Four Principles to Grow Your Credit Union

by. Mark Arnold

At this week’s CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council conference, Jim Stengel, author of Grow, keynoted the opening session. “We are in the business of transformation and we must create
stories that our customers will tell about us,” he challenged attendees. By the way, if you haven’t read his book, it is a must read for financial institution executives (check out this blog post for a review on Grow).

Stengel gave four principles for how to grow your credit union.

(1)   Great brands change people’s lives. According to Stengel, great brands do more than great products or services, they change people’s lives. “Credit unions can be the Northstar for the entire financial services industry,” Stengel said. Application point: think about how your credit union is changing people’s lives. Also, are you pushing your products and services or promoting your brand?

(2)   Great brands are led by artists who care. Stengel argues that CEOs leading successful businesses have high emotional quotients. He notes that artists create things and use the whole brain. He points to the CEOs of REI, American Express and Costco. He referenced a recent Fortune Magazine quote that said, “While you can sometimes teach a dreamer to be a strong business operator, you can rarely teach a businessman to dream.” Application point: Get your CEO, CFO and other top management to think in color and not black and white.

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