocators and helping the change resistors understand the WIIFM (what’s in it for me). Here are the critical steps to leading change. First, identify who fits into these categories because…

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