Will “The Credit Union of The Future” look like “The Coop of The Future”?
by: Roger Conant @CUTweetTrack
If you missed CUNA Mutual’s Discovery On Demand conference earlier this month, may I suggest you check out one session still available on their website.
John Lass. SVP CUNA Mutual Strategy & Business development, delivered a compelling picture of the future with Building The Credit Union Of The Future.
It’s not the first time that presentation has been delivered. For the last year, the other members of the CUNA Mutual strategy team have been crisscrossing the country, touting that same message.
The presentation focuses on all of the current and future threats to the credit union structure. And there are many.
But, in my opinion, and after reviewing the presentation several times, Lass and his team favor one competitive advantage credit unions have over every one else. Their only real competitive advantage.
No, it’s not the latest social media tool, Gen Y initiative or even operational efficiency suggestion.
Although Lass and his team are very careful to allow credit union decision makers to decide on their own strategic direction, the messaging in the presentation it pretty clear.
And I think it is summed up perfectly by Lass in a recent quote about the presentation from a CUTimes piece.
“Our cooperative principals are the difference-maker for credit unions.” Lass said. “One member, one vote. Credit unions are the only financial institutions offering that kind of individual power and input.”
The week before Lass’s presentation, I attended (on line) the CU Water Cooler Symposium where Andy Wright from Seattle Metropolitan CU spoke on Can the Cooperative Principals Drive Business? Powerful!
Andy’s answer…YES! And SMCU should know because they have “done it right”!
So this should be a solid strategy for credit unions to consider, right? And with it being the United Nations Year of Cooperatives, we should be seeing some serious effort from credit unions, right?
Well, I don’t see it. And I just don’t understand it.
When I tweeted as such the other day I got a reply saying, in essence, “that members don’t seem care about the 7 Principles”.
Well, SMCU members care about them!
