byMatt Monge
We’re all trying to figure ourselves out, aren’t we? Individuals are “finding themselves,” young leaders arefinding their way(ormaybe they’re not, depending how you look at it), groups are figuring outwho they areorwho they can’t be, organizations are figuring outtheir identity,brands are trying to communicate an organization’s essence, and movements (or systems,depending how you look at it) are trying tofind their soul.
The thing is, try as we may, we still very often end uplooking or sounding or acting or trying to be just like dozens of others. Don’t believe me? Check outthis listof bank and credit union taglines.
A couple years ago at theCU Water Cooler Symposium, Ed Brett said something that continues to resonate with me. Duringhis talk that year, he essentially said that credit unions have to be “better bankers than bankers.” In other words, at least one potential differentiator is being better at our business. Profound, yes? I thinkcultureis another of those differentiators, but the fact remains that we have to continue to improve at what we do.
Inhis most recent post here at the CU Water Cooler, Brett said something that afriend and colleague of minehave talked about several times in the last couple years. It’s not enough just to be good at what we do, or even just a little better than our competitors at what we do. We have to be “differentlybetter.”
