Welcome back to the Enchanted Princess. For Day 2 of the Caribbean Islands Credit Union Educational Cruise, our theme shifted from high-level strategy to the mechanics of execution: "Governance, Systems, & The Member Experience."
If you are keeping track of the dates and wondering about the week-long gap between updates, it is by design. Because this is a 10-day sailing, we reserve our intensive educational sessions exclusively for our days at sea. After spending the last week exploring the islands, we reconvened today to officially wrap up Day 2 of the conference.
A brilliant strategic vision is useless if your board is stuck in the weeds and your members are frustrated by your app. Today, Tom and Jennifer Glatt connected the dots between boardroom oversight and the daily member journey.
Here is the Day 2 download for those following along at home.
Session 1: The "Rear-View Mirror" Trap (Tom Glatt)
In our first session, The Board's Role in Governance, Tom challenged boards to evaluate their line of sight. Most boards spend 80% of their time looking backward—reviewing last month’s financials, last quarter’s minutes, and last year’s audit. You cannot drive a credit union by staring in the rear-view mirror.
The Pivot: Modern governance must be 80% through the windshield. To get there, boards must abandon the "Binder on the Shelf" and adopt a Proactive Governance Calendar. By scheduling the "Six Pillars of Oversight" throughout the year (e.g., Q1 for CEO Goals, Q2 for Environmental Scans), the calendar ensures that the important work is never displaced by the urgent crisis of the month.
Session 2: Auditing Emotional Friction (Jennifer Glatt)
Next, Jen took the stage for From Check-In to Check-Up. Her core premise: The journey is the product. We rigorously audit our balance sheets, but how often do we audit the "emotional friction" of our loan application process? Effort is the enemy of loyalty.
The Pivot: We must map the micro-moments. Every interaction, from the parking lot to the mobile app login, is either building trust or leaking it. Taking cues from hospitality, Jen reminded us that a complaint isn't a nuisance—it’s operational intelligence. The distance between a member’s problem and your resolution is the ultimate measure of your service.
Session 3: Operationalizing Strategy (Tom Glatt)
In The Living System, Tom tackled the "Great Disconnect." Most credit unions have a lofty Vision Statement (at 30,000 feet) and a strict Budget (at ground level), with absolutely nothing connecting the two. Staff are busy, but not strategic.
The Pivot: To make strategy "live," you need an operating system. Tom introduced two critical tools:
- The Business Model Canvas: The static blueprint of how you create value today.
- OKRs (Objectives & Key Results): The dynamic engine of how you change for tomorrow.
Tom clarified a crucial distinction: You govern through KHIs (Key Health Indicators) to protect the asset, but you lead through OKRs to build the future. If a strategy isn't working by Q2, the 90-day OKR cycle allows you to pivot immediately—you don't wait for the annual retreat.
Session 4: Designing for Delight (Jennifer Glatt)
We closed the day with Jen’s session, Designing for Delight. In luxury hospitality, a guest's perception of quality can be decided by the weight of a spoon or the scent of a lobby. For credit unions, precision is a form of respect. When digital tools are clunky, you are telling the member their time isn't valuable.
The Pivot: Delight is the ultimate loyalty hack. Jen shared the example of the Magic Castle Hotel—not a 5-star resort, but famous for its poolside "Popsicle Hotline." We challenged attendees to find their credit union's "Popsicle Hotline." Do your front-line staff have the high-trust delegation and permission to take 5 minutes to create a magical, human moment for a member? Every micro-interaction is a deposit into your "Trust Currency."
3 Action Items for Your Team (From Day 2)
If you aren't on the ship with us, you can still put today's lessons to work:
- Conduct a "Rear-View" Audit: Look at your last three board packets. Calculate the percentage of pages dedicated to historical reporting versus future strategy. If it's not 80% forward-looking, it’s time to restructure your agenda.
- Map One Micro-Moment: Pick one routine process (e.g., resetting a digital banking password) and experience it yourself. Where is the emotional friction? Fix it this week.
- Set One OKR: Bridge the gap between vision and daily work by setting a single, 90-day Objective and Key Result for your executive team that focuses strictly on growth or change, not just maintenance.
Stay tuned as we head into Day 3, focusing on Performance, Action, & Continuous Improvement.
