Credit union strategic planning sessions need “10% comments”

Successful credit union strategic planning sessions require a number of things. The right environment (going off-site always helps). The right people (mix of executives and board members). The right facilitator (yes, I’m biased on that point).

But one often overlooked aspect of strategic planning is having the right level of honesty. Participants need to share the truth about the organization. The entire truth. And in some cases … the unvarnished truth.

The challenge?

Most people only share part of what they’re thinking. They hold back. In an effort not to hurt someone’s feelings or to not say the wrong thing, they pull a few punches. You might share 90% of your thoughts, but you stop there.

We now coach our strategic planning clients to share that last 10% of what you’re thinking. We call it the “10% Comment.” We often see that real growth takes place inside those ten percent thoughts.

The pursuit of truth

Giving (and pushing) those 10% Comments requires a great deal of trust. But as author Patrick Lencioni says, “When there is trust, conflict becomes nothing but the pursuit of truth, an attempt to find the best possible answer.”

And that is what you want from your credit union strategic planning sessions: the best possible answers regarding your financial institution’s direction. Your credit union needs to be good enough to seek the truth.

Having honest conversations means you won’t have consensus … and that’s a good thing. When it comes to your strategic plan, you want alignment (not consensus). Consensus means everyone agrees about everything. Alignment means everyone is rowing in the same direction at the same time. And you very much want that type of organization.

Become a buffalo

I heard a recent analogy about storms, cows and buffaloes. Cows run away from the storm—they head east. With that approach, cows stay in the storm longer and maximize their frustration.

Buffaloes do the opposite—they charge into the storm and run through it. They minimize their pain and frustration.

Using the 10% Comment rule, you become a buffalo. You run into your own institution’s storms and charge through them. You solve problems faster. You have those honest and helpful conversations.

The 10% Comment also forces your executives and board members to get real regarding where your organization is today. Then, you can identify the strategic gaps and start closing them.

The best growth often happens through the hardest conversations. But hard conversations during planning sessions are not easy. That’s why they’re called hard. One hack to make those challenging credit union strategic planning discussions easier is to use the 10% Comment method.