Remember your WHY when strategic planning

As many credit union executives and volunteers congregate around board tables this fall for their all-important strategic planning meetings, I wanted to share some brain food from one of my favorite authors, Simon Sinek. He said, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

Yes, our business function might be the buying and selling of money in its basic form. Yes, there may be as many different financial services providers doing exactly what you do as there are stars in the sky. Yes you may have a lot of competition for your own members’ money and financial services business.

But remember this important point above all else as your team discusses and makes plans for this fall…there is not a single other credit union or financial services provider exactly like yours. Not another one with your employees who uniquely deliver a one-of-a-kind brand experience to your members. Not another one with your specific group of members, and especially core group of raving fans who are your brand army. Not another one who makes the same impact on your given community as you. Not another one who does it how you do it.  

So if you find yourself without a definitive answer to what you believe as a credit union, ask yourself as a team, “why do we do what we do and why do we serve the people we serve?”

Mission and vision statement reviews have always been a checkbox to mark off during the strategic planning process. But answering this vital question of why will help direct all of the strategic efforts of your credit union from your goals to your budgets and everything in between. Tactics and everything else are secondary to the core beliefs of your credit union, which will drive everything you do.