3 strategic planning lessons Clark Griswold can teach credit unions
by. Emily Maxie
As we near the end of the year, credit union managers probably have two things on their minds—Christmas and strategic planning. As much as we’d all like to close up the offices for the whole month of December, there are a lot of important decisions that still have to be made before the end of the year.
Every year, I start out the Christmas season by watching my favorite Christmas movie—National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. This year as I watched it, I noticed some similarities between Clark’s story and the strategic planning challenges facing credit unions. Ok, it’s probably not really that bad, but there are still some interesting connections to be made. So with no further adieu, I present 3 Strategic Planning Lessons Credit Unions Can Learn from Christmas Vacation.
Don’t Work in a Vacuum
Your members will often give you tips on how to improve your services and initiatives, but only if you seek out their feedback. In the movie, Clark’s family asks if he’s being too ambitious by picking a tree that couldn’t even fit in their front yard or by decorating their house with “25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights.”
Clark’s Christmas, just like your member satisfaction, could be greatly improved by listening to others. There’s no point in working hard on a new initiative if none of your members want it. As you work on your plans for 2014, be sure to seek out member feedback. Ask them how they feel about interacting with your credit union. What would they change? Listen to their concerns and then brainstorm ways to create offerings to align with their needs.
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