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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Marketing Must Know These Key Ratios

The primary Business Model for credit unions is straightforward. It is Money in Money out. Credit unions buy money ( deposits) from members (Cost of Funds) and then loans out those deposits to Members (Interest Income) at a higher interest rate (Margin). Of course, there are multitudes of nuance to this model, that’s why credit…

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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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