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Strategic Thinking and Credit Union Leaders: Strategic Aptitude Assessment Findings, Fall 2013Jarrad Roeder and Franck Schuurmans, Decision Strategies International

Foreword by Lou Centini, University of Virginia

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to Paul Schoemaker, Steve Krupp, and Samantha Howland at Decision Strategies International who developed the strategic thinking frame‑work at the foundation of this report. We thank the five CEOs who, through confidential interviews, contributed their views on leader‑ship, strategy, and the credit union system. Finally, we want to thank the 68 credit union leaders who provided their honest feedback by filling out the Strategic Aptitude Assess‑ment. We also thank Filene for supporting us in our research effort. Our findings, and par‑ticularly the Strategic Aptitude Assessment, can contribute to enhancing strategic leader‑ship understanding at credit unions.

Filene thanks our generous supporters for making this important research possible.

Table of Contents

4 FoRewoRd

6 executive SummaRy

8 chapteR 1

Strategic Thinking and the Changing Credit Union Landscape

20 chapteR 2

Research Methodology and Findings

25 chapteR 3

Conclusion

26 appendix

32 SuggeSted Reading

34 endnoteS

35 LiSt oF FiguReS

37 about the authoRS

40 about FiLene

by Lou Centini

Managing Director, Executive Education and Lecturer of Business

Administration, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia

Strategic thinking is an essential component of effective leadership, but it is elusive. One of the primary reasons for the dearth of strategic thinking is that many of today’s leaders are confused by what it means, let alone how to effectively build it into their leadership toolkit. The leadership literature has only compounded the problem. Strategic thinking has not been well defined; that is, until now.

Decision Strategies International (DSI) has developed one of the clear‑est definitions of strategic thinking that I have come across in my 30‑plus years of studying strategy and leadership, as well as a practical model for applying it. Based on years of research covering over 25,000 leaders, DSI has identified the six distinct elements of strategic thinking that every leader, including credit union executives, must know and do. This report serves as a practical guide for those leaders committed to improving their strategic thinking capability.

While the model has general applicability for all leaders, Jarrad Roeder and Franck Schuurmans, who both have extensive experience consulting for credit unions, have related their findings directly to credit union lead‑ers. They identify the unique challenges facing credit unions in today’s dynamic and increasingly competitive environment, then point to the proven skills necessary to navigate this turbulent world.

In addition to offering a simple, concrete model, Roeder and Schuurmans give us the gift of a practical tool: DSI’s Strategic Aptitude Assessment. This instrument has proven predictive validity to identify the strategic thinking skills that really matter in today’s world. I recommend credit union boards consider incorporating this assessment tool in the selection and evaluation of CEOs and other executive‑ level leaders.

While credit union leaders should take heart that overall, they scored higher than other leaders on strategic thinking, the findings also point to a number of concerns that credit union leaders should note. Most of the con‑cerns relate to the insular perspective many credit union leaders continue to embrace. The danger signs are overconfidence in their understanding

Foreword

FoRewoRd FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

of the industry, looking backward instead of forward, and expecting past success to lead to future success; all are bound to lead to failure given the rapidly changing credit union world. The good news is, the authors don’t stop there—they offer a set of practical recommendations to remedy each concern.

Einstein once espoused that a great idea must meet three criteria: it must be simple (as simple as it needs to be; no more and no less), it must be generalizable (have broad scope), and it must have impact. Roeder’s and Schuurmans’s work here clearly meets all three criteria. They have made a valuable contribution to the credit union system with their rigorous research, analysis, and findings that have the potential to boost the strate‑gic thinking capability of credit union leaders.

This is a must‑read for all credit union leaders and boards.

Franck SchuurmansDecision Strategies International

Jarrad RoederDecision Strategies International

meet the authoRS

Pick your poison. Expansion of regulatory oversight. A weak economy. His‑torically low interest rates. High costs for technology investments. Stability of the member‑ based business model. Overall economic uncertainty. It’s a tough time to be a credit union leader. In this uncertain environment, the search for a silver bullet, one definitive answer to all these challenges, is foolish. Instead, today’s leaders need the ability to ask penetrating ques‑tions and manage a portfolio of possible answers. The model for strategic leadership offered in this report brings both analysis and process to this daunting task.

what is the Research about?

The literature on leadership is vast1 and highly fragmented, with wide‑ ranging and often conflicting advice for leaders. To address this challenge, Decision Strategies International (DSI) focuses its research on leadership, specifically as it intersects with the field of strategy. What are the dimen‑sions of strategic leadership, and how can an individual leader develop and enhance those traits? DSI researchers have broken up the hazy concept of strategic thinking into six elements: Anticipate, Challenge, Interpret, Decide, Align, and Learn. Together, these building blocks form the founda‑tion of the leadership vision. This approach is highly dynamic, and in this report we define the six elements and provide concrete suggestions for improving your personal strength in each.

To investigate how the six elements of strategic thinking are deployed within the credit union system today, Filene asked DSI to conduct personal interviews with and administer its Strategic Aptitude Assessment (a survey tool to measure strategic thinking ability) to the CEOs of 68 credit unions across North America. The surveyed population represents a diverse sample of backgrounds, genders, years of experience, and credit union models. The respondents all lead institutions with more than $500 million in assets.

what are the credit union implications?

In analyzing the assessment results, several statistically significant insights emerged:

→ CEOs with an accounting or finance background were found to be below average in their anticipating ability, in addition to scoring lowest on overall strategic thinking.

Executive Summaryoverview

Measure your leadership or leadership potential with these six interconnected disciplines: Anticipate, Challenge, Interpret, Decide, Align, and Learn. Your credit union’s success depends on your ability to improve upon each, compensate for your shortcomings, and weave all six together.

executive SummaRy FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

→ Generational differences in strategic thinking were seen among credit union leaders, though greater experience did not necessarily translate to greater strategic thinking ability.

→ No difference was found between the strategic thinking abilities of male and female CEOs.

→ The larger a credit union, the lower its CEO scored in both Chal‑lenge and Decide.

→ A CEO’s ability to decide decreased with a larger number of employees to manage.

→ Hybrid‑ model credit unions (in contrast to sponsored or community‑ based institutions) stood out as significantly above average in their ability to align.

Overall, the 68 credit union CEOs sur‑veyed scored highest in their ability to decide, reflecting a history of successful quantitative decision making. Meanwhile, their weakest ele‑ment, Anticipate, highlights the dan‑gers to the future of the credit union system of a heads‑down, results‑ driven mentality. How‑ever, credit union leaders as represented by these 68 CEOs outperformed DSI’s database of 25,000 executives on four of the six elements of strategic thinking: Chal‑lenge, Decide, Align, and Learn. The group underperformed by only a small margin in Anticipate and Interpret.

Anticipate

DecideCredit union CEOs

Database average

InterpretAlign

ChallengeLearn

StRategIC aptItUDe SURVey ReSULtS

StRategic thinking and the changing cRedit union LandScape FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

chapteR 1

Strategic Thinking and the Changing Credit Union Landscape

Through the research of DSI and the Wharton School, which includes data from over 25,000 executives to date, six distinct skills have been identified that, when mastered and applied in concert, can allow lead‑ers to think strategically and operate under conditions of uncertainty. These skills are the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align, and learn. Each of these skill sets has been studied and docu‑mented in isolation, but little literature exists that studies these skills in the context of high‑stakes, uncertain decision‑ making environments

Strategic Thinking and Credit Union Leaders: Strategic Aptitude Assessment Findings, Fall 2013

Anticipate

Learn

Align

Chall

enge

Interpret

Decide

FiguRe 1

the SIx eLementS oF StRategIC thInkIng


like those faced by executives every day. In DSI’s research, an adaptable, strategic leader is one who is able to master and apply all six of these skills in concert.

the Six elements of Strategic thinkingBelow are brief descriptions of each of the six elements of strategic thinking. These skills, in combination, enhance the ability of an individual leader or a team to act strategically and to thrive in uncertain, complex conditions.

anticipate

The Idea in BriefStrategic leaders demonstrate relentless curiosity. They explore the periphery of the firm, the industry,

and the world at large. They do this not by examining the tried and familiar, but by focusing on weak

signals among the random noise. Curiosity, open- mindedness, and a commitment to “seeing around

the corner” characterize anticipation for the strategic leader. It is not familiar competitors or our best

clients who will herald the way of the future, but early developments in other fields, in analogous

industries, and in other parts of the world that provide early insight into what tomorrow will bring.

Most of the focus at many companies is on what’s directly ahead. Leaders lack “peripheral vision,” leaving their organization vulnerable to rivals that are able to detect and act on ambiguous signals. Strategic thinkers consistently look for signals of change, scanning their environment for signs of impending threats as well as emerging opportunities. They build networks across functions, organizations, and industries to stay informed on trends inside and outside their industry. Strategic leaders are vigilant. They look at issues from a broad perspective, and they stay close to customers to anticipate changing needs. They also study traditional and nontraditional competitors to stay one step ahead. By proactively monitoring changing market dynamics, these leaders are able to seize opportunities and mitigate threats—well ahead of the competition.

On the other hand, organizations without the ability to anticipate are vulnerable to rivals or disruptors that see and take advantage of early, easily missed signals sooner. For example, Coors, an American beer company, was late in seeing the trend toward low‑carb beers and lost significant market leadership as a result. The toymaker Lego originally missed the revolution in electronic toys and gaming.2 Lego also underestimated the retail power of Walmart and the rise of China, both of which exerted great price pressure on Lego. These companies are not the exception: Many organizations are narrowly focused on manag‑ing their offerings in their immediate business environment—a complicated landscape of


markets, customers, competitors, regulations, technology, and stakeholders. But the price of such focus often entails significant loss of peripheral vision.

The financial crisis of 2008 brought the need for peripheral vision to the forefront of the financial services industry. The impact of the crisis was felt by large banks, insurers, private industry, and consumers alike. Credit unions, while faring better than their banking coun‑terparts, were not immune to the effects of an improperly calibrated risk posture. Today, a renewed need for risk management has underscored the importance of anticipating and preparing for future economic crises and shocks.

In addition to a turbulent economic tide, credit unions are facing new and nontraditional competitors that threaten their traditional modes of operation. With survey results that show predicting competitors’ moves and reactions as the weakest strategic thinking abil‑ity among credit union CEOs, the risk posed by new entrants to the credit union system is exceptionally high. New entrants like online‑ only banking services and the advent of peer‑to‑peer lending are forcing credit union leaders to adopt a more forward‑ focused stance. “The shift now is from being reactive to proactive in identifying and addressing the needs of our members and stakeholders,” says one credit union CEO. “New delivery channels are erupting—with tablets, branches, phones, etc.—and the industry must be proactive in meet‑ing the needs of its next generation of members.”

“The shift now is from being reactive to proactive.”

To anticipate these needs, credit union leaders must both mind and mine the periphery of their business. The ability to “mind” a broad periphery requires divergent attention and actions across many areas and functions. One doesn’t know whether the next relevant signal will come from the realm of economics, politics, or technology, or from within the industry itself in terms of members or competitors. In contrast, when dealing with a well‑ defined part of the periphery, such as pending regulations or a specific technology, leaders should encourage the organization to thoroughly “mine” for knowledge in a specific area. Only a very close examination will reveal the key insights, usually after triangulating multiple sources of information. Mining the periphery, therefore, requires a strong conver-gent focus on a specific part of one’s surroundings and rapidly developing the capacity to respond to it.

Warning signs that you may be at risk:

→ You are confident you understand the industry because everyone agrees with your

assessments.

→ You hire people with similar industry background.


→ You have been using the same sources for industry intelligence for years—you feel trapped in

a world of industry experts.

→ You discount the risk of new market entrants.

Recommendations to improve anticipating:

→ Attend nonindustry events.

→ Design an external monitoring plan for your team—maintain a current list of key

uncertainties.

→ Identify the most likely sources of fundamental industry disruption.

→ Challenge peers to justify conventional wisdom arguments.

challenge

The Idea in BriefOver time, every individual and every organization develops a particular way of viewing the world.

Experience, expertise, and many other factors help shape this outlook on life and business. A stra-

tegic leader has to understand what the outlook of the organization is at any given time and must

have the courage to challenge the dominant logic, or “the way we do things around here.” A strate-

gic leader develops a sense of manageable paranoia and a willingness to challenge the status quo,

including his or her own. The ideal outlook is not an anxiety- driven sense of fear that will paralyze the

organization, but one that allows the organization to make “hamburgers out of sacred cows.”3

Strategic leaders question what others take for granted. They do not jump to judgment; instead they challenge their own assumptions, as well as those of others, to encourage creativity and divergent points of view. Only after examining a complex problem through many lenses and engaging in careful reflection do they take action.

To do this well a leader must have patience, courage, and an open mind. While survey results show open‑ mindedness as the strongest strategic thinking ability among credit union CEOs, in today’s customer‑ savvy, information‑ rich, distributed business environ‑ment, credit union leaders cannot be the sole source of critical thinking abilities in their organization. This capability needs to come from all ranks; it is necessary for all those who interact with staff members as well as third parties. The ability to challenge is a complex skill that cannot be relegated to a repeatable formula, yet a successful organiza‑tion requires its mastery by many employees. Leaders who lack the ability to challenge and think critically about information put their firm at risk, as well as their own career. A


dearth in challenging ability may jeopardize relationships, result in costly errors, or fail to detect significant risks faced by the organization.

A second aspect of challenging is expansive thinking. Declining membership growth and difficulty in attracting new talent have awoken credit union leaders to a need to do things differently; the traditional ways of thinking and modes of operation in the credit union sys‑tem no longer suffice. As one CEO put it, “Operational excellence has become a table stake; the need now is for creativity.” Yet another was quoted as saying, “It’s not as much about execution anymore; it’s about having big ideas and being able to lead people through change.”

“Operational excellence has become a table stake.”

Recognizing this shift, we’ve observed a change in the background of the credit union leader. The traditional quantitative, finance, and accounting paths to the CEO role are under increasing competition from those with a marketing or operations background. The hope is that these new leaders will help to transform their organizations, internalizing and institutionalizing the ability to challenge within the credit union’s culture.


→ Your decisions are often easily made but do not seem to “move the needle.”

→ You give greater weight to historic industry data than data suggesting shifts in the trends.

→ The people you seek out to help with your decisions are often the people you know won’t

challenge the process and will just “get it done.”

Recommendations to improve challenging:

→ Invite outsiders to help you understand and define problems.

→ Seek ways to keep your knowledge up to date in those areas where people believe you are

an expert.

→ Generate multiple frames for decisions before starting the decision- making process.

→ Define the problem to be solved and the skills needed to solve it before creating the deci-

sion team.


interpret

The Idea in BriefAnticipate is about honest exploration at the periphery of our focus, and Challenge pertains to the

courage to address entrenched thinking that may be outdated. Interpret refers to the ability of a

leader to view strategic challenges through multiple lenses and evaluate alternative interpretations

against robust decision criteria (strategic fit, risk/reward, organizational fit, financials, etc.).

Our interpretation of signals is very much determined by what we expect to see. If some‑thing does not fit our mental model, we often distort reality to make it fit rather than challenge our deeper assumptions. Not only do we heavily filter and distort the limited information reaching us, but we then seek information that further confirms our view. We might disproportionately talk to people who already agree with us. Or we may actively look for new evidence that bolsters our perspective, the so‑called confirmation bias, rather than pursuing a more balanced search strategy that also includes disconfirming evidence. Occa‑sionally, we may even engage in selective memory and forget those inconvenient facts that do not fit the overall picture.

Wisdom, however, requires the ability to compare multiple viewpoints and hypotheses to ascertain and interpret the facts as they emerge. Constructive, well‑managed conflict can help leaders and their teams to accept that not everyone sees the facts the same way, and that there are indeed multiple valid interpretations. This practice of constructive conflict results in better intelligence‑ gathering, a wider exploration of options, and a deeper exami‑nation of important issues.

In an era of increased business complexity within the credit union system, eliciting and integrating objective interpretations is a necessity. An increased emphasis on risk man‑agement within the credit union system is requiring leaders to interpret both complex quantitative and qualitative data objectively. Similarly, changing market demographics require an increasingly complex product portfolio, capable of serving the needs of a multi‑generational membership base. To resolve these issues, executives must link and interpret multiple sources of membership data, financial data, and marketing knowledge to proac‑tively identify and address the needs of members.



→ Your peers and subordinates seem to all be reading from the same playbook and bring you

the same perspective on issues.

→ You rely on input from a short list of trusted advisors.

→ You focus on putting out daily fires rather than possibly delaying action to look for the

source of the fire.

→ You often ignore data outliers as anomalies rather than potential weak signals.

Recommendations to improve interpreting:

→ Rotate new advisors into your decisions.

→ Reward those who challenge you.

→ Build enough time into the process so that people feel comfortable digging into deeper

problems.

decide

The Idea in BriefWith well-defined assumptions and good data, the decision process will be more productive. Still,

strategic leaders have to make sure that groupthink, gut calls, old habits, and analysis paralysis do

not stifle the strategic decision- making process. Furthermore, leaders play a key role in avoiding

groupthink by making sure that the decision team is truly diverse.

As a leader’s responsibilities grow and the stakes get higher, so does the criticality of sound decision making. In uncertain times, decision makers must make tough calls without the benefit of assured outcomes. When pressured to decide quickly, credit union leaders must balance rigor with appropriate risk thresholds. Typically, strategic thinkers will slow down the action to appreciate key decision factors and options. Rather than locking in on simple yes‑or‑no decision choices, they explore multiple options to serve the needs of both the business and its members. When a strategic choice is made with the right inputs and alter‑natives considered, leaders can then go much more quickly toward implementation.

For today’s credit unions, speed is of increasing importance. “We no longer live in an industrial economy, but rather a knowledge‑ based economy in which we must be pre‑pared to process data and make instant decisions.” Credit union leaders must find the right balance between detailed analysis and the speed of action demanded. They must balance the need for predictable, consistent performance achievement with the surprises


inherent in taking calculated risks. Successful adaptive leaders will systematically employ a disciplined process to arrive at a suitable position. They will carefully frame a decision approach from the outset to balance rigor and speed. Successful leaders tend to iterate their decisions as they adapt to real‑time market feedback. By thinking through the variety of potential outcomes of a decision, leaders may uncover flaws in underlying assumptions, unintended consequences, or how what seem to be near‑term decisions can lead to long‑term effects that degrade results.

“We must be prepared to process data and make instant decisions.”

Without a doubt, credit unions leaders are faced with difficult choices. The industry must redefine itself and “focus much more on articulating its value proposition.” “In the past, members used to just come through the door; now they need to be convinced.” If the credit union system is to survive and flourish, each leader must decide on a strategy, focus their efforts, and create unique value for a well‑defined membership base. Crafting a compelling yet adaptable new vision for an organization requires leaders who can both master and enable sound decision‑ making processes throughout their organization.


→ You rarely develop alternate plans when you make a decision.

→ You cannot remember the last time you asked for more time to make a decision.

→ Your decision does not usually include a list of success factors to help determine success of

implementation.

→ You resist requests to include “if-then” scenario options into your decisions.

→ You take the safe choice when confronted with ambiguous data.

Recommendations to improve deciding:

→ Define a successful decision up front.

→ Ensure you have the right expertise involved when making a decision.

→ Develop more than two viable options.

→ Conduct a decision pre- mortem.


align

The Idea in BriefQuestioning, challenging, exploring, and considering are not all that a strategic leader is tasked with.

Once a decision has been made, it is the task of the leader to bring all the stakeholders together and

begin the process of orderly execution. In today’s environment, edicts from above have only limited

success; stakeholders need to be heard, persuaded, and presented with a “fair process” to get them

to work in tandem toward success.

When defining strategic leadership, the emphasis is typically on planning ahead, critical thinking, and synthesizing information from multiple sources to make decisions. Viewing the challenge holistically, however, the ability to converge distinct views and agendas to advance a strategic decision is just as essential. We call this aligning. Strategic change can be achieved when people work as an integrated system to develop, stress‑test, and support transformation. Yet this is difficult, rare, and not without its own risks. A study by Beer and Eisenstat found that lack of top team alignment was the most deadly of the strategy killers.4 Poor coordination across functions, product lines, or borders was close behind.

Today’s chief executive can no longer be just an operator, but must also become an orga‑nizer and an influencer of people—both inside and outside the organization. Internally, credit unions have seen a shift toward a flatter organizational structure and a more col‑laborative style of leadership that requires a proficiency in gaining alignment. To be successful, “leaders must develop a cohesive team with different strengths and expertise.” They need to be able to collaborate and achieve results in an environment that is no longer top‑down.

“The job of today’s CEO is 90% communication.”

Externally, the role of the CEO has become one of communicator and influencer: “The job of today’s CEO is 90% communication.” CEOs communicate with their members and communities, and also with the lawmakers who craft regulations affecting their industry. “In the ’70s and ’80s, credit unions tried to be apolitical—we didn’t want to be biased or affiliated and thus assumed the safest position.” With ever more stringent regulation and compliance requirements, however, leaders must be able to proactively influence and gain alignment outside of their organizations. “Tomorrow’s leaders will have to continue to be a lot more politically savvy and engaged.”


The influence and political savvy inherent in the skill of aligning require open commu‑nication and engagement among key stakeholders to make sure they are on board and invested in win–win solutions. Strategic leaders need the mindset and skill set to balance the expectations of a diverse set of audiences and promote open dialogue and debate to engage the hearts and minds of key players. This type of strategic influence is advocated by Shell and Moussa in The Art of Woo for gaining deep understanding of the motivations of others while working toward a solution that can address their concerns and win them over.5 This takes thought, anticipation, diplomacy, and patience—but it is worth the effort. The rewards of collaboration and shared decision making are significant; they allow great companies to outperform their peers.


→ You recall leaving someone out of a decision process because you were concerned that

person would slow things down.

→ You get nervous when people disagree during a decision process and often try to smooth

things over.

→ Those who implement decisions are often not involved in making the decisions.

→ You often get the feeling that key stakeholders are working against you.

Recommendations to improve aligning:

→ Conduct a rigorous stakeholder analysis.

→ Check in with other related groups or individuals to discuss potential unintended conse-

quences of a strategic action before it is finalized.

→ Role-play or war-game strategy changes to better understand strategic reactions.

→ Continue to monitor stakeholder reaction.

Learn

The Idea in BriefLearning does not come naturally to us. Often our learning is selective, and we seek confirmation of

what we already believe to be true. Real learning requires an honest analysis of facts and causality.

Success will come from the combination of good process, serendipity, and execution.


A key imperative for strategic thinking is learning from experience. By this we mean the willingness to look squarely at one’s own performance in a transparent and nondefensive manner. Institutions such as the armed forces utilize the “after action review” to immedi‑ately learn what went well and what did not work on a mission. Because the outcome is too important to leave to chance, an after action review is used to create a structured process for analyzing what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better next time by both the main participants and those responsible for the mission.

Today’s credit union leaders have greater responsibility and manage much more complex organizations than they did in the past, which, as with the military, requires them to learn from experience. Yet, as each experienced leader in the credit union system reaches retire‑ment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a successor. The leaders of the credit union system are retiring en masse, and the talent needed to replace them is no longer readily available. This broad succession issue has made preserving and passing down knowledge within the organization a challenge for every credit union leader.

To ensure continuity, learning cannot occur merely as part of the succession process, but must be so thoroughly integrated into the culture of an organization as to become an institutional practice. Conducting pre‑ and post‑ decision debriefs, rewarding quality deci‑sion processes, and learning from both successes and failures can increase the capacity for learning in the organization as a whole. When each of a credit union’s individual leaders is able to learn and adapt, then so is the organization.

A credit union that embraces learning will not only have a better‑ prepared next generation of talent, it will also develop the nimbleness and adaptability needed to operate in a fast‑ changing marketplace. What leaders know is becoming less important than how well they can challenge, learn, and adapt. Leaders who embrace learning can actively monitor the impact of their actions to quickly ascertain the consequences. It takes both guts and agility to course‑ correct when the chosen route goes off track. Strategic leaders view mistakes and miscalculations as valuable sources of learning, even intentionally allowing for mistakes in select situations to challenge their deeply held assumptions. Take advertising genius David Ogilvy, who at times ran ads he did not believe would work just to test his theories about advertising. He continually challenged perceived wisdom, including his own, recogniz‑ing the fast pace of change surrounding him. This mindset of learning and critical inquiry allowed Ogilvy to build an eponymous global media empire and retire to his private castle in France. Through better decision processes and an increased preparedness for new chal‑lenges outside their current frames, credit union leaders who create an enthusiasm for learning will reap great rewards.



→ You do not spend time at the start of meetings debriefing the last decision.

→ You do not have any way to know if your decisions were good ones.

→ You can’t think of many instances where you changed a decision after you received new

information.

→ Failure is not an option in your organization.

Recommendations to improve learning:

→ Conduct pre- decision and after-action debriefs to extract insights.

→ Build the necessary discipline to look at failure as well as success.

→ Internalize mistakes and lessons learned, and then apply them broadly.

→ Stop initiatives that are not producing as expected; know when to pull the plug.

→ Conduct annual learning audits where cherished beliefs can be challenged.

visionThe six elements above represent the unpacked components that constitute strategic think‑ing. To be an effective leader, however, one cannot live within a single element at a time. An effective leader must create a system of strategic thinking, drawing on all six of the ele‑ments and working across them to solve problems. The glue that brings these components together is a well‑defined strategic vision.

A vision provides the focus and context in which the six elements can most effectively be utilized. A clear vision for business growth into new market segments, for example, allows a leader to be more focused in their efforts to anticipate. Mental assumptions made explicit through a stated vision can also be more easily challenged, and stakeholders can be more easily aligned around a clear view of the big picture. While not every leader needs to be good at all six of the elements, a well‑defined vision and strategic direction are critical as a uniting factor. When a leadership team owns the strategic vision, the strengths of each member can be leveraged and an effective process established so that no one individual need reach perfection in all six of the elements.

ReSeaRch methodoLogy and FindingS FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

chapteR 2

Research Methodology and Findings

Research methodologyDSI’s Strategic Aptitude Assessment is a strategic thinking survey based on the Six Ele‑ments of Strategic Thinking framework. Over a number of years, the assessment has been delivered to over 25,000 executive leaders worldwide. As a part of the research for this report, DSI’s Strategic Aptitude Assessment was administered to 68 credit union CEOs, rep‑resenting a diverse sample of backgrounds, ages, and genders from across North America.

In addition to DSI’s standard Strategic Aptitude questions, additional fields were included to allow results to be compared across various demographic profiles. Demographic ques‑tions were added to ascertain each respondent’s educational background, professional background, years of professional experience, years within the credit union system, and gender. Additionally, each CEO was asked to provide information about their credit union, including its asset size, number of employees, number of branches, and affiliation model.

Each of the collected demographic fields was then divided into subgroups (e.g., gender was broken into male and female) and used to calculate separate scores on the six ele‑ments for each. These subgroup scores were then compared to each other and against the 68‑respondent average, testing for any statistically significant deviations or correlations. While many observations could be made from the data collected, only those insights that passed the test for statistical significance at a 90% confidence level (α = .1) were included in this report. Nearly all of the findings included, however, also passed more stringent tests at a 95% confidence level (α = .05).

Findingsoverall Strategic thinking ability

Lower Scores among accounting and Financial backgroundsSurvey respondents were asked to self‑ report their own background as either accounting/financial, branch/opera‑tions, lenders, marketing, or “other.” When the overall strategic thinking score of each of these groups was bro‑ken out and compared to the average for all respondents,

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FiguRe 2

LoweR StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS among aCCoUntIng/FInanCIaL BaCkgRoUnDS


only one group tested as significantly different: Credit union CEOs with an accounting or finance background scored significantly lower in overall strategic thinking ability than their peers from other backgrounds.

generational differences in Strategic thinkingIn analyzing the results of the assessment, a small but significant difference in stra‑tegic aptitude was observed between different genera‑tions of CEOs (as defined by total years of professional experience). Leaders with between 30 and 40 years of professional experience scored significantly lower in strategic thinking overall than both the younger and older generations of their peers.

no difference between gendersFemale credit union CEOs who completed the Strategic Aptitude Assessment scored approximately 2.5% higher than their male counterparts on overall strategic thinking ability. This difference, however, was not found to be sta‑tistically significant due to the smaller female sample size (represented by the shorter green bars in Figure 4).

anticipate

Lower Scores among accounting/Financial backgroundsIn the Anticipate element, credit union CEOs from an accounting or finance background scored significantly lower than their peers. No background, gender, or genera‑tional subgroup, however, was found to be significantly above average in this element of strategic thinking.

Years of experience

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geneRatIonaL DIFFeRenCeS In StRategIC thInkIng

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FiguRe 4

no DIFFeRenCe In StRategIC thInkIng SCoRe By genDeR


These findings on CEOs with a more quantitative background underscore the importance of a balanced development or rotational program for senior leaders being groomed for the C‑suite. As new CEO candi‑dates are evaluated, be sure to look for breadth of experi‑ence in addition to technical know‑how, as this increases the chance of finding a leader who is on par in the Anticipate element of strategic thinking. In general, increasing this capability requires provid‑ing leaders with a variety of jobs and cross‑ functional responsibilities, especially member‑ facing roles.

challengeLower Scores among Larger credit unionsA statistically significant correlation was found between a larger credit union size and a decreasing ability of CEOs to challenge. For the purpose of this research, larger credit

Anticipate score

Accounting/financialNot accounting/financial

3.503.002.502.001.50

12

10

8

6

4

2

04.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50

Frequ

ency

FiguRe 5

LoweR antICIpate SCoReS among aCCoUntIng/FInanCIaL BaCkgRoUnDS

Number of employees

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Chall

enge

scor

e

FiguRe 6

LoweR ChaLLenge SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe empLoyeeS


unions are defined as greater in terms of both number of branches and number of employees. The correlation observed is likely due to the prohibitive levels of management and bureaucracy inherent in larger organizations that can increase the difficulty of thinking differently and challeng‑ing the status quo.

interpret

Lower Scores among credit unions with many employeesA statistically significant correlation was found between a higher number of employees at a credit union and a decrease in its CEO’s aptitude in the Interpret element. In DSI’s framework, the Interpret element is viewed as the ability to synthesize input from multiple sources, develop insights, and demonstrate the open‑ mindedness needed to develop new approaches to existing problems. It stands to reason that the larger and more complex an organization, the more sources and data points there are for a leader to connect and synthesize.

Number of credit union branches

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

7

6

5

4

3

2

1Ch

allen

ge sc

ore

FiguRe 7

LoweR ChaLLenge SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe BRanCheS

Number of employees

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Inte

rpre

t sco

re

FiguRe 8

LoweR InteRpRet SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe empLoyeeS


decide

Lower Scores among Larger credit unionsIn DSI’s research, a statistically significant correlation was found between the larger size of a credit union (branches and employees) and a decrease in its leader’s aptitude in the Decide element. It is believed that the smaller number of both internal and external stake‑holders at small credit unions likely allows for a faster and more efficient decision‑ making process.

Number of employees

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Decid

e sco

re

FiguRe 9

LoweR DeCIDe SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe empLoyeeS

Number of credit union branches

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Decid

e sco

re

FiguRe 10

LoweR DeCIDe SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe BRanCheS

concLuSion FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

align

higher Scores among hybrid-model credit unionsRespondents to the Strategic Aptitude Assessment were asked to categorize their credit union as either sponsored, community‑ based, or as a hybrid model. Those who identified themselves as leaders of a hybrid‑ model credit union scored significantly higher in align‑ing than their peers. One hypothesis is that with a larger group of stakeholders to manage, leaders of hybrid‑ model credit unions would, from the start, need to be more competent aligners than those with fewer stakeholders. Overall, the entire population of credit union CEOs surveyed scored higher in this element, on average, than on any of the other five.

Learn

no Statistically Significant ResultsThe Learn element showed the high‑est degree of consistency among all respondents surveyed. No one group scored significantly better or worse than their peers. Overall, however, Learn and Anticipate surfaced as the two weakest areas of strategic thinking for the credit union leaders surveyed. This lower score and the high degree of consistency suggest that these may be areas of concern, more broadly, for all credit union leaders.

chapteR 3

ConclusionThe research conducted for this report is based on self‑ reported scores. A 360 score—similar to the well‑known 360 performance instruments that provide a self‑score and scores from peers, managers, direct reports, etc.—would provide more detailed insight. Such exercises,

Align score

Community-based Hybrid modelSponsored

3.503.00

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

04.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50 7.00

Frequ

ency

FiguRe 11

hIgheR aLIgn SCoReS among hyBRID moDeL CReDIt UnIonS


however, are best conducted by leadership teams of individual organizations. The robust scores of the credit union respondents compared to the DSI database leave us with the question of why credit union executives outscored the database on so many dimensions. We do not have an exact answer to this question, as that would require further field work and research that goes well beyond the scope of this report. The seniority of the respon‑dents, their years of experience, and the size of the credit unions in this particular study may well explain the superior response. On the other hand, we must guard against the well‑ documented phenomenon of overconfidence and other judgment biases.6 From the literature on decision science, cognitive psychology, and behavioral economics, we know that most people find it difficult to properly appraise their individual roles. In summary, what is needed in further research is to conduct this exercise on teams of credit union leaders so that we have the benefit of peer scores in addition to self‑ appraisals to provide deeper insight into the validity of the group results.

Finally, becoming a strategic leader in any industry means identifying weaknesses in the six skills discussed above and correcting them. DSI’s research shows that strength in one element cannot easily compensate for a deficit in another, so it is important to methodi‑cally optimize all six abilities. To discover which areas require your attention, take the short version of the Strategic Aptitude Assessment online at www.decisionstrat.com.

appendix

Strategic aptitude assessmentA short version of the Strategic Aptitude Assessment is available online at www.decision strat.com and can help reveal which areas require your attention. For clearer and more useful results, take the full 360 version of the survey and ask colleagues, direct reports, and your manager to participate and comment on your results.

Strategic aptitude Questionnaire adapted for this Reportdemographic Fields

→ Please list your name

→ Please list your company or organization

→ Please list and confirm your e‑mail address


→ Please check all degrees you have achieved

⋅ Bachelor’s

⋅ Master’s (non‑business)

⋅ MBA

⋅ Doctorate

→ Please select your gender

⋅ Male

⋅ Female

→ Total years of professional experience

→ Please select your background

⋅ Accounting/financial

⋅ Lenders

⋅ Marketing

⋅ Branch/operations

⋅ Other:

→ Years within the credit union system

→ What is your credit union’s affiliation

⋅ Sponsored credit union

⋅ Community‑based

⋅ Hybrid model

→ How many employees within your credit union

→ How many branches does your credit union have

→ Size of credit union’s assets

⋅ >$500 million

⋅ >$750 million

⋅ >$1 billion


Strategic aptitude QuestionsRating scale:

1. Rarely (less than 10% of the time)

2. Infrequently (about 10%–20% of the time)

3. Occasionally (about 30%–40% of the time)

4. Regularly (about 50% of the time)

5. Frequently (about 60%–70% of the time)

6. Very Frequently (about 80%–90% of the time)

7. Almost Always (more than 90% of the time)

How often do you . . .

→ Gather information from a wide network of experts and sources both inside and outside your industry or function

→ Predict competitors’ potential moves and likely reactions to new initiatives or products

→ Demonstrate curiosity and an open mind

→ Assess stakeholders’ tolerance and motivation for change

→ Reframe a problem from several angles to understand root causes

→ Seek out diverse views to see multiple sides of an issue

→ Test multiple working hypotheses with others before coming to conclusions

→ Determine trade‑offs, risks, and unintended consequences for customers and other stakeholders when making decisions

→ Balance long‑term investment for growth with short‑term pressure for results

→ Pinpoint and address conflicting interests among stakeholders

→ Communicate stories about success and failure to promote institutional learning

→ Course‑correct on the basis of disconfirming evidence, even after a decision has been made


1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Anticipate

Challenge

Interpret

Decide

Align

Learn

4.6914.880

5.6845.457

5.5665.705

5.3014.975

5.1914.923

5.8824.813

Average score

Credit union CEOs DSI database

FiguRe 12

SURVey ReSULtS CompaReD to DSI DataBaSe

Years of experience

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Over

all st

rate

gic th

inking

scor

e

FiguRe 13

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By yeaRS oF expeRIenCe


Years within the credit union system

0 10 155 20 25 30 35 40 45

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Over

all st

rate

gic th

inking

scor

eFiguRe 14

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By yeaRS wIthIn the CReDIt UnIon SyStem

Credit union’s number of employees

0 1,000 1,500500 2,000 2,500 3,000

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Over

all st

rate

gic th

inking

scor

e

FiguRe 15

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By CReDIt UnIon’S nUmBeR oF empLoyeeS


Credit union’s number of branches

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Over

all st

rate

gic th

inking

scor

eFiguRe 16

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By CReDIt UnIon’S nUmBeR oF BRanCheS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Demonstrate curiosity and an open mind 6.15

5.90

5.87

5.81

5.56

5.39

5.37

5.24

5.22

4.99

4.97

4.16

Average score

Strategic Aptitude Assessment question

Determine trade-o�s, risks, and unintended consequences forcustomers and other stakeholders when making decisions

Balance long-term investment for growth withshort-term pressure for results

Seek out diverse views to see multiple sides of an issue

Reframe a problem from several angles to understand root causes

Communicate stories about success and failure to promote institutional learning

Assess stakeholders’ tolerance and motivation for change

Pinpoint and address conflicting interests among stakeholders

Gather information from a wide network of experts and sourcesboth inside and outside your industry or function

Test multiple working hypotheses with othersbefore coming to conclusions

Course-correct on the basis of disconfirming evidence,even after a decision has been made

Predict competitors’ potential moves and likely reactions tonew initiatives or products

FiguRe 17

InDIVIDUaL qUeStIon aVeRageS In DeSCenDIng oRDeR

SuggeSted Reading FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

Suggested Reading

comprehensive overview of the Strategic thinking Framework in HBRPaul J. H. Schoemaker, Steve Krupp, and Samantha Howland, “Stra‑

tegic Leadership: The Essential Skills,” Harvard Business Review, January–February 2013.

brief overview of the Strategic thinking Framework in Inc.Paul J. H. Schoemaker, “6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers,” Inc., March 20,

2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/6‑Habits‑of‑Strategic‑Thinkers.html.

closer Look at “anticipate”Paul J. H. Schoemaker, “9 Ways to See Change Coming (Before It Kills Your

Business),” Inc., March 30, 2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/9‑ways‑to‑see‑change‑coming.html.

closer Look at “challenge”Paul J. H. Schoemaker and John Austin, “4 Secrets of Great Critical Thinkers,”

Inc., April 16, 2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/4‑secrets‑of‑great‑ critical‑thinkers.html.

closer Look at “interpret”Paul J. H. Schoemaker and Jacqueline Claudia, “Great Strategic Leaders Always

Think Twice,” Inc., May 1, 2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/why‑flexible‑ interpretation‑is‑key‑for‑strategic‑thinking.html.

closer Look at “decide”Paul J. H. Schoemaker and Samantha Howland, “Make Better Decisions: 3 Easy

Steps,” Inc., May 16, 2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/3‑easy‑ways‑to‑make‑better‑decisions.html.

SuggeSted Reading FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

closer Look at “align”Paul J. H. Schoemaker and Steve Krupp, “How to Rally Your Team Around a

New Strategy,” Inc., June 12, 2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/how‑to‑get‑your‑team‑onboard‑with‑a‑new‑strategy.html.

closer Look at “Learn”Paul J. H. Schoemaker, “How to Create a Positive Learning Culture,” Inc.,

June 26, 2012, www.inc.com/paul‑schoemaker/how‑to‑create‑a‑positive‑learning‑culture.html.

endnoteS FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

Endnotes

1 A Google search on the term “leadership” yielded about 310 million results, and a search for books on Amazon.com using the same keyword showed 101,682 results (September 5, 2013).

2 Paul J. H. Schoemaker, Steve Krupp, and Samantha Howland, “Strategic Lead‑ership: The Essential Skills,” Harvard Business Review, January–February 2013.

3 A variation on Andy S. Grove, Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company (New York: Doubleday, 1996). See also Robert J. Kriegel and David Brandt, Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers: Paradigm- Busting Strategies for Developing Change-Ready People and Organizations (New York: Warner Books, 1996).

4 Michael Beer and Russell A. Eisenstat, “The Silent Killers of Strategy Imple‑mentation and Learning,” MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2000: 29–40.

5 G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas (New York: Penguin Group, 2007).

6 For a detailed discussion of overconfidence, see J. Edward Russo and Paul J. H. Schoemaker, Winning Decisions: Getting It Right the First Time (New York: Doubleday, 2002).

LiSt oF FiguReS FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

List of Figures 8 FiguRe 1

the SIx eLementS oF StRategIC thInkIng

20 FiguRe 2

LoweR StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS among aCCoUntIng/FInanCIaL BaCkgRoUnDS

21 FiguRe 3

geneRatIonaL DIFFeRenCeS In StRategIC thInkIng

21 FiguRe 4

no DIFFeRenCe In StRategIC thInkIng SCoRe By genDeR

22 FiguRe 5

LoweR antICIpate SCoReS among aCCoUntIng/FInanCIaL BaCkgRoUnDS

22 FiguRe 6

LoweR ChaLLenge SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe empLoyeeS

23 FiguRe 7

LoweR ChaLLenge SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe BRanCheS

23 FiguRe 8

LoweR InteRpRet SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe empLoyeeS

24 FiguRe 9

LoweR DeCIDe SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe empLoyeeS

24 FiguRe 10

LoweR DeCIDe SCoReS among CReDIt UnIonS wIth moRe BRanCheS

25 FiguRe 11

hIgheR aLIgn SCoReS among hyBRID moDeL CReDIt UnIonS

LiSt oF FiguReS FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

29 FiguRe 12

SURVey ReSULtS CompaReD to DSI DataBaSe

29 FiguRe 13

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By yeaRS oF expeRIenCe

30 FiguRe 14

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By yeaRS wIthIn the CReDIt UnIon SyStem

30 FiguRe 15

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By CReDIt UnIon’S nUmBeR oF empLoyeeS

31 FiguRe 16

oVeRaLL StRategIC thInkIng SCoReS By CReDIt UnIon’S nUmBeR oF BRanCheS

31 FiguRe 17

InDIVIDUaL qUeStIon aVeRageS In DeSCenDIng oRDeR

about the authoRS FiLene ReSeaRch inStitute

About the Authors

Jarrad RoederDecision Strategies International

Jarrad Roeder, a senior associate in DSI’s Conshohocken office, has a passion for solving business problems. In high school, Jarrad founded his own start‑up IT consulting firm to help local businesses diagnose and solve complex IT issues. Today, he works with DSI’s largest financial services clients to diagnose and solve their most complex business strategy and leadership issues.

Some of Jarrad’s clients include the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Credit Union Executives Society, Citigroup, North Peace Savings & Credit Union, LIMRA, AIG, and PayPal. Jarrad has worked with leaders and senior executives across the credit union, insurance, and banking industries on engagements ranging from succession planning and talent strategy to scenario planning, war‑ gaming, and strategic visioning.

At DSI, Jarrad has spearheaded efforts to craft and refine the Strategic Aptitude Assessment. His analytical ability has yielded insights into strategic thinking in leaders that were subsequently referenced in the 2013 Harvard Business Review article “Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills” (by Paul J. H. Schoemaker, Steve Krupp, and Samantha Howland).

Jarrad has a BS in economics (strategic management) from the Wharton School and a BA in East Asian languages and civilizations (Chinese studies) from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks fluent Mandarin and has used his lan‑guage ability to facilitate executive development programs at Wharton’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education. Jarrad also studies the Taiwanese language in his spare time.

Jarrad has many other interests outside of the office. He is an avid badminton player and expert snow skier. He also has a private pilot’s license, holds a black belt in tae kwon do, and spends the weekends riding his 2003 Harley Ultra Classic.


Franck SchuurmansDecision Strategies International

Franck Schuurmans is a European partner with DSI. He is a highly acclaimed, dynamic speaker and author of numerous influential industry reports. Dr. Schuurmans works with corporate clients as well as leading nonprofit organizations. His areas of expertise are retail finance and governance, with a special interest in executive training workshops, board governance, and corpo‑rate strategy development.

Dr. Schuurmans received his MA from the University of Amsterdam in the Neth‑erlands. As a Fulbright Fellowship recipient, he was awarded a PhD in modern European history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1995. He taught there for several years as a full‑time faculty member and conducted research.

Until 2002 he was the senior vice president of Business and Professional Devel‑opment for the Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) in Madison, Wisconsin. At CUES he was in charge of all research and professional development, playing a critical role in transforming CUES into the industry’s thought leader. Specifi‑cally, he helped expand the CUES‑CEO Institute by working closely with several leading academic institutions, such as UC Berkeley, Cornell, and Wharton. This institute has become the industry gold standard in executive education, with over 500 alumni in senior positions. Dr. Schuurmans is a Certified Association Executive (CAE).

With Paul Schoemaker and others he most recently cowrote “2015 Scenarios for Credit Unions.” He is also the coauthor of various Industry Scenario reports, including “Scenarios for the Future of Human Resources Management,” com‑missioned by the Society of Human Resource Management; “2020: The Future of the Legal Industry”; “The Long and Winding Road: Histories of Aging and Aging Services in America, 2006–2016”; and “Memories of the Future: Scenarios for the Life Insurance Industry.” Schoemaker and Dr. Schuurmans jointly wrote “Opportunity in Uncertainty: Techniques for Turning an Unpredictable Future to Your Advantage,” published in Association Management.

Dr. Schuurmans is a frequent speaker at conferences and meetings through‑out North America and Europe. He is a guest lecturer at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a professor at the European Centre for Executive Development (CEDEP) in Fon‑tainebleau, France. He also teaches at INSEAD and DUKE CE and SKOLKOVO


business school in Moscow. Dr. Schuurmans’s interests are in strategic planning, decision making, innovation, risk management, and corporate governance.

His recent clients include Royal Bank of Scotland, Coutts, Transocean, BP, L’Oreal, Severin Trent Water, Starwood, Novo Nordisk, GE Europe, AAHSA, ASAE, BAT, Fidelity, Glaxo Smith Kline, Heijmans Vastgoed, Investors Group Canada, LIMRA, ManuLife, Merrill Lynch, National Court Reporters Association, New York Life, Pfizer, SHRM, Selective Insurance, Westar Energy, and many credit unions in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.

About Filene

Filene Research Institute is an independent, consumer finance think and do tank. We are dedicated to scientific and thoughtful analysis about issues affect-ing the future of credit unions, retail banking, and cooperative finance.

Deeply embedded in the credit union tradition is an ongoing search for better ways to understand and serve credit union members. Open inquiry, the free flow of ideas, and debate are essential parts of the true democratic process. Since 1989, through Filene, leading scholars and thinkers have analyzed managerial problems, public policy questions, and consumer needs for the benefit of the credit union system. We support research, innovation, and impact that enhance the well-being of consumers and assist credit unions and other financial cooper-atives in adapting to rapidly changing economic, legal, and social environments.

We’re governed by an administrative board made up of credit union CEOs, the CEOs of CUNA & Affiliates and CUNA Mutual Group, and the chairman of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL). Our research priorities are determined by a national Research Council comprised of credit union CEOs and the president/CEO of the Credit Union Executives Society.

We live by the famous words of our namesake, credit union and retail pioneer Edward A. Filene: “Progress is the constant replacing of the best there is with something still better.” Together, Filene and our thousands of supporters seek progress for credit unions by challenging the status quo, thinking differently, looking outside, asking and answering tough questions, and collaborating with like-minded organizations.

Filene is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Nearly 1,000 members make our research, innovation, and impact programs possible. Learn more at filene.org.

“Progress is the constant replacing of the best there is with something still better.”

—Edward A. Filene

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