Executive Summary
When you hear the word innovation, it’s easy to imagine charismatic, creative, and possibly eccentric folks spontaneously coming up with world-changing ideas. What about the word adventure? This spells a crazy, zestful group of individuals with no sense of planning taking a perpetual ride on an adrenalin rush train. In reality, the practice of innovation is structured and deliberate. And the most successful adventures combine a balance between preparedness and embracing the unknown.
In 2010, the financial services industry adventure continued to unfold as consumers re-thought their own financial travel plans. Leadership teams addressed preparedness by setting aside assessments and provisions. Risk assessments became the organizational GPS system. The unknowns were well documented and addressed. The only thing that remained was anxiety toward the unknown.
What is the research about?
This year’s Filene i3 innovation travelog has 18 notable entries. Seven concepts were born during our first innovation round. We asked our i3 program members (representing both the U.S. and Canada) to work in teams and sent them off to innovate with very few boundaries—just come back with a great idea that they’ve tested in the marketplace. This report features:
- 15 new idea blueprints developed around helping consumers.
- 5 updated blueprints on ready to implement ideas gaining national traction.
What are the credit union implications?
The implications of these open-source ideas are largely up to the credit union community. Each concept may be scalable, malleable, or disposable, but further testing is needed. This is where you come in. The future of credit unions relies on your willingness to test new ideas and share your associated findings. While much work has already been put into these i3 ideas, the hardest—and most rewarding—work is yet to come.
This report is sponsored by PSCU Financial Services.