Pivot your credit union’s strategy

“You need to pivot!” If you have your coronavirus bingo card, you could check that word off a dozen times, along with “the new normal,” “social distancing” and dozens of other buzzwords that have become popular in strategic planning for credit unions over the last few months. But let’s focus on just this one: pivot.

What does it mean to pivot? Quora gives the business definition of pivot as this: A pivot usually occurs when a company makes a fundamental change to its business after determining (usually through market research) that its product isn’t meeting the needs of its intended market.

That’s a good start, but Simon Sinek took it a step further in an online video last month. Not only should your credit union strategy pivot to meet the needs of your members in this new normal, but your pivot should be based on your “why” and not your “what.”

Based on Sinek’s example, if you only pivot your business plan on your what (the loans and products you offer) you’re greatly limiting your potential for growth. An example of pivoting on your what is shifting your service focus from in branch to online. It’s necessary, but it’s not going far enough to remain relevant and position yourself for growth coming out of this crisis.

 

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