Credit union resolutions
It is hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday it was summer and last week the Seahawks were winning the Super Bowl (sorry…I couldn’t help myself).
As we all know, this is the time of year where people reflect and make resolutions to be better or do something good for themselves in the coming year. As I was thinking about this on my drive in to work this morning, I couldn’t help but think about making resolutions for the credit union itself. Wouldn’t this be the perfect time to set some credit union resolutions?
Many would argue that a business (and hopefully all of our credit unions) set new goals each year, so that should count as a “resolution,” but I want to make the argument that this should be about more than just goals. Goals are typically positioned around the same target each year with varying degrees of difficulty. For example: 10 percent loan growth instead of the 8 percent loan growth we shot for last year. Resolutions? Those should be about something a little different.
The actual definition of the word resolution is “a firm decision to do or not do something” while a goal is defined as “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” Goals are, by definition, centered on picking a specific point and aiming for it as best as you can. You either hit it or you don’t. It is black and white. The effort you make toward hitting the goal isn’t recognized if you fall short – even if you make significant changes and get close – if you miss that number it is all for naught.
I really like the definition of a resolution – “a firm decision to do or not do something” means that you can make the decision to just be better at something, or be a little better each day. At Verity, we are striving to provide exceptional service to our internal and external customers (yes, I intentionally said customers and not members since I am including back office and vendors in this example) at every opportunity. So, I could make a resolution to be a little more exceptional in my service each day or to look for opportunities to provide exceptional service and act on at least one a day. There isn’t really a clear cut “you did it” point, which I think is better. Instead of a goal where you can say “we made it, let’s rest” a resolution drives you to just continue to be better and make that positive change until it becomes a habit.
Of course, the problem with most resolutions is that people think of them like goals – “I want to lose 25 pounds” is a statement toward a goal, which can make it more difficult to achieve. A resolution would be more like, “I will drink at least 24oz of water each day” or “I will only one packet of sugar in my coffee instead of two.” Little changes that can be sustained lead to big resolutions.
What will your credit union’s resolution be?
