By Ray Birch
DENVER—The choice is clear for every credit union: Innovate, or go out of business, according to one person. And if the former is the CU’s choice, there are three things to do.
Speaking to Filene Research Institute’s Big.Bright.Minds. meeting here, Jeffrey Robinson outlined what those three things are that credit unions can deploy to drive innovation within their organization and remain competitive in what has become a dynamically changing market.
“If you are not innovative, you will not be here,” said Robinson, associate professor and academic director at Rutgers University and a Filene Fellow. “For some of you, you're on different parts of the journey, right? Some of you are really far down the path and you say, ‘OK, we've done some great things and have used some of those innovative techniques that people have talked about.’ But some of us are at the beginning of that journey.”
Robinson said attendees at Big.Bright.Minds. naturally get excited about innovation during the event, but then the question quickly becomes, “What’s next?”
Not the Right Approach
What often happens within companies is most people are used to working on proprietary systems and tools, getting things right before launch and offering better products over time, according to Robinson.
“I will tell you, from someone who teaches entrepreneurship and innovation, that's not what innovative folks are doing. Especially the young and nimble companies,” said Robinson. “They are moving toward open systems, beta versions and going through constant iterations. That can feel like a clash of civilizations. But they need to do so to innovate for today, as well as for tomorrow.”
Jeffrey Robinson
Robinson emphasized this does not mean the entire credit union is going to be doing “a big experiment.”
“There are some things that have to be done, things that you've been doing well, but to be competitive, you’ve got to do some things that are a little bit different than the way you've been doing it before,” said Robinson, pointing to three things—commitment, approach and implementation.
Step One
The first step is commitment, said Robinson.
“You have got to commit. You got to actually do what you say you're going to do,” said Robinson. “You say you want to be innovative, but are you willing to invest in the people, the resources and the partnerships? Let me be clear about that. When I say investing or making a commitment, it's about finding the innovative leaders and teams and launching those teams. Finding the working groups. Getting your board and executive team engaged. Getting your staff engaged. And also your members.”
Step Two
The next step is to pay attention to the approach, explained Robinson.
“During COVID I saw a lot of changes at my own credit union,” noted Robinson. “I said, ‘Wow, I didn't know they could do that.’ Maybe some of you realized the same thing—didn't know the credit union could move that fast. Now, there was a reason for that. Everything shut down and we came up with some new approaches, some new ways to do things. But it was a reaction, or reaction to things that were happening.
“But there is another approach, though—a proactive approach. This considers the future challenges and starts to think about what are those future challenges? Compare that to the reactive approach—we'll get it done,” he continued. “The proactive approach is a lot better, because then we wouldn't have to have these extraordinary events forcing us to make a change. You have got to have some objectives, some reasons why you're doing it.”
Step Three
Implementation is that final step.
“So, what do you have to do in order to get where you want to go,” said Robinson. “We got to do some things.”
Robinson urged attendees to think hard about the things he addressed during his presentation.
“I want you to remember the three things I emphasized—commitment, approach and implementation. It’s going to take people, time and resources—and that includes financial resources,” he said. “It's also going to take some partnerships. And when it comes to your approach are you being reactive or are you being proactive?”