In a recent post, I blogged about “10 Questions to Ask at Your Strategic Planning Session.” The always thought provoking Ron Shevlin added a question that was incredibly insightful. He said, “Here’s the question I would add to your list: what are we doing now that we need to STOP doing? (i.e., is there a project or initiative than should be killed?)?”
That question stopped me in my tracks and made me think. Many strategic planning sessions are all about what we’re going to do in the coming months and years. That’s a necessity, but the reality is that approach can just lead to giant “To Do” list. One project gets stacked on top of another. As those lists build up, then the credit union ends up with one thing piled on top of another. Sometimes the management team can feel like a gerbil running in one of those circular wheels.
Maybe Ron is on to something and perhaps there are indeed things your credit union should stop doing. So here are some thoughts to drill down on that discussion at your credit union:
- What products are your members not using—Lack of product adoption may not be a lack of marketing issue. It may be that your members simply don’t want or need them. If there are certain products your members are not using but you are spending an inordinate amount of time training, marketing, etc. then the product may not be producing a strong ROI.
- Where have you created confusion for your staff—If your staff doesn’t understand a particular project, direction, or product then why are you doing it? You may not need to kill it entirely, but you may need to spend more time with your staff.
- What product line has too many choices—How many checking accounts or CD types do you have? At one point in my previous credit union (Neighborhood Credit Union) we had seven or eight checking accounts. Our CEO, Chet Kimmell, realized that was way too many. So with his leadership we reduced them. In buying situations, having too many choices sometimes leads to no choice. Keep your products simple.
- Where is your management team overloaded—Everyone is overworked; this is especially true with many credit union management teams. While we may calculate the budget costs of a particular project, have we also calculated the human costs? Some of your initiatives and projects take a great deal of time. So either kill the project or kill the ten other responsibilities you are asking your people to complete.
- What products are outdated—Some credit union products are just too old. But instead of retiring a product we just keep it around. Maybe it’s time to put some of your products out to pasture. Try innovating instead of retreading.
The truth is there are probably a number of things your credit union should stop doing. This is a tough question to ask but the answers could greatly improve your credit union’s overall effectiveness and efficiency.
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