3 minutes
The brain trust model can help credit unions succeed in good, bad and uncertain times.
It’s Halloween—a day that celebrates all things scary. While credit unions don’t fear ghosts and witches, they have plenty of other things they can worry about, including the future of our economy, the results of the upcoming election and the impact of technology. Can credit union leadership really be successful in uncertain times?
My life experience makes me think they can.
In my hometown of Middletown, Pa., I survived a flood, a near nuclear meltdown when the Three Mile Island power plant heated up too much, and the demise of the local savings and loan where I had my first real job. The financial crisis of 2008 hit in my second week as the new CEO of a credit union. As the old saying goes, never waste a good crisis.
I’ve survived. I’ve learned much.
Similarly, credit unions can be successful whether it be good, bad or uncertain times. The three key ingredients of the “brain trust model” are important supports to success, whatever the outlook.
First, the model directs finding the right “brains” to sit around the board of director table, the executive management table, and the staff table. Our human brains function as our coordinating centers for sensation and intellectual and nervous activity. And just like our physical brains, our respective board of directors, executive management and staff are the functioning center of intellect and the nervous center of the credit union. Therefore, to run an organization effectively, we must have a varied set of talents and “brains” to govern and operate the credit union.
Second, build trust inside the organization and with our constituency, the credit union members. The internal trust builds when leaders engage and leverage the strengths of all staff to build well executed plans. The membership must also be engaged in this process. If we’re going to run successful credit unions, member feedback is key to developing strategies and plans that ultimately meet their needs. This relationship builds deeper trust and a feeling of real investment in this financial cooperative we call a credit union.
Third, we must build a credit union model that is sustainable in uncertain times. This means we must truly understand the needs, demographics and economic behaviors of the membership base. Take some time on a daily basis to read about your surroundings, just like you would check the daily weather report. In truth, we are always in uncertain times.
Think about it. We live on a planet that is a molten ball of lava at its core. Only gravity holds it together. It’s volatile. You can’t get more uncertain than that.
Every day some new competitor, marketing strategy or technology is being introduced into the marketplace. As credit union leaders, we need to bring together a group of passionate and talented people committed to the cause of credit unions.
We need to build trust and reliability within our organizations and with our members. And we need to rethink the current credit union business model and adapt to the rapidly changing financial marketplace. It’s good to be scared. It makes us run faster. It also makes us check what’s on the other side of the door. In fact, let’s kick some new doors open.
Happy Halloween!
CUES member Jay Murray is CEO of $4 billion Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union, Greensboro, N.C., and Middletown, Pa.
