Commit to Innovation

Reaping the benefits of innovation for your members and the organization as a whole requires a continual cycle of moving forward. Instead of looking to earn a reputation as an innovator by rolling out one new product, process, or technology a year and then taking a break, a credit union needs to commit to ongoing investigations about how to work better and to build on previous gains.

Too often, organizations give in to “innovation exhaustion,” stepping back after rolling out a new project to take a break and marshal their forces before moving onto the next challenge. That’s a common mistake that risks snapping back to status quo, warns innovation consultant Jeffrey Phillips in a recent Innovation Excellence blog post.

Three elements are crucial, he suggests:

1. the continuity rooted in expectations to always be on the lookout for service gaps and inefficiencies and to work toward improvements;
2. the learning that comes from trying new approaches and adapting ideas from other financial services providers and organizations outside your industry; and
3. momentum to demonstrate that the CU will not slip back into familiar, but less-than-optimal, processes.

Jeffrey Phillips is a senior leader at OVO Innovation and author of Relentless Innovation: What Works, What Doesn’t—and What That Means for Your Business (McGraw-Hill, 2011). Read his “Innovation Exhaustion” post in its entirety.