I keenly remember an exercise Lois Kitsch shared at a conference several years ago that is still etched in my mind: “If you think that mission is the most important thing at your credit union, [...]
“We cannot see things as they are, for we are compelled by a necessity of nature to see things as we are. We can never get rid of ourselves.” The author of that quote is [...]
Here you are. Almost a dozen weeks into the new year and you are yet to cross off any action items on your strategic plan. Worse, you’re not any close to reaching your new [...]
First, the gut punch: Strategic plans never fail. Leaders fail to execute the strategic plan. A strategic plan is an inanimate object. It won’t move without force behind it. So, why do leaders fail [...]
“Every day more of our life is used up and less and less of it is left.” Those are the words of Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius. So why then, do we act so [...]
How to lead. How to market. How to… fill in the blank with just about any action needed in business and there is a book, blog, podcast, or whitepaper to help you learn more. But [...]
Ask a freaking question. It’s the most important rule I share prior to facilitating a strategic planning session. If during the planning session someone says, “We need to grow loans,” rather than jumping right [...]
Year three of reaching my reading goal, which is typically to read one book per month. I failed on that his year, kind of. With life opening back up, I took more time re-connecting with [...]
Each year at YMC we choose a word for the following year. We never throw away the word(s) from previous years, rather we choose a word to build upon for the upcoming year. In [...]
I just finished reading a recent business article about the “perils” of hiring a branding agency. Wowsers. Let’s just say this “big” exec considers all branding and ad agencies “asses.” If you’ve ever [...]
“We’ve used ad agencies before. We’ve outsourced our credit union marketing before. Nothing seems to work.” Here’s a dose of reality. You haven’t had someone with the integrity to speak up [...]
Is your credit union broken? Are goals not being met? You’re not alone, and you’re not too far gone. You just need a little Kintsugi. I recently read an article on Kintsugi (another [...]
As we approach 2022, credit union marketing plans must hone in on information and details of your ideal members’ lives to engage with them most effectively. Marketers need to focus on having the right approach [...]
“We have all the technology the big banks have.” That was the value proposition given to me by a credit union CEO once. “That’s why people should switch to us.” If you offer the [...]
How many people are currently in the market for the products and services you offer? 10%? No. 5%? No. 1%? No. Usually, it’s a tiny fraction of 1%. When you’re trying to reach [...]
