There’s something about summer that always represents freedom to me. It could be the Fourth of July resonating past the day of, or it could be the warm weather and carefree attitude that comes with it. Maybe it’s the road trips we take and barbecues we host with friends and family. Maybe it’s the trips to the pool or the beach. Maybe it’s the general sense of enjoyment that we try to soak up before the weather gets crisp again.
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that plans change.
For example, I had a cruise booked and paid for, including excursions to play with sea turtles and visit Mayan ruins this spring. Two of my close friends and I were set to venture from Tampa to Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras – live our best tropical lives, if you will. We were supposed to set sail April 19th and return April 26th.
Banking, like Yogi, is a unique bear. If you haven’t worked in the trenches, you probably just don’t understand it. It’s an industry best served by those who have lived it.
As unique as the industry is – you guessed it – your budgeting solution should be just as unique.
For almost 50 years, Plansmith has helped financial institutions remove the stress from budgeting and interest rate risk.
As customer preferences and regulatory challenges progress, we create new solutions to complement our core in-house budgeting and IRR solutions.
Are you familiar with all of the ways Plansmith helps financial institutions like yours?
After almost 50 years in the biz, we've learned a thing or two about banking. And since most of our employees have spent time in the industry, we know the heavy hitters that keep bankers up at night.
That's why we designed our business around one specific goal: giving our clients one less thing to worry about.
Running a successful business, like anything worthwhile in life, is difficult. Of course, the same can be said for operating a bank or credit union.
There's never enough time in a day to get everything done. The amount of work per number of hands to accomplish it isn't equitable. The number of new regulations versus training bandwidth is not even close to on par.
For almost 50 years, Plansmith has helped financial institutions become better organizations through improved planning. In that time, we've heard a lot of industry chatter - much of it a load of, dare we say, bologna.
Only part of a successful strategic plan lies in the plan itself. A good plan, just like a recipe, is important. But any good chef will tell you, choosing the right ingredients is only half the challenge. The rest lies in executing the recipe properly.
So, how can your bank or credit union make a better strategic plan?
Here are some simple tweaks to the ingredients and execution of your strategic planning recipe.
The saddest thing I see with banks and credit unions is probably not what you'd think.
It's not a lack of passion for people, or even a disparate set of products that fail to match up with customer needs. In fact, banks and credit unions excel at both of these and they play a big role in creating a unique customer experience.
I could continue to list things, but you still wouldn't guess. Why? Because it's something we don't even think about it's so foreign to us.
Smart choice - that's a bold statement. But believe me, I wouldn't use those words if it weren't the truth.