Get Rid of the Boring Stuff At Your Credit Union
by Bo McDonald
Starbucks and Southwest Airlines are really awesome companies. When I’ve been to at a conference listening to the speaker extoll the operations of such great companies, it always seems like someone sitting next to me will nudge me with a comment. “Yeah man, that’s what we need to start doing at OUR credit union.”
But they’re are living in the moment and experiencing the buzz of great ideas. And like any drug, the high wears off. And by the time most attendees get back to their credit union, the notes from that session become a pipe dream instead of a real vision for the future of their credit union.
Instead of trying to embrace and implement a huge culture change at your credit union, drop back and punt. Remember the old adage about boiling a frog? If you throw the frog into a pot of boiling water he’ll jump right out. But if you put the frog into a vat of water and slowly turn the heat up he’ll never know the difference. Your recipe for a successful change in culture at your credit union is boiling the water slowly.
Why not take a look at what keeps your members from doing more business with your credit union and start there? Take inventory and try these three things:
1. Get rid of boring stuff
2. Get rid of the stress and hassles
3. Ditch the fees (kind of)
Get Rid of the Boring Stuff
Think back to your early days. If your first home or apartment didn’t have a washing machine you may have had to frequent the Laundromat. It wasn’t a trip you looked forward to, and it certainly wasn’t the highlight of your week. I can recall having to make use of community washers and dryers back in NY. It was an hour or two of my life each week I will never get back. Books, crossword puzzles, and anything else killed some time before we had smartphones and iPads.
