Credit unions have to stop confusing the mission with the method.
Louise Herring said credit unions must remember what we started out to do, and find modern techniques to accomplish it. That’s just as true today as it was then.
The mission was never branches. It was never paper statements. It was never “the way we’ve always done it.”
The mission was people. People who were overlooked. People who needed access. People who needed someone in their corner. And those people still exist today.
They just might be 28 years old instead of 68. They might want to open an account from their phone instead of walking into a branch. They might need help navigating student loans, rising rent, and a financial system that still wasn’t built for them.
That doesn’t mean the mission changed. It means the obstacle changed.
Marcus Aurelius wrote: “The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.”
That’s leadership. The obstacle isn’t the thing preventing the mission. The obstacle IS the mission now.
Member expectations changed? Good. Adapt.
Technology changed? Adapt.
Your community changed? Adapt.
Not because we’re abandoning who we are. Because we’re trying to stay true to it. Too many credit unions are fighting to preserve methods while slowly losing relevance. And relevance matters because irrelevance is what leads communities to lose local institutions that once mattered deeply.
You can honor legacy members while still building for the next generation. Actually, you have to. Because younger members need credit unions today just as much as previous generations did decades ago. Maybe more.
The tactics can evolve. The delivery can evolve. The experience can evolve.
The mission cannot.
If you feel stuck, we want to help. For almost 20 years,
we've helped hundreds of credit unions navigate change and adapt their marketing to today's ever-changing environment. We can help you, too.
Email me and let's talk.