Data-Driven Marketing – A Primer

For marketers today, it was essential to bring to light how the Marketing team will provide offers to members as it’s a significant change to our traditional methodology. The new approach is designed to provide improved, more consistent and more relevant product offers using the wealth of data from our core and your ancillary systems…

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Strategic Planning is Like Running a Half-Marathon

Strategic planning for a lot of companies is an annual exercise in thinking big, dreaming of possibilities. Unfortunately, for a lot of these organizations, strategic planning stops there and this annual ritual that when the ritual is done, everyone returns back to business as usual. Let’s stop for a minute to really understand what strategic…

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Strategic Planning is the Easy Part

Working with organizations across the country, I see a familiar process when doing their strategic planning. A typical process I’ve observed is loosely following these steps: 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…

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Strategic Planning for Maximum Impact

Often Strategic Planning is a big deal that is conducted for a day or more. Usually, it includes a “state of the balance sheet” presentation, an update on all the improvements from the prior year, an overview of the state of the industry, a review of the Mission, Vision, and Values, and then a facilitated…

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Behavior is your Brand

man in blue denim jacket doing hand sign

Branding is often seen through the wrong lens. It is often seen as a combination of your logo, promise, voice, font, and color palette. But to leave it there is an injustice to what brand really is. The brand is behavior. The behaviors your members/customers experience when they engage your employees, products, and services. Think…

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Pay for Performance and Reputation Risk

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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A Career Transition Essential – Staying Relevant

Navigating a career is never easy. There will be obstacles and disappointments. There will be joys and celebrations. At times, even new opportunities come to you from “out of the blue.” It is when those obstacles, disappointment, and “out of the blue” situations happen is when the true grit of a leader comes to the…

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Are You Running To, From, For or Against?

We’re all running 1000 miles an hour, but are we running in the right direction for the right reason? Running to – this is goal-driven running. It is having a valid endpoint and a commitment to get there. If you are training for a half marathon, your goal is distinct and specific. “I am going…

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3 Steps to Team Alignment

How often have you worked with a team that isn’t on the same page? This familiar work situation of being misaligned is not the team’s fault, but the leader/manager’s responsibility. What Elements are required for Team Alignment? 1. Purpose 2. Culture 3. Values When any of these three elements are out of alignment, the result…

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