Read the whole credit union strategic planning guide here.
Ahhh, credit union strategic planning… Is it something you look forward to? Or is it more of a necessary evil?
The last year has revealed that credit unions must take a more proactive approach to remote solutions, digital delivery, business continuity planning, and risk. Today is the time to think about the credit union world we want tomorrow.
To remain competitive against local banks, fintechs, and major tech companies, we’ll need to take the next step. That means taking a holistic approach to progress and asking the right questions… some of which might be difficult.
Looking for trend analysis and vendor rankings? See our CU 2.0 Guides here!
So, looking for quick strategic planning questions to ask your credit union’s board? You can get started here:
Credit Union Strategic Planning Topics About Growth
- If you had to process 3x your normal loan or member growth volume, how would you?
- Where do you want to be in 3 years?
- What market trends support that vision?
- What client demands support that vision?
- What are the tactical plans to support that goal?
- What are the known risks?
- If you could rebuild the credit union 2.0, what would it look like?
- What are the top 10 questions we have about our credit union (analytics based)? What would you do differently if you knew the answer?
Credit Union Strategic Planning Topics for Critical Self-Evaluation
- What is the one thing your credit union was worst at this year? What needs to happen to fix it?
- What is one thing your credit was best at? How can you double down on it?
- What is the single metric that you least like hearing about this year? Why? What can you do to change it?
- Where do we use analytics well?
- Are we moving or reacting fast enough in the marketplace?
- In each department, what should you start? What should you stop? What should you continue?
- What are our best service experience and memories?
Credit Union Strategic Planning Topics About Culture
- What are some examples of living your core values?
- What are some examples of failing to live your core values?
- If you could change one thing about the credit union, what would it be?
- What are the top 3 credit unions we admire and why?
- What does the perfect member look like? Where do they hang out? Who do they know?
- What makes an ideal board member?
- If you were the new CXO and were brought in tomorrow, what were three things you would fix immediately?
Credit Union Strategic Planning Wildcard Questions
- Does your credit union have strategies for AI, cryptocurrency, or digital-first delivery?
- If a perfect competitor opened across the street tomorrow, what would they look like?
- If we were to rebuild our credit union with no branches, what would it look like?
- If the NCUA got merged into the FDIC, what would change?
- If your largest SEG went out of business, what would you change?
Any of these credit union strategic planning topics can help you and your board plan for a brighter, warmer future.
Credit Union Strategic Planning Facilitators
Kirk Drake and Chris Otey take a unique approach to planning sessions. Their goals are to deal with some of the real issues facing credit unions. These include:
- Who is your ideal member?
- How do we improve board governance?
- How do we get our board to look more like our membership?
- How do we deal with the onslaught of fintechs and technology?
- How do we change our culture to be more like a fintech?
Kirk Drake is the author of Credit Union 2.0 and Financial. He is also the CEO of a large technology CUSO, founder of CU Wallet, and CEO of CU 2.0. Drake has great insights from both his time working at a credit union through his entrepreneurship and board experience.
As board chair of South Bay Credit Union and former CU Wallet and Fiserv executive, Chris has worked with hundreds of credit unions to help them deal with board governance, CUSOs, and other technology challenges.
