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As a veteran of nearly four decades in the Credit Union Movement, Patrick Adams has seen and been a part of many changes. For the current President/CEO of St. Louis Community CU, now is not the time for CUs to stop changing. "Stability is not the goal; continuous change is the goal," Adams implored the crowd of Maine CU professionals at the Management Roundtable.
In his presentation titled, "Thrive in the Shift," Adams covered a variety of topics and encouraged credit unions to look for "Hmm moments but you must do more than just say 'hmm'; you must be ready, willing and able to change. The velocity of change in today's financial services environment is so fast that you can't wait for things to stabilize." Adams said that a great opportunity exists for credit unions to dominate the financial services marketplace because "millennials can't stand banks. They are there for the taking and they desperately need financial services. However, credit unions must be the 'thing-to-do' for consumers; thus, you must be transformative in your thinking not static. Remember, nobody shrinks into greatness."
Adams warned the audience that today's competitors are innovative and associated with change with names, such as Apple, Google and Amazon positioning to compete. "Firms outside of our industry are wielding new technology and, as a result, are competing with credit unions. If you are not a risk-taker, you risk being left behind."
The presentation also urged credit unions to "discuss the future at every board meeting. There is too much focus on the past. I am here to tell you to forget about it, and embrace strategic planning not just once a year on the calendar but all the time. Too often, leaders fixate on what made them successful and fail to notice what is new and that new is displacing them. Again, don't just focus on the marketplace...anticipate the future. If you do, chances are your credit union won't be just a part of it, you'll be leading it."
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