Strategic planning is one of the most rewarding parts of working in this industry. There’s something energizing about getting board members and leadership teams out of the day-to-day and into a room to talk about the future.
When I worked inside a credit union, planning was always a bit messy. We’d start with big goals, then stack new initiatives on top of old ones. Every year, it got harder to keep track of it all. That’s when we realized: A good plan isn’t just about what to do. It’s also about what not to do.
Over time, we found a planning structure that helps credit unions stay focused, aligned, and mission-driven—without feeling overwhelmed.
Looking for topics and questions for your next strategic planning session? Start here!
Vision
Every good planning session begins with a shared understanding of where the credit union is going. That might mean defining a five-year goal. It might mean imagining what the credit union could look like in 10 years. It doesn’t have to be flashy. It just has to be clear enough that the board and the leadership team can see the same horizon.
We’ve found that starting with vision helps teams get out of the weeds and into the right headspace. Once people are thinking about the future, it’s easier to talk about change—and easier to get aligned on priorities.
This is also a great time to bring in a speaker or facilitator… someone to paint a picture for your executive team and board so you can share a vision and get alignment.
(Check out our speaker highlights to see us in action!)
Data and Industry Trends
A shared vision is powerful. But people also need to see the facts.
That’s where the data comes in. Your team or your facilitators might work ahead of time to choose a handful of metrics that tell the story of where they are now. That might be average member age, lending penetration, or interest margin. You could draw on external data, too, to give a sense of what’s happening across the industry.
This is also a time to surface key trends. These don’t always come from spreadsheets—sometimes they come from frontline experience or board conversations. But the idea is the same:
Know what’s happening so you can plan for what’s next.
And to help give that data more meaning, we’ll often ask board or staff members to explain what they’re seeing behind the numbers. The result is a shared understanding of both the credit union’s position and the direction things are heading.
Mission Alignment and Brand Consistency
One thing that trips up strategic planning is when a credit union’s goals drift too far from its core identity. Most credit unions have strong mission and vision statements, starting from when they were first chartered. But those values don’t always remain consistent over the years… nor do they get translated into day-to-day decisions and long-term planning.
A good strategic planning session revisit those values and ask a simple but powerful question:
Are we still doing what we said we would do?
From there, we look at branding not as a marketing exercise, but as a consistency check. Are the member experiences aligned with the mission? Do our strategic priorities reflect what we say we stand for?
It’s not about sticking to tradition for tradition’s sake. It’s about making sure the credit union grows in a way that’s consistent with its values.
Service, Profit, Growth Challenge
Every board and leadership team has a different mix of priorities. Some are focused on growing membership. Others want to protect margins. Many still place service above all.
In planning sessions, it’s important to discover these differences early. Ask each person to rank service, profit, and growth—then we look at the patterns. It’s a simple alignment exercise, but it helps identify miscommunications before they turn into tension.
This kind of clarity makes decision-making easier later in the process. Everyone knows what the priorities are, and why.
Furthermore, it ensures that when Kathy disagrees with Steve regarding a new initiative, everybody understands that it’s because Kathy cares more about profit, whereas Steve is focused on service.
SWOT and Strategic Positioning
Once the groundwork is laid, it’s time to assess the credit union’s current position. Usually, this means a SWOT analysis or similar framework—something that identifies what’s working, what’s not, and where the biggest risks and opportunities are.
The goal is not to produce a long list. It’s to focus attention on the issues that matter most.
If the board and leadership team can agree on what’s at stake and where the strengths are, everything else starts to flow more naturally.
Plan Definition
With a clear vision, aligned priorities, and a realistic picture of the current landscape, it’s time to set goals.
Teams must define concrete, measurable outcomes. Not just “launch this” or “upgrade that,” but “reach this number” or “reduce this friction.” It’s important to clearly state outcomes because they tell you whether the work is actually making a difference.
All goals may be sorted based on impact, effort, and urgency. That turns a messy to-do list into a strategic plan you can actually use.
Stop Doing
The final step is often the hardest: deciding what to stop.
Every team is busy. Every department is full. If you want to do something new, you have to make space for it. That might mean sunsetting a project, ending a partnership, or pausing a pilot that never took off.
Cutting things isn’t fun. But it’s the only way to make room for the future you just planned.
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Want CU 2.0 to facilitate your credit union’s next strategic planning session? Get started here:
