Strategize for the Long-Term, Plan for the Pivot

Recently, it can seem as though every aspect of society is moving at the speed of light: everything from technology to interest rates, to members’ priorities can change in the blink of an eye. 

“We are now in a new age. We’re in an environment where the business world is moving at such a fast pace—technology is moving at such a fast pace. We cannot move at the same pace we’ve done for years,” says Mark Arnold, president/founder of On the Mark Strategies, Carrollton, Texas. “And that’s why planning is more important than ever—we can’t be stuck in our old cycle, our old way of planning, our old way of doing strategy. That’s why pivoting and adjusting is more important than ever.”

In this environment, is it still possible for credit unions to perform yearly strategic planning with any sort of predictability and confidence? 

Two Parts of a Whole

The first step is to break down strategic planning into its two parts. 

“There are two elements that are complementary in strategic planning. There’s the strategy piece, which is ‘how do we want to influence things that are generally out of our control,’” explains Ryan Brogan, who leads CUESolutions provider Cornerstone Advisors’ strategy practice.

Here Brogan cites aspects such as macroeconomic cycles, the interest rate environment, competitive dynamics and the regulatory climate. 

“And then there’s the planning part, which is ‘what are the things that we can control? Where are we going to spend our money and what are we going to prioritize? And importantly, what are we going to say ‘no’ to?’”

Brogan comments that when CUs understand the two distinct parts of strategic planning, it’s mentally easier for them to accept the need to pivot. He says that even when pivoting, most likely they are not veering away from their overarching strategy; that won’t change. What will change will be how you accomplish those goals, referring to the planning piece of the duo. 

Arnold also emphases one of Brogan’s points. “Strategy is just as much about what you’re not going to do as it is about what you are going to do. The key aspect is focus; you cannot do everything.”

For credit unions, that can be a hard lesson to learn. 

“There is something called the myth of excellence; we all believe we have to be the absolute best at everything. But you don’t. You can’t,” says Arnold. “You have to choose strategically. You need to keep your priorities to three or four, because the reality is, people love three priorities, they like four, and they forget five.”

Brogan comments, “It’s easy for credit unions to fall into the trap of thinking, ‘We can be all things to all people.’ I think that a big part of effectively pivoting is you first have to have very effective focus and be willing to say ‘no’ or ‘not right now’ to interesting opportunities.”

He paraphrases a quote from author Jim Collins, saying, “If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any. It’s the idea of maintaining focus—that helps not only with ongoing discipline but also with clear and consistent communication."

Don’t Circle the Date

It’s also important to note that when Arnold and Brogan use the term “strategic planning” they do not mean one big yearly planning session. 

To these strategists, planning is a process, not a date. 

“There’s this idea that strategic planning is essentially a retreat, and then after that we’re going back to business as usual,” Brogan explains. “We like to think of strategic planning as an ongoing discipline. It’s a methodology and a way of conducting business, not just a day on the calendar. And this is something that we see a lot of credit unions struggle with.”

Arnold agrees wholeheartedly. “The credit unions that do strategic planning well are the ones that treat it like a process, not a date on a calendar; they’re doing planning all year long,” he says.
 
He comments that one tactical way to do this is to perform 90-day strategic sprints.

“The worst thing you can do is create a plan, then put it on the shelf and leave it there. So what do you do instead? Every 90 days you perform a kind of mini-session. Rather than two full days, spend just two hours! Look at your numbers and ask, ‘where do we need to stop, where do we need to adjust, and where do we need to speed up?’ Our industry is going pretty fast. So we are to do this every 90 days because that enables you to pivot your strategy rather than leave it there for a year, or two or three.”

Mina Worthington, president/CEO of $814 million Solarity Credit Union, Yakima, Washington, puts this into practice at Solarity.

Solarity uses the Organizational Objectives and Key Results method of goal-setting and communication. 

As is common across many credit unions, the CU’s board does strategic planning annually, with new organizational strategic objectives set every three years. 

A key difference is that management is responsible for setting OKRs quarterly. This means that every quarter, the Solarity senior management team meets to review the overarching three-year plan and set organizational objectives within the scope of that plan.

Most importantly, attached to these objectives are key results and metrics: evidence-based numbers that the group can review each quarter to determine if the project or initiative is meeting its desired result. Worthington says those metrics are crucial.

“How do you know that the stuff you’re doing matters? I’m always looking for a key result at the end of the day,” she says.

At Solarity, these key results are created by management and affirmed by the board.

“We look at the last quarter’s objectives and key results, take them to the board and review what was accomplished. That’s agile and a pivot mindset because those organizational objectives are not set by the board. If one doesn’t make sense anymore, they help us see that, and then we can scrap it and be agile enough to move to something else,” she explains.

And Solarity has done that! Worthington says during her time at the CU, they started multiple endeavors that ended up not matching the key results they were expecting—so they scrapped them. This enabled Solarity to have the time and resources to find fresh ideas that did have the expected impact for their members.

It’s All in the Numbers

Solarity is not the only institution that has figured out that sometimes it’s beneficial to scrap an initiative and pivot away from an ongoing project due to metrics. 

CUES member Corlinda Wooden, president of Wooden Consulting, Portland, Oregon, says “Establishing clear metrics of success is essential, and if these benchmarks are not met within the predetermined timeframe, it’s crucial to foster a culture that embraces the ‘fast fail’ motto.”

She emphasizes that while strategic planning sessions are crucial for looking ahead and mapping a course, their effectiveness relies on their continued relevance throughout the year, and reviewing key results and numbers will showcase that.  

“It’s imperative not to let the initial vision overshadow the data-driven insights coming in,” Wooden says. “Recognizing when to pivot or exit from such ventures based on objective performance indicators is essential for ensuring the CU’s long-term success.”

Brogan agrees and says it doesn’t matter what you call it, “sometimes they’re called ‘KPIs’, sometimes it’s ‘measures of success,’ but really, it’s just getting as specific as possible on quantitative measures tied to various parts of the strategy.”

These numbers will help you determine when it’s time to pivot. 

“It’s like, ‘when we thought we’d be growing by this amount or achieving this level of performance, but it’s not happening,’ that to me is the telltale sign that it may be time to pivot. If we’re not meeting those thresholds, it’s okay to deviate from an old plan, pivot, or scrap the plan entirely,” Brogan says.

Communication is Key

One of the most important aspects of a successful plan is having buy-in from your employee base. Here, the experts agree that communication is key. 

“The employees have to see that direct communication between their job and your strategic plan, which means you have to communicate,” Arnold emphasizes. “Don’t let the strategic plan just sit in the C-Suite; they’ve got to see that what they’re doing every day is driving the strategy.” 

He explains this is critically important because while executives and board members might be creating the plan, they’re not the ones to execute it every day. It’s the front-line staff. It’s the managers. It’s the loan officers. They’re the ones who are touching member engagement and experience daily. 

Scott Butterfield, founder and principal of Your Credit Union Partner, Sumner, Washington, stresses this point as well. 

“A robust strategy begins with a shared and meaningful vision embraced by the team. A clear vision acts as a guiding light, enabling teams to navigate unexpected challenges confidently,” he says.

Conversely, Butterfield comments that a lack of strategic awareness can blindside teams, causing them to overlook critical shifts in their operating environment. 

“Credit union leaders and teams grounded in a meaningful purpose are most adept at navigating strategic pivots. A deep understanding of the organization’s identity, mission and objectives guides decision-making and sustains momentum through transitions.”

Wooden wholeheartedly agrees, commenting, “Fostering a culture that values decisive action and transparent communication helps credit unions to position themselves not only to survive but thrive in an ever-changing landscape.”

She says that transparent communication fosters trust and reduces ambiguity. “It promotes employee buy-in and alignment, all of which are essential for successful implementation of new strategies.”

Both Wooden and Butterfield comment that communicating the plan from both the heart and the mind is key. Emotional narratives inspire passion and vision; data and evidence curate professional investment.  

Arnold also emphasizes that honest communication is key, referring to something he calls “the 10% rule.” 

“What happens in a lot of planning sessions is people will say something, but they hold back that last 10% because they don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. They don't want to challenge someone. But I say, we need the 10% comment. That’s where the real growth happens! It’s vital to create a safe space so we can be pushed out of our comfort zones.”

Blindspots

Brogan explains why it is a best practice, when strategic planning, to have a third party come in to help with planning.

“This might come across as biased,” he laughs, “but it’s actually tactical in nature. The interaction is inherently different when you have a CEO or other executive worried about facilitating different strategy sessions versus giving their perspective as a key member of the team. That’s when it’s very valuable to have a third-party partner come in. We also help with industry visibility, across the country and with direct competitors, as well as pointing out a credit union’s potential blind spots.”

Arnold agrees. 

“There’s something called the Johari Window. It talks about how there are some things everyone knows, there are some things no one knows, and there are blind spots: things that others know that you do not. You need to be able to know those, assess them. Have someone come in and share with you the good, the bad and the ugly.”

He says this is how to generate flexibility and the ability to change: You need to glance at your competitors and glare at yourself. 

Change is Flexibility 

Worthington says it all comes down to a culture of change and adaptation. 

“You need to be able to thrive in uncertainty when you’re surrounded by it. That is a cultural phenomenon more than anything else, and I fear that many credit unions are not agile enough,” she says.
 
Planning, and pivoting, is how credit unions will stay relevant in this fast-changing environment. But this is not always easy. 

“I think one of the challenges is making sure you invest the time and resources into planning,” Arnold warns. “It’s easy to cut planning, but the reality is, the moment you stop planning is the moment you stop growing.” 

Molly Hayman is a former CUES publications intern who writes from Wisconsin.