😎 Sorry, keep getting distracted by the infighting and financials... those will play out over the next few months, lets try to stay focused on the longer term.
A couple of key issues have been discussed: 1) Credit unions were created to be different from banks and everybody knew that [Chapter 4 link], 2) as time passed, people forgot that original difference and came to view credit unions as just another bank [Chapter 3 - Kleenex], 3) many credit unions started acting like banks which heightened the problem [Chapter 7 - Greed], 4) is it too late to change the "credit union is a bank" perception? [Chapter 6 - Unicorns], 5) if so where is the opportunity? [Chapter 9 - Piggy Banks].
Also in Chapter 10 [link] "What do members want?", we found a pretty simple answer: They want what you want as a consumer - convenient, consistent, high quality service at a the lowest possible cost. Easy enough, no problem - right? Well, how would you do it, how would you create a unicorn?
You might start by considering the advice of one of the most highly regarded theorists on business strategy in the world, Michael Porter [Harvard and all that you know!] Here are some key bullet points from his famous essay "What is Strategy" in the Harvard Business Review:
✅ What is Strategy?
- "Competitive strategy is about being different. It means choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value."
- "A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at a lower cost, or do both."
- "Choosing to compete in one way and not another makes organizational priorities clear. Companies that try to be all things to all customers risk confusion in the trenches as employees attempt to make day-to-day operating decisions without a clear framework."
- "The strategic agenda demands discipline and continuity; its enemies are distraction and compromise."
If you change the word "company" to "credit union" and the word "customer" to "member", you will see that creating a unicorn at SECU is not only quite possible, but is in fact a necessity.
Seeking to be "industry standard" at SECU is a sure formula for failure - as it would be for any business. The Legacy 8 SECU Board doesn't appear to understand how to create a basic business strategy, nor the importance "There is a Difference" has been to the member-owners - and to the financial success of SECU. That lack of understanding by this group is what this struggle at heart is about ...
The "Leg 8" - Mona Moon, Chair, Stelfanie Williams, Vice-Chair, Jennifer Haygood, Sec-Treas, Chris Ayers, Bob Brinson, Mark Fleming, Ben McLawhorn, McKinley Wooten, Jr.
At SECU are "organizational priorities clear", is there "confusion in the trenches", are "operating decisions without a clear framework" being made, are the "demands of discipline and continuity" being practiced?
😎 Good news! Next 5 days, examples of a unicorn in action!
