The age of disruption is upon us, and its progression is unpredictable yet continuous. Mobile, social, cloud, real-time, the biggest technological disruptors are just that…disruptive. It is in how we embrace disruption that allows us to better understand, and in turn, react to it. Although disruptive technology is the bearer of tremendous opportunity, it is equally a harbinger of obsolesce. Technology’s impact on society and business is substantial. As technology continues to become part of everyday life, it becomes a continuous disruptive cycle that forever evolves how people communicate, work and connect. Keeping up requires perpetual investment because innovation is constant – and it’s only accelerating. Change is Imminent and Essential to Survival This year is the perfect time to take a step back to recognize the difference between trends and opportunities. Although it’s easy to get caught up in the hype, there is a gap that exists between current needs, evolving pains and the myriad of solutions hitting desktops, smart phones, tablets and digital appliances on a daily basis. The problem is that many credit unions aren’t designed to be adaptive. They’re designed to optimize efficiencies and processes, but times have changed and disruptive technology isn’t as easy to recognize or capitalize on without a greater mission and purpose or an infrastructure to identify trends, experiment, learn and scale. Herein lies an opportunity. By competing for relevance, you’re effectively competing for the future. Doing so allows you to leapfrog a survival strategy to establish an exceptional competitive advantage. Competing for relevance and the future requires a full assessment of how some of the biggest trends in technology impact your credit union today, and how they will influence behavior in the future. While this disruptive world keeps on spinning faster, it will alter, expand or contract based on the specifics of our industry. While every technology is affecting the bottom line today, elements are beginning to change the way decisions are made, transactions unfold and ultimately how people work with one another. At the very least, the golden triangle of cloud, mobile and social provides a hub to begin the evaluation of both technology and human behavior. Everything is changing. You are changing. Take a look around. Are your philosophies, processes and systems changing along with it? More importantly, is our vision and our aim acclimating in these new environments? Get answers to these questions from esteemed speakers such as Scott Belsky, Daymond John, Cory Booker and David Robertson at the THINK 13 conference. We’re looking forward to shape the future with you.