The CUInsight Experience podcast: Create vs. innovate (#203)

Welcome to episode 203 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com, and Jill Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei.

This episode is sponsored by Trellance. Trellance is a leading technology partner for credit unions, delivering innovative technology solutions to help credit unions achieve more. With a comprehensive suite of analytics, cloud and talent solutions, the Trellance team ensures credit unions increase efficiency, manage risk, and improve member experience.

In this season Jill and I will have conversations centered around leadership, credit unions, and living our best lives. We will have some of the most respected leaders from around credit unions who we are grateful to call friends join us in the discussion from time to time too.

In this episode, we discuss creation vs. innovation and what we believe the primary differences between the two are. We discuss how leaders can strike the right balance between creating something entirely new and innovating on something that already exists. We also share our thoughts on the role of A.I. in speeding up innovation, why collaboration is important, and how organizations can put strategic change into effect.

We offer some insights into how leaders can stay ahead in an industry that is always evolving and changing. We talk about the challenges of gaining team buy-in, how to manage incremental improvements while also encouraging bold creation, and why it’s crucial to set clear, actionable steps after every planning session. We also discuss the idea of "minimum viable products" and how launching small ideas that can be tested can lead to truly meaningful innovation.

We hope that you will tune in for our conversation on how staying curious, facilitating collaboration, and having a mindset focused on growth can really transform the way that credit unions serve their members!

[01:08] – Be sure to tune in to the next episode for a conversation with Mike Valentine!
[01:43] – Randy introduces the topic of balancing creation vs. innovation and asks how leaders can strike a good balance.
[02:28] – Jill explains the difference between creation and innovation.
[03:55] – Randy offers the iPhone as an example of creation.
[06:22] – AI innovation strengthens existing systems, while blockchain is a true disruption to financial services.
[09:52] – Jill views AI as a tool for innovation but believes that creation should still be a human endeavor.
[11:31] – Jill discusses some findings after having briefly researched creation and innovation.
[13:47] – Randy discusses the challenge of gaining team buy-in for innovation.
[15:01] – Being progressive requires visionary ideas, effective implementation, and accountability to reach innovation.
[17:48] – Randy highlights that strategic planning should include clear, actionable steps, early wins, and continuous assessment of progress.
[19:46] – Jill reflects on the idea of “making it exist” by launching imperfect ideas and gradually improving them.
[22:19] – Randy highlights the need for balance between creation and innovation in credit unions.
[24:50] – Leaders should set the pace for innovation and not just delegate it to departments.
[27:04] – Randy shouts out CUInsight’s CEO for evaluating tools and staying curious about new technology.
[28:51] – Randy stresses the importance of remaining curious, taking action on ideas, and encouraging gradual progress.
[30:21] – Both groundbreaking ideas and continuous improvement are needed for long-term success.