The value proposition of your credit union can no longer be static or defined by the financial industry. Your new value proposition needs to be dynamic, continuously adapted and aligned with new market forces to develop a leadership position. You can no longer view technology as a hurdle or obstacle: It’s an opportunity. Most important, you need to change your thinking. Instead of reflecting on how technology can be applied to your current business, credit union leaders need to think ahead how technology can create new opportunities for the next stage of your credit union. How the New York Times adapted their value proposition The New York Times was founded in 1851 and many feared it would become obsolete in the digital age. Ad revenues dropped dramatically as readers turned to upstart publishers like BuzzFeed and Vox, that were generating viral sharing in social media. Yet in recent years the NYT has rethought journalism and its value proposition. It’s introduced new digital formats and innovative ways of reporting the news. Its very first virtual reality film, “Displaced” – about 60 million people who were driven from their homes due to war – was delivered for free to every NYT subscriber along with a Google Cardboard. “Displaced” engaged a record number of readers and won international acclaim, including two awards from the Cannes Lions festival in France. Focus on delivering tangible ROI Before credit unions can innovate at the business model level, they should drive digital transformation of their internal operations to create savings on productivity. This is where your digital transformation journey should start. Business model innovation relies on operations agility as a foundation. By focusing on delivering tangible ROI today through productivity improvements you will:

• Drive internal improvements that self-fund the next step in your transformation journey
• Develop the operational agility needed to innovate at the business model level
• Enlist early internal champions and momentum needed to drive more radical transformation.

Tennis great Arthur Ashe said: “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” Building credibility is the key to any successful transformation. With the data, insights, and improvements from internal wins, you put yourself in a credible position to take those same productivity improvements to your members in the form of best practice sharing or even new products and services. Once you have proven ability to deliver repeatable outcomes, you are empowered to experiment with new business models, leveraging your operational agility.