I recently saw blues guitar legend Eric Gales live in concert. If you haven't heard him play, you are about to—he provided the stunning guitar work for Ryan Coogler's movie Sinners and is set to perform this Sunday at the 2026 Oscars in a massive musical tribute to the film.
I caught up with Eric after the show (that’s us in the photo below). During the performance, he said something that struck me. He described the feeling of playing a specific song as being on a mountaintop—or rather, that the music needed to be heard from a mountaintop.
He wasn’t just talking about volume. He was talking about elevation, authenticity, and passion. When Eric Gales plays, he isn't just reciting notes off a page. He is telling a deeply human story, and he architects an emotional journey for everyone in the room.
It made me think about how credit unions tell their own stories.
Notes vs. The Music
In the financial industry, your products—checking accounts, auto loans, mortgages, and mobile apps—are just notes on a page. Every bank and fintech in the country has access to the exact same notes.
But a list of products is not a strategy, and a list of transactions is not a member journey.
Too many credit unions are sitting in the basement, quietly playing the exact same sheet music as their competitors, and wondering why nobody is listening. They build their member journeys around compliance and efficiency, completely stripping away the emotion, the hospitality, and the soul of the institution.
If you want to build a resilient, growing credit union, you have to architect a member journey intertwined with the kind of passion Eric brings to the stage. You have to turn the notes into music.
Architecting a "Mountaintop" Experience
How do you bring that level of intrigue and authenticity to a financial institution? It requires moving beyond the basic plumbing of banking and asking harder questions about your strategy:
1. Find Your Distinct Voice Eric Gales doesn't sound like anyone else. Does your credit union? If I stripped the logo off your website and your branch, would a member know it was you? Authenticity means knowing exactly who you serve and having the courage to speak directly to them, rather than trying to be a generic bank for everyone.
2. Design for Emotion, Not Just Throughput A great guitar solo builds tension and delivers a release. A great member journey does the same. When a member applies for a mortgage, there is inherent emotional tension (fear of rejection, stress of buying a home). Does your process just push them through a sterile digital funnel, or does your team act as a guide, providing a reassuring, high-trust experience that delivers emotional relief?
3. Get the Strategy Out of the Binder You cannot play from the mountaintop if your strategic plan is locked in a binder on a shelf. A true "Living Strategy" is visible every single day in how your tellers greet members, how your app functions, and how your board makes decisions.
The Challenge
Watch the Oscars this Sunday night. When Eric Gales takes the stage, pay attention to the absolute conviction he brings to his performance.
Then, on Monday morning, take a hard look at your credit union's member journey. Are you just playing the notes? Or do you have a story worth playing from the mountaintop?
