There’s a lot going on in today’s financial industry. Institutions want to implement AI as it rapidly develops. Profitability is a concern as many fees come under attack. Fraud is a bigger and bigger threat to your balance sheet.
And it’s easy to get hung up on these developments…sometimes at the expense of the basics.
It’s time to return to the fundamentals of successful community financial institutions. The building blocks of success. Because without a firm foundation in the fundamentals, you won’t be prepared to deal with more complex issues on the horizon.
In Part One of this blog series, the focus is on community bank or credit union strategic planning. Let’s look at the five essential keys to a killer strategic plan.
1. Simplicity Wins
Complicated does not mean better. It usually means worse. Incredible enterprises have simple origins.
Herb Kelleher and Rollin King started Southwest Airlines from a sketch done on a napkin. Richard Branson invested in Virgin Blue following a pitch performed from notes on a beer coaster. But simplicity doesn’t just work for airlines; it works for community bank or credit union strategic planning too.
State your initiatives in plain English. There are no rewards for fancy lingo, but there are demerits. Confusing initiatives are harder to execute than clear ones.
Limit the size of your planning document and avoid flooding everything with data. It must be a readable reference rather than merely a way to impress regulators.The best plans have brief insights…not reams of numbers.
2. Communication
A successful plan needs every staff member rowing in the same direction towards the same goal. For that to happen, you must have a simple plan (see point one) communicated – nay, overcommunicated – at all levels of the institution.
Your Board and senior leaders must believe in the plan. But so must your loan officers, IT folks and tellers.
Don’t let the results of your community bank or credit union strategic planning session stay locked in a bubble. Bring up the goals at each all-staff meeting, and update people on your progress. Tell specific groups what they can do to make the plan succeed.
3. Follow-Up
As Keith Ferrazzi says, “Follow up is the key to success in any business.” That includes your business – the business of community financial institutions.
You must systemize your plan and regularly check on it. Every 90 days or so is a good benchmark to stop and assess your progress. Where is every goal at? One high-level way to measure progress is the red, yellow, green system:
- Red = The goal is at serious risk of failing.
- Yellow = There are speed bumps needing solutions.
- Green = Everything is proceeding well.
It’s tempting to overuse numerical measurements here, but go back to point one again: simplicity wins.
Follow-up generates greater focus around emergencies in your community bank or credit union strategic planning. You figure out where you’re falling behind and you tackle it together.
4. Implementation
The best plan is the one you implement. It honestly doesn’t matter how smart your goals are if you never do anything about them. You must act.
Harvard Business Review says 60% to 90% of strategic plans never fully launch. Leaders have a big planning day or two, then shove their goals on a shelf for the dust mites to enjoy. Sound familiar?
If it does, you don’t have to stay stuck in a rut. Take your strategy to the tactical level so it gets done. Some helpful tips are:
- Break down each goal into actions needed to achieve it
- Give every task an “owner” – someone responsible for its success or failure
- Assign a deadline to every task
- Revisit these tasks in your weekly meetings to problem solve
Of course, this is real life. Things happen to derail the plan or put you behind. Not everything is going to run smoothly. But if you have an implementation system in place, it will be easier to get back on your feet and drive toward successful bank or credit union strategic planning goals.
5. Impact
Your plan must get results…that’s kind of the whole point!
“Results” doesn’t always mean pretty balance sheet numbers. Your plan should have positive bottom-line effects, but don’t forget about the real bottom line: serving your members or customers.
Generate more than results. Generate impact. Make consumers’ lives better.
Impact and positive numbers go hand-in-hand. Investing in a new website not only improves consumer experience, but it also attracts new consumers. Regularly supporting local causes helps those in need while marketing yourself as a dependable community partner.
Ensure your community bank or credit union strategic planning impacts those you serve, and you’ll find the results you seek.
Ready to master these five fundamentals? On The Mark Strategies strategic planning facilitators help you get where you want to go with your bank or credit union strategic planning. Dates are filling up fast, so book a free consultation today to get started.
