By Denise Wymore
Corporations don't have values; people do. A value is an ambiguous concept that governs human behavior. The people at the top of any organization, through their values, create the culture of the organization.
Some of the greatest brands in the world have suffered when they failed to recognize the power a person (and their values) has when it comes to leading and defining a culture. Here are three well-known examples:
- Steve Jobs at Apple—values the "user experience."
- Phil Knight at Nike—values inspiring athletes.
- Howard Schultz at Starbucks—values (again) the "third place."
When these leaders were let go, stepped down or tried to retire, their companies' cultures suffered and, consequently, so did their bottom lines and their reputations.
Your brand is your reputation...
I call this the ripple effect, which you can see in my diagram. Like throwing a stone in a pond, the stone will disrupt the water around it. What you really value in your organization is what you measure, manage and reward: the first ripple. This affects what people in the organization do and how they act: the second ripple. How the outside world views these actions is your reputation: the third ripple.
Going back to the first ripple, think about what you really value in your credit union and what you reward. Do they match?
You may SAY, for example, you're in the service business, but "measure" it annually. In credit unions, we practice accounting like a religion. We measure sales, margin, income and expense almost on a daily basis.
What do you reward your employees for? Speed? Accuracy? Attendance? Sales? Compliance? Wherever the emphasis is, that is the culture you are creating. This is your values filter—whether you intended it or not.
Employee morale can be eroded with the simple change of a measure. Take, for example a new fee. If your only filter is the bottom line, the decision-making process could look like this:
- We need to make more money.
- Low-balance members are costing us money.
- They are branch groupies who use tellers.
- Tellers are expensive.
- Low-balance members must pay $2.00 to see a teller.
- It is done.
Meanwhile, a long-time, loyal member who has paid off his loans and moved his retirement savings to a broker comes in to cash a Social Security check and chat up the tellers. Sorry, we now have to charge you $2.00 to visit your member-owned financial cooperative.
The ripple effect? Right out to reputation, which this new fee is beginning to destroy.
Of course, in a credit union that values loyalty and long-term growth, this would not have happened. You would've automatically included an exception for length of membership AND would know the LIFETIME value of your members, not just what they have with you today. Loyal members like this, who have helped market the credit union FOR you for years should never be undervalued!
At the CUES Annual Convention in June, I'll be talking more about values filters and how to create the right one for your organization. See you there!
Denise Wymore is a firebrand, marketing consultant and credit union lifer. Check out her blog, Cult-ivation.
Hear Denise in person at CUES Annual Convention, June 22-25 at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, Cancun, Mexico.
Read "Be Careful With That Brand!" also by Wymore.
