Closing the Implementation Gap: A Strategy Execution Playbook for Credit Unions

Executive Summary

Credit unions have ambitious goals and recognize the challenges of an increasingly competitive market and shifting consumer expectations. They are not short on strategic vision, ideas, data, or plans to drive innovation and growth. Instead, in 2024, credit unions have found that their main challenge is moving from setting a strategic vision to implementing it successfully. 

The following brief focuses on understanding how credit unions are rising to meet this moment and identify what lessons can be shared. We focus on four main questions:

1. How do credit union leaders define "success" in strategy execution and business transformation?
2. What key trends do credit union leaders identify as most impactful for the execution of their business strategy in 2024 and beyond?
3. What are the strategic and operational barriers holding credit unions back from implementing their strategy successfully?
4. What are thriving credit unions doing differently to overcome these barriers?

Credit Union Implications

Since the beginning, credit unions have evolved and adapted to meet the challenges of a changing market. The current operating environment, however, may be one of the most difficult and fastest evolving in the history of the industry. A combination of long-term systemic pressures and shorter- term environmental pressures—which are still far-reaching in terms of impact—are forcing credit unions to adapt and transform quickly. In order to overcome these immediate challenges and focus on future growth and sustainability credit unions must build a long-term strategy while avoiding the barriers to successful execution.